Tim & Sid is a sports talk show hosted by Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro, broadcast by the Canadian sports television networkSportsnet & simulcast on Sportsnet's sister radio station in Toronto, CJCL. The program was originally established in 2011 as an afternoon show on CJCL. The program gained a television simulcast on The Score in 2013. On July 1, 2015, the program was re-launched on Sportsnet as a dedicated television program. On October 14, 2019, the Tim & Sid telecasts began simulcasting on CJCL, replacing Prime Time Sports as its late afternoon drive program. Tim & Sid airs weeknights from 5 to 7 p.m. ET. The telecast is frequently shortened to 90 minutes to allow for pre-game coverage of Toronto Blue Jays and National Hockey League games. However, the program airs from 5 to 7 p.m. uninterrupted on CJCL. When neither Tim nor Sid are able to host, Donnovan Bennett, Faizal Khamisa, Alex Seixeiro, or Danielle Michaud would serve as substitute hosts.
History
Tim & Sid was launched in 2011 as an afternoon radio show on CJCL, a sports talk radio station owned by Rogers Media in Toronto. The program gained a television simulcast on Micallef and Seixeiro's previous home, The Score in May 2013, coinciding with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's approval of Rogers' acquisition of the network. Tim & Sid became known for the pair's freeform style, and proved popular among a younger audience and a loyal group of fans. The program gained further attention from viral videos during the 2014 Winter Olympics, such as their live reaction to Canada's winning goal in the gold medal game of the Women's hockey tournament. On January 20, 2015, Rogers announced major changes to CJCL's lineup, including the replacement of Tim & Sid with Greg Brady and Andrew Walker as its new afternoon show. Concurrently, Sportsnet announced that Tim & Sid would be re-launched as a television program, premiering on July 1, 2015. Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL properties at Rogers, likened Tim & Sid to being a "sports content factory" operating across multiple platforms, and explained that Micallef and Seixeiro "are not just highlight guys, they know how to engage on any sports topic and the great thing about these guys is they can connect with sports fans on any number of levels." In 2019, when the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship, Micallef and Seixeiro co-hosted Rogers coverage on Sportsnet and Citytv of the championship parade alongside Breakfast Television Toronto’s Dina Pugliese. On September 25, 2019, it was announced that a simulcast of the program would air on CJCL beginning October 14, replacing Prime Time Sports.
Ratings
During its first month re-launched as a dedicated television program, the show grew Sportsnet's audience by 19% in the 5 to 7 p.m. ET timeslot year-over-year. In its second full month on the air, the show experienced an 18% increase and became the most-watched sports program in the country during the 6–7 p.m. ET timeslot. On September 22, 2015, The Globe and Mail reported that the show was attracting more than 100,000 viewers. Two months later, it was reported that Tim & Sid was outpacing TSN's Off the Record as the most-watched sports program in Canada between the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours.
