In today’s on-demand media world, the decision by Gaming News Canada to add a podcast to its information arsenal was a no-brainer, said editor-in-chief Steve McAllister.
While GNC’s weekly, hour-long Twitter Spaces chat with Ontario sports betting insiders has a loyal following every Thursday at 2 p.m. (Eastern) at @GamingNewsCA. There are many people that are simply not available at that time to hear it.
“We just felt that Twitter Spaces was reaching a smaller audience… This was an opportunity to take that hour every Thursday afternoon and get it out to a wider audience,” McAllister said.
The Gaming News Canada Show, available now through Apple Podcasts and on Substack, is a slightly edited version of GNC’s weekly Twitter Spaces conversation hosted by McAllister. In the past, regular guests have included:
- Amanda Brewer, the country manager for Kindred Group which operates Unibet
- Aubrey Levy, the vice president of content and marketing for theScore Bet
- Nic Sulsky, chief commercial officer of PointsBet Canada
- Harley Redlick, from Sharp Edge Picks
“The feedback we do get from the people that participate in Twitter Spaces is that there’s a lot of valuable information. And the feedback I get from speaking with people that cover the industry is… that they do get something out of those Twitter Spaces events and there’s usually something that I reported on that is a nugget that they can turn into a story or an issue they can write about,” said McAllister (below).
Twitter Spaces show on Ontario sports betting will continue
The first Gaming News Canada podcast dropped Sept. 12. There are now two full episodes available and one, shorter introductory show featuring Mark Silver, the founder and CEO of the Parleh Media Group that operates Gaming News Canada.
McAllister said the plan, for now, is to keep the Twitter Spaces show going. One of the advantages is Twitter Spaces is interactive and allows people listening to ask questions and provide information.
“I like the interactive piece of Twitter Spaces… So I don’t want to get away from that right now. Obviously, you don’t get that in the podcast.
“I’d like to grow the audience with the podcast. And what we’re hoping what that will help us do is get more people engaged. And it will lead to getting more guests on the show and getting more engagement on Twitter Spaces.”
The podcast joins SiriusXM Sportsbet Primetime as uniquely Canadian shows discussing sports betting. Matt Howorth and John Siscos are the hosts of Sportsbet Primetime, which is available on SiriusXM and as a podcast.
The evolution of The Parleh Media Group
As for the GNC show, it is part of the ongoing evolution of The Parleh Media Group.
McAllister is a veteran Canadian sports journalist who has been the president of Sports Media Canada since 2009. Silver approached him about starting a newsletter covering the Canadian gaming industry. In January 2021, eight months before single-event sports betting was legalized in Canada, The Parleh was born.
“(At first) I was writing about sociological issues in the sports industry and, of course, sports media news. Other than the hearings on the parliamentary channel back then, there wasn’t a whole lot to talk about,” McAllister said.
In July, the newsletter changed its name to Gaming News Canada.
McAllister said the decision was made to, “separate the newsletter from the media production and the social media content work that we’re doing.” Since the rebrand, the newsletter has added some 300 subscribers, he said.
Proud of the journalistic content
McAllister said he’s proud of the journalistic credibility of the newsletter.
“And I can’t cross that line. I’ve said to some people that are clients of ours, ‘There are probably going to be times where you’re not happy with what’s in the newsletter.’ But that’s the way it’s got to be.
“One of the things I’m most proud of with the newsletter is that we do highlight the work that journalists covering the beat are doing. It’s kind of ironic at a time where we see sports media shrinking across almost every platform and across every sport across the country, we have a pretty big roster of people covering sports betting in this country right now.”
For people working in the gaming industry in Canada, the newsletter has found a niche, McAllister said. “It’s kind of a one-stop destination for people working in industry. Every week they can see what’s happening. Not only in Ontario and the rest of Canada, but in the US and different parts of the world.”
