Lions president Duane Vienneau says feedback has been so positive that the club is contemplating offering play-by-play in more languages in future seasons, but he wouldn’t speculate on what language might be next.
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Steve Ewen
Published Jun 19, 2024 • Last updated Jun 19, 2024 • 3 minute read
B.C. Lions president Duane Vienneau says that the early feedback on the team’s games being broadcast on radio in Punjabi has been so positive that the club is contemplating offering play-by-play in more languages in future seasons.
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B.C. Lions broadcasts in Punjabi are a hit — are more languages on the way? Back to video
It’s the early days for the premise and Vienneau wouldn’t speculate on what language might be next. He maintains that it’s not a financial play by the club but more of a community service and engagement one.
Lions Football Punjabi was only unveiled on June 5, just ahead of the Lions’ season opener on the road against the Toronto Argonauts. Harpreet Pandher and Taqdeer Thindal will call the action for all regular season and playoff games this season on Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600.
“We feel so strongly about how our Lions Football Punjabi has kicked off,” Vienneau said. “We feel like the community has just embraced us and we’ve embraced them.
“It’s like a connecting point. We’ve talked about how we need to build this all year and work together. Who knows? Maybe we start a new language next year. I don’t know if we’re going to do it or not, but it’s a bit of a vision.
“We’re not worried about money. What we’ve found is that the community has said that they feel like we’ve welcomed them to our sport, to our team. And that matters.”
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Halftime interview with @NCMCEVOY. This is Neil McEvoy’s 29th year as a member of the @BCLions , 7th year as the club’s director of football operations and 2nd as Co-General Manager.#LionsFootballPunjabi #BCLions #CFL #Football @SherEPunjab600 pic.twitter.com/HoCXAefqsx
— Harpreet Pandher (@HarpPandher) June 16, 2024
Pandher and Thindal were at the controls for the CFL’s first Punjabi radio broadcast on July 29, 2023 when the Lions prevailed 27-0 in Edmonton.
In a joint statement ahead of the season put out by the Lions, Pandher and Thindal said: “Punjabi fans are passionate about sports and connecting to their community. This Lions Punjabi broadcast will be a stepping stone for bridging Punjabis to the game of football and representing their home team. We expect a vast range of Punjabis to tune into the broadcasts and are also humbled to be a part of this historic moment and excited to promote this great game.”
Both broadcasters are from the Lower Mainland. Pandher says that his father was a Lions season ticket holder and his Lions’ memories come from a 1986 game against Edmonton. Thindal says that he attended his first Lions game in 1999. Pandher and Thindal joined the Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi team in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
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Launched in 2000, Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 broadcasts to the South Asian community in Greater Vancouver and Northwest Washington.
The Lions’ English broadcast returned this season to 980 CKNW, which had previously broadcast the team’s games from 1988-2003. Play-by-play man Bob (The Moj) Marjanovich and analyst Giulio Caravatta are teaming up for the call for an eighth season. The Lions broadcast moves over from AM 730, where they had been since 2021. They moved there when the Team 1040 shut down.
Corus Entertainment owns 980 CKNW and AM 730.
All broadcasts this season will include a 60-minute pregame show and a 30-minute postgame show.
@SteveEwen
SEwen@postmedia.com
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