Welcome to the launch of The Backstage Project Podcast! I’m Mark Silver, and I’ll be your guide as we weave our way through the history, here and now, and future of the Canadian sports and entertainment landscape.
The Backstage Project Podcast takes you on a journey into the sports and entertainment world. We focus on the behind-the-scenes decision-makers, architects, and dreamers that created some of the world’s most memorable sports-entertainment properties, events, and products.
From music to sport, from the Olympics to TIFF, from world tours to app development, we take a look at the people behind your favorite products, events, and productions to show you how they all come together.
The Backstage Project will look at these cultural events through different lenses and perspectives. We’ll talk to people across the spectrum, from content production, sales, and technology, just for a start!
Our own behind-the-scenes team is composed of producers Andrew Dick and Nathalia Ribeiro. Nathalia and Andrew have worked in the TV, Tech, and music industries for over 20 years. They work with brands and personalities like Alan Cross, CBC, TVO, Corus, ExploreMusic and The Science of Rock and Roll, and many more.
As for me, I’m your host and guide, Mark Silver. I have been very fortunate in my career to be accountable as a leader for Canada’s largest digital product launches for sports properties. As one of the first employees of the Bell/Rogers Olympic Media Consortium, I helped create the digital standard for Olympic broadcasting in Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and was appointed Head of Digital for the 2012 London Olympic Games broadcast.
In 2014 I started Stadium Digital with a mission to bring world-class fan engagement SaaS products to Canada’s top sports properties. Then in 2019, I teamed up with my long-time technology go-to, Dayton Pereira, to create Ready Set Go, a digital user experience, design, and no-code consulting practice that helps clients grow and innovate by launching user-centered products and services informed by research, data, and experimentation. I am a graduate of the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, where I remain involved as an instructor, guest speaker, and mentor.
In our very first episode, we speak with my former boss, Rick Chisholm, who joined TSN at a pivotal time in the history of the fledgling sports network. We chat with Rick about his incredible journey in the world of TV and broadcasting right up to the London Olympics. I hope you like the show.