Fittingly, a guided tour of the new office space at SDPN Inc. began in the basem*nt. Adam Wylde, one of the three principals in the Toronto-based digital sports media company, pointed to the furnace, to the humidifiers — “all brand new” — and highlighted the careful finishes along the ductwork.
“We’re thinking this is a games room,” he said. “We can get a pool table or bubble hockey or both. Just something fun, you know?”
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The company has its roots in the basem*nt, and not just in its main podcast, which had previously been recorded underground, but also in the loud, distinctly chaotic Maple Leafs videos that co-founder Steve (Dangle) Glynn records in what he calls his “little toy dungeon.” Now, the work is moving upstairs.
There are 15 shows on the active roster at SDPN — shortened from Steve Dangle Podcast Network — including one starring an NHL player agent (Allan Walsh) and another featuring former “Hockey Night in Canada” personality Chris Johnston. The company has a payroll with four full-time employees and 20 contract workers and has shows based in each of Canada’s seven NHL markets.
In February, SDPN moved into a three-storey standalone building on Broadview Ave., just north of the Danforth and within view of Toronto’s downtown core. Wylde, Glynn and Jesse Blake say they are not supported by outside investors, and that the office space is a manifestation of growth in their business.
“Huge risk,” said Wylde. “Absolutely, it’s a risk. But if we don’t attempt this, we’ll spend the rest of our lives wondering why we didn’t.”
“This isn’t a hobby anymore,” said Glynn. “We’re doing this.”
“We’re paying people,” said Blake. “Peoples’ livelihoods depend on us running a business.”
Does that reality feel strange?
“A little bit,” said Blake.
“Like, people depending on us?” said Glynn. “Yes. Of course.”
The space was previously occupied by Halfire Entertainment, a Canadian production company that has worked on shows for the CBC as well as Netflix. Wylde and Blake have offices on the main level, with Glynn happy to occupy the open space in between.
There were two jars of Oreo cookies in the kitchenette, next to another jar of chocolate mini-eggs and a freshly-washed bunch of green grapes. It was 11 a.m., and Blake was working quietly at his desk while wearing an oversized novelty Maple Leafs cap.
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Upstairs, on the top floor, were three new studio spaces, each in various states of construction. The first evoked a warm, living-room feeling, with three leather armchairs and exposed brick walls. (Those walls were an optical illusion, Wylde said, with drywall and plaster meant to replicate the look of real brick.)
The next room was still a work in progress, with half-finished murals on two walls — one, an homage to the video game “Mortal Kombat,” featuring all three owners in different characters. This space, Wylde said, would be used for Twitch streams.
Further down the hall, into what used to be an apartment, was an empty office set aside for producers, then a full-service kitchen. The main studio was in the back room, overlooking a rooftop patio and an array of east-end houses.
Outdoor shoes are not permitted inside the main studio. The hosts have agreed to wear slippers, Crocs or indoor shoes. The air was crisp. (Wylde prefers the studio thermostat set at 18.5 degrees Celsius: “They keep comedy clubs cold so that audiences are engaged.”)
For now, Blake is the only partner committed to working full-time at the company. Neither Wylde nor Glynn would say when they planned to leave their other jobs — as an FM morning show host and as a Sportsnet contributor, respectively — to focus on SDPN.
Blake quit his job in radio two years ago. He needed a new computer for editing around the time the podcast lost its main sponsor. It took the company four months to pay him back for the purchase.
“We had nothing,” said Wylde.
“And I had no money,” said Blake.
All three had migrated into the studio. Maddie Smith, a part-time producer, was at the control board. In a few moments, with water and coffee on hand, they would begin recording the podcast. All three have worked in legacy media, and all three have developed fluency in the digital space.
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“I think a lot of people aren’t realizing that you’re able to build your little niches out in the corners of the world because of the internet,” said Blake. “And you can grow huge fanbases and huge followings and just whole worlds — not without people noticing — but without the mainstream being necessary.
“You kind of carve out your little part of the universe, and you build from there. It’s kind of what we’ve done here.”
🔥 NEW #SDP 🔥
Oh boy. The Leafs are down 3-0 to the Panthers. Plus, Oilers-Knights, Devils-Canes, Kraken-Stars, and a little RDR2 lore.
🎧: https://t.co/ZdTTzQSu3R
📺: https://t.co/rBltrK21XjPowered by Sports Interaction @SIASport pic.twitter.com/J78KQhDa0U
— sdpn (@sdpnsports) May 8, 2023
Wylde, who is a morning host on Virgin Radio, an FM frequency in Toronto, said most of the early jobs he took in media no longer exist. He once worked as an overnight DJ for a radio station in Halifax, and he believes he was the last one to fill that role for that station.
Terrestrial sports radio has undergone a fundamental shift in Canada, defined mostly by cutbacks. Bell Media shuttered its all-sports operations in Vancouver, Hamilton and Winnipeg two years ago. Rogers Sports & Media, the only other major player in the Canadian space, has imposed an era of austerity.
Bob McCown, Stephen Brunt, Scott MacArthur and Richard Deitsch (who also works at The Athletic) have all been removed from Sportsnet 590 The Fan over the last four years. On-air talent live under a looming shadow of job insecurity.
On some nights in Toronto, TSN 1050 stops offering live local programming shortly after the afternoon drive show signs off the air. In place of live voices, the station might replay segments from shows earlier in the day: from the morning (“First Up”), the afternoon (“Leafs Lunch”) and the late drive (“OverDrive”).
As the Leafs sit on the precipice of another earlier-than-expected playoff departure, it is worth noting that SDPN has forged ahead despite any prolonged postseason success by the club that might have helped boost interest in the content it produces. To the contrary, Glynn published a memoir in 2019 titled: “This Team Is Ruining My Life (But I Love Them).”
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Wylde said he understands SDPN is not immune from broader market forces and acknowledged being an independent media company does not offer independence from the risk of layoffs. For now, though, the new office space is home to optimism and possibility.
“What does it represent? I think it’s sort of what we have always wanted,” said Wylde. “The whole point of creating ‘The Steve Dangle Podcast’ was to start a show that we weren’t hearing on the radio.”
He said the company is approaching 80,000 downloads for its eponymous show, and that the average audience listens for more than a half-hour. If they commanded that kind of attention on radio, he said, “we’d have been millionaires.”
“I’m borderline offended we still have to educate people on that,” said Glynn. “For a decade-and-a-half, it’s been obvious that we have authentic numbers and the rest is guesswork.”
Independent media companies are popping up across Canada to fill the open space left behind by cuts from legacy brands. In Vancouver, Go Goat Sports produces a suite of shows, including “The Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast,” with ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro and TSN reporter Darren Dreger, and “The Sekeres & Price Show,” which features former radio hosts Matthew Sekeres and Blake Price.
There have been upstarts in Winnipeg (“Winnipeg Sports Talk”) and elsewhere. (The Athletic also offers an array of podcasts. Julian McKenzie, the company’s Calgary Flames reporter, also works as a host in the SDPN universe.)
Back inside the main SDPN studio, where “Sports Are Fun” has been stenciled into the wall above the main set, Wylde said the original idea was to create a show that might one day appear on the radio. As it turns out, they built a competitor for radio.
“We wanted to create the company that we always sort of wished that we could work for,” said Wylde. “That’s the mantra.”
GO DEEPERLeBrun: Maple Leafs left grasping for cliches as their swagger evaporates when they need it most(Photo: Courtesy of Steve Dangle Podcast Network)
