For the first time in franchise history, all 60 Brooks Bandits regular season games, as well as post-season games, will be broadcast on Newcap Radio’s Q105.7 FM and simulcast online as well as on mobile devices via Q1057.ca for the 2015-16 Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) season, the team announced today.
“Newcap Radio has had a rich history of working with the Bandits, doing play by play on radio from their first game in 2000 to covering all the games as they won the 2013 Royal Bank Cup,” said John Petrie, Manager of Q105.7 and The One 101.1. “We are excited to be able to broadcast all 60 home and away plus playoff games this year, something we’ve never been able to do before.
“This is great news for Bandits fans and for our advertisers who have been faithful in their support of the team.”
The new agreement represents nearly a tripling of radio coverage for Bandit regular season games, and also brings the addition of fully-featured pre-game and post-game shows for every broadcast, which will be extended during the playoffs.
The partnership between Newcap and the Bandits will also go deeper than the game broadcasts, with the establishment of a detailed promotional partnership that will see both Q105.7 and its sister station, The ONE at 101.1, represented significantly at Bandits home games. Radio features involving Bandits coaches and players are also under development for the coming season.
Bandits Manager of Communications Tyler King will coordinate and call the sizeable broadcast schedule for Bandits fans on Q105.7 FM starting on Friday, September 11th, 2015, when the Bandits take on the Canmore Eagles at the Canmore Recreation Centre at 7:00 PM, with a broadcast start time of 6:45 PM. A graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, King previously served as play-by-play commentator for the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, as well as the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Kingston Voyageurs.
Ken Fleury returns to the broadcast booth in 2015-16 as lead colour commentator for Bandit games. Bringing long-time involvement with the Bandit organization to the table, Fleury was also in the broadcast booth when the Bandits won the 2013 RBC Cup in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
“This is a great step for our organization and allows our fans full access to every game with new and exciting features,” said Bandits general manager and head coach Ryan Papaioannou. “We are more than doubling our broadcast schedule which meets the demands of our fan base. I am quite confident in saying our broadcast team will be among the strongest in the CJHL with Tyler and Ken, both of whom have significant experience in the AJHL.”
The Bandits will also honour longtime radio broadcaster Dennis Seibel in a pre-game ceremony at a Bandits home game this season, with further details to be announced later this summer. Though Seibel has opted not to return this season under the new broadcast structure, the organization would like to express its utmost thanks and gratitude to him for his years of service to the team, and looks forward to permanently honouring his legacy at the Centennial Regional Arena this coming year.
The enhanced radio partnership is one element of a significantly improved multimedia focus by the Bandits for the 2015-16 season. In addition to broadcasting every game, the team will be providing fans all season long with video and audio highlights, features, and other content through both the Centennial Regional Arena’s video scoreboard, and on demand through the team’s website, BrooksBandits.ca, rivaling major junior teams in quality.
“We are delighted to partner with Newcap this season, and look forward to bringing Bandits fans the best and most in-depth broadcast experience in the Canadian Junior Hockey League,” said King. “I look forward to providing every Bandits fan, whether listening in the car, at the rink, or on the other side of the world, with a dynamic and exciting description of what’s sure to be another spectacularly talented team, as well as some of the most compelling video and multimedia content of any organization at the junior level.”
Season Tickets for the Bandits’ 2015-16 campaign are on sale now! Reserve your great seat for all 2015-16 games, get the first crack at seats for the 2016 Playoffs, have a chance at great prizes, and more! More information is available at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.
(pictured: Newcap Radio Brooks manager John Petrie (left) and Brooks Bandits past president Paul Seaton (right) sign off on the first-ever full-season broadcast agreement between the team and radio station.)
