When it comes to sports radio in Edmonton, it’s Oilers, more Oilers, Oilers trade rumours, Oilers line combinations, which Oilers jerseys are the nicest… and then a few scant minutes left for everything else.
And there’s no denying that the majority of sports radio is… pretty darn white.
But Top 40 Under 40 alumna Sapreet Buttar is working to change that. She’s the CEO of the The Universal Radio Network (TURN), which offers programming for Canadians of South Asian heritage.
The programs were heard on 1440 AM, from 6-9 p.m. on weekdays. Stingray, the company that runs the station, converted the frequency to all-sports talk in 2023, and it created a unique opportunity.
TURN had already created a Thursday-night sports show with host Navin Ramharak that was aimed at South Asian listeners. Sure, there’s hockey chatter, but it bridges the passions between Asian and North American cultures. There’s cricket talk, field hockey talk, soccer talk. And, there’s a focus on clubs playing these sports in the Edmonton area.
But, as of May 1, that show becomes a weeknight fixture on Sports 1440, while TURN’s other programming will move to another frequency.
“This bridges the gap between the Canadian born South Asian kids talking about the sports all their friends are talking about, but also bringing in world sports,” says Buttar. “Cricket, field hockey, the European sports and what’s happening around the world, as well.”
The Thursday sports program was already one of TURN’s most popular offerings, so it was an easy decision for Buttar to align with Stingray’s plan for the 1440 frequency.
“We’re going to be talking a lot about representation, bringing a lot of guests who will talk about their experiences. We’re going to be talking about local sports, the NHL playoffs will be big when we launch May 1, but also we’re going to talk a lot about the sports that our newcomers to Canada grew up watching.”
Growing up, Buttar knew that her parents didn’t understand hockey — and that it acted as a cultural barrier. They couldn’t connect with the game. It was… white.
“Now, we have a channel where the kids who are born and raised here, the children of immigrants, can hear from role models, people like Arshdeep Bains (a Punjabi-Canadian phenom who made his debut with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this season) or (former Oiler) Jujhar Khaira, and how they paved the pathways. People will be able to relate to them.”
NHL teams are just beginning to understand what a large, untapped market the South Asian community represents. South Asian theme nights are a start; but representation, whether it be the athletes, media or the execs in the front office, needs to follow.
“A lot of organizations are trying to get into this market, but a lot of the audiences going into these stadiums are wanting more representation.”
Buttar is going to provide cricket commentary, she sees it as Canada’s great untapped sport. As a kid, she joined family and friends in cricket games at Victoria Park. They made makeshift ovals, and set up the wickets. She lived in London, England for six years and enjoyed the massive cricket culture there.
She thinks Edmonton could do more for the sport.
“If you have the right platform, you never know. You might inspire someone to become a mainstream cricket player one day, if we had facilities available to them. Some of the matches for the next Cricket World Cup are in North America. Why isn’t Canada taking advantage of this opportunity?”
One thing Buttar doesn’t want is another jock-talk show where the same old stats are regurgitated, or old tropes are revived. In an era of the Internet, she said audiences are savvy, and they don’t want to be told what they already know, and they don’t want a lot of rehashed conversations, either. She has a mantra — “If you can Google it, why are we talking about it?” Media would be well served to memorize that line.
