PHOTO BY STEVE BOSCH /PROVINCE
Broadcasting at times can be rewarding while other times it’s simply ruthless, but the name of the game is attracting viewers or listeners to their station which is all business related.
We are hearing that Vancouver Whitecaps play by play person Peter Schaad has been let go by TSN’s parent company, Bell Media due to cost cutting in its rankings.
The move has not been overly popular with many soccer fans in the lower mainland, but apparently change by Bell Media was inevitable.
Peter moved back to the lower mainland after working in radio in Port Alberni for a number of years and took a position with Columbia Academy as an instructor.
He never thought that he would have the opportunity with the Whitecaps and he knew things were about to happen when Greg Kerfoot took ownership late in 2002.
For Peter this opened the door for broadcasters like him and the decision was made to leave the music side of radio and pursue his lifelong dream.
While there he worked with Sandra Lummiss who was the main instructor along with a couple of others who put young aspiring “want-a-be” broadcasters through the rigorous daily routine.
Following the abrupt closure of the school Peter went on to work at various Vancouver radio stations using his eloquent tones making all broadcasts extremely easy to listen to.
Peter once mentioned to me during an interview at Eastlink TV in Delta “I wanted to be the Whitecaps play-by-play guy since I was 12.”
Local greats like Jim Robson (Canucks, 1970-1999) and Ian Michaud (Whitecaps 1973-1981) inspired him.
He continued “Jim Robson was total class. Ian Michaud was the first non-English accented announcer that, really to me, showed that there was a place for a guy like us that didn’t have an accent in the game.”
At present time we are hearing that no replacement has been announced taking over Peter’s position, but it’s expected Paul Dolan will continue as colour analyst.
Neither Bell Media or the Vancouver Whitecaps have yet to make any comment on the change and as expected Peter also declined to comment but let it be known that he was a mainstay of the team’s broadcasting history.
He called Whitecaps games with Shaw on TV and radio for the club in 2002 during its A-League years, continuing through the shift to USL, where he first partnered with Dolan.
When the team became an MLS organization, he was anointed the team’s radio broadcaster on TSN.
Peter worked double-duty on TV and radio, hosting the daily Whitecaps program on AM1410, but TSN pulled him off the radio side in 2017 when it began a round of cuts in its local media properties.
