Broken Friday by Toronto Sports Media, and then confirmed by TSN, we find that coming in August, US viewers will get acquainted with the enormously popular SportsCentre team of Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole. According to TSN’s press release which is posted below, Onrait and O’Toole are headed “to Los Angeles for exciting new broadcast opportunities on U.S. television.”
Well, one sports network is located in Los Angeles and it’s not ESPN (although it does have a studio there) nor is it NBC. As it was confirmed by my colleagues at Awful Announcing, Onrait and O’Toole will be joining Fox, specifically Fox Sports 1 which is launching a full-fledged news gathering operation.
During their TSN tenure, the pair racked up quite an on-air reel and their exploits have become viral on YouTube. They’ll continue to anchor SportsCentre through June and then travel south to L.A. where they will launch FS1’s nightly sportscast, Fox Sports Live, airing at 11 p.m. ET.
We have the TSN press release.
Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole to Leave TSN as They Head to Los Angeles on New Adventure
Onrait and O’Toole continue to host SPORTSCENTRE Morning Loop on TSN until late June
TORONTO (May 3, 2013) – TSN today announced that the network’s popular sports anchor team of Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole are heading to Los Angeles for exciting new broadcast opportunities on U.S. television.
Onrait and O’Toole will continue hosting Canada’s most-watched sports news program, SPORTSCENTRE, until late June.
“It is with mixed emotions that all of us at TSN and Bell Media bid farewell to Jay and Dan. They have made remarkable contributions to TSN and have helped solidify SPORTSCENTRE as Canada’s clear choice for sports news,” said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports. “I’ve been working with Jay and Dan since the beginning, and their success is a testament to the exceptional talent and original productions that have become a hallmark of Bell Media. I’m sure Jay and Dan will thrive on U.S. television and endear themselves to a whole new legion of fans.”
“As ambassadors of the TSN brand, Jay and Dan connect with viewers across the country and have distinguished themselves as two of the most popular broadcasters in Canada,” said Stewart Johnston, President, TSN. “They entertain us each morning with their inimitable brand of humour and have inspired a whole new generation of sports fans. While all of us at TSN – and their loyal fans across the country – will miss seeing them every morning, Jay and Dan are leaving for an opportunity of a lifetime and we couldn’t be happier for them.”
“Every single day I went into work at TSN, I knew I was going to have fun. It’s a unique and rare work environment that I never took for granted. I am forever indebted to TSN for letting me be a part of it for the past 10 years,” said Dan O’Toole. “Also, if it wasn’t for TSN, I would never have been paired with Jay. The fact that TSN took a chance and let us do our own thing every night on SPORTSCENTRE is something we will always be thankful for. Even as we embark on this new adventure, we will forever remain just a tall, lanky kid from Athabasca, Alberta, and a pig farmer from Peterborough, Ontario.”
“I started at TSN in 1996 as an editorial assistant on SPORTSDESK, writing highlights for Michael Landsberg and Jim Van Horne, and now I leave the network with a very heavy heart because it is the place I have called home for so many years,” said Jay Onrait. “I have made so many lifelong friendships at the network with people far more talented than I am. I will miss everything about TSN.
“The moment I was paired with Dan on SPORTSCENTRE, I knew we had the chance to do something Canadians would really love. For the last decade we have received more love from our viewers than we could have ever imagined – and for this, we are eternally grateful. I am also especially grateful to Mark Milliere, who was my first producer back in 1996 and ended up as my boss. He trusted Dan and I with the freedom to do SPORTSCENTRE our way. We never took that freedom for granted and we will always appreciate the opportunity to host what I still believe is the best sports show in the country.
“We may be heading south…but we remain forever CANADIAN!”
That’s all for this post.
