Amil Delic joins The Nation Network to lead its growing audio-video segment; Playmaker’s expanded lineup of hockey shows strengthens position as a leading Canadian sports media business and unlocks additional direct sales and sponsorship opportunities
Toronto, Canada (September 27, 2023) – Playmaker Capital Inc. (TSX-V: PMKR) (“Playmaker”), the digital sports media company that delivers authentic content experiences through its portfolio of sports media and affiliate brands, announced today that Amil Delic has joined Playmaker subsidiary, The Nation Network (‘TNN”), as Head of Original Production, Audio & Video. Additionally, Playmaker released details for its revamped slate of hockey podcasts for the 2023-24 NHL season. With an expanded lineup of shows, Playmaker’s TNN and La Poche Bleue will deliver video-podcast content to hockey fans in every region of Canada across video, podcast, and social media channels. The podcasts will run for the entirety of the NHL Regular Season and Playoffs as well as cover all marquee events, such as Free Agency and the NHL Draft.
Mr. Delic joins The Nation Network after spending 10 years at Rogers Sportsnet, most recently as a Sr. Producer. While with Sportsnet, Mr. Delic produced numerous podcasts, including 32 Thoughts, hosted by Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. Mr. Delic led 32 Thoughts’ growth for six seasons and more than 450 episodes, and built the show into a top-three downloaded Canadian sports podcast on Apple Podcasts.
“The media landscape continues to evolve, and The Nation Network is at the forefront of that change with a keen focus on creativity and agility while employing a deeply collaborative business model,” said Amil Delic. “The current catalogue of assets showcases their innate ability to recognize trends and assemble multifaceted teams. I’m excited to work with Jay Downton [CEO of The Nation Network] and the team at The Nation Network on strengthening our current slate of offerings while building new products that will further engage fans.”
After generating an aggregate 8.8 million streams across its podcast network in the first half of 2023, TNN will bring-to-market approximately 20 hockey podcasts for the 2023-24 NHL campaign. Included in the lineup of shows will be Daily Faceoff Live, DFO Rundown, Leafs Morning Take, Coming In Hot, Barn Burner, OilersNation Everyday, Dropping the Gloves, Canucks Conversation and more.
In September 2023, TNN also entered a joint venture with Stingray Radio and Just A Game Productions to distribute The Jason Gregor Show from Edmonton AM1440 through Oilersnation.com and its affiliated video and social channels. The partnership further solidified TNN as a leading provider of digital sports content in Alberta, one of its largest and most-established Canadian markets.
Playmaker’s podcast network enters the upcoming NHL season with expanded presence in Canada, notably Quebec. Playmaker acquired La Poche Bleue in August 2023, enabling the organization to plant its flag in Quebec and establish complete Canada-wide reach. La Poche Bleue’s flagship show, La Poche Bleue, is hosted by former Montreal Canadiens, Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse, and features influential guests such as current and former Canadiens players as well as other French-Canadian fan favourites.
Playmaker has made direct sales and partnerships – on both a regional and national scale – a key focus for its podcast segment. By leveraging TNN’s and La Poche Bleue’s omnichannel footprint, endemic and non-endemic advertising partners generate awareness from local and national audiences. For the upcoming NHL season, TNN and La Poche Bleue have executed national sponsorships with Betway, Wendy’s, Ford, Sports Interaction, Crown Royal, and many more premier brands. On a regional level, campaigns have been activated with local businesses, as both TNN and La Poche Bleue offer a unique ability to reach local sports fans at scale.
Reaching hockey fans where, how, and when they want while facilitating authentic interactions with top-tier sponsors is core to Playmaker’s content strategy. Moving forward, Playmaker will continue to build out its podcast offering to meet the increasing demand for podcasts from sports fans, advertisers, and sports betting operators.
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Playmaker (TSX-V: PMKR; OTC: PMKRF) is a digital sports media company that acquires and integrates premier fan-centric media brands, curated to deliver highly engaged audiences of sports fans to tier one advertisers, online sports betting operators, and sports federations and leagues. Leveraging its in-house technology stack, Bench, and with a 360-degree view of sports fans, Playmaker delivers authentic digital content experiences for sports fans and best-in-class results for its partners across the Americas.
