For nearly two decades, Dave Pratt was a mainstay on 1040 on the AM radio dial. In March, however, cutbacks by Bell Media sent Pratt packing, as his morning show was replaced by Mike Halford and Jason Brough.
It seems, however, that Pratt isn’t done with being a part of the Vancouver media landscape. Some cryptic clues and a new website suggest he’s moving to the digital realm with a new podcast: the Prattcast.
With Team/TSN 1040, Pratt had an impressive decade-long run alongside Don Taylor. For a while, Pratt and Taylor was the highest rated sports talk show in Canada, and for good reason. The two big personalities clashed in a wonderfully harmonious way, sparking sports arguments across Vancouver with their hot takes.
When contract disputes broke up the duo, it was never quite the same. Taylor found a new rhythm with Barry Macdonald before he departed from the radio to focus on his mental health. He now hosts the afternoon show on TSN 1040 with Bob “The Moj” Marjanovich.
Pratt briefly left 1040 to host a show on CKNW 980, but returned to 1040 to host the morning show with “Bro Jake” Edwards. While Bro Jake was a radio veteran, he was a newcomer to sports talk and it never quite clicked.
Now Pratt is looking to the podcasting world.
Pratt hinted that he wasn’t done after he was laid off from TSN 1040, tweeting out a guarantee that he and Vancouver sports fans would talk again. He hasn’t tweeted since.
Thanks for all your support...It really means a lot!
— Dave Pratt (@DavePrattSports) March 15, 2019
We will talk again!
I GUARANTEE IT!!!
With the website and other hints, it’s become clear that Pratt’s guarantee will take the form of the Prattcast.
Some may question the similarity of the name “Prattcast” to the much-beloved “Patcast.” The Patcast was Jeff Paterson and the recently-departed Jason Botchford. Since Botchford’s tragic passing, Paterson has made it clear that the Patcast won’t continue; it just wouldn’t be the same. To start a new podcast in the Vancouver sports market with such a similar name seems like really questionable timing.
That said, Pratt’s name is “Pratt” and it’s natural to include such a well-known name in the name of your podcast. It just seems like there had to be a better way to do so.
There’s also the awkward fact that a “Pratt Cast” already exists. It’s a current podcast hosted by Stephanie Pratt, who, along with her brother Spencer Pratt, was on the reality TV series The Hills. With a sequel coming out — The Hills: New Beginnings — the Pratt Cast is apparently the “all access pass to everything happening on and off the camera.”
I'm anticipating some very confused The Hills fans befuddled to hear rants about the Vancouver Canucks and bike lanes instead of celebrity gossip.
The Prattcast will feature co-host Kerry Marshall, a radio veteran that has worked for C-FOX, Jack FM, and Roundhouse Radio. According to the website, the Prattcast will be “a Podcast that talks in absolutes with no apologies for the Topic Matter or the Opinions that go with it” and adds that it’s “Time to put some Fun’ back into ‘Sports Talk’!”
The question is whether Pratt’s audience that listened to him on the radio will follow him as he moves online.
