I don't break out the 'h' word very often but I hate CHED on several different levels. A lot of it goes even deeper than the usual complaints (obnoxious hosts, too many commercial/news breaks, too right wing, overly geared to the elderly, etc.). To me, the absolute disdain with which they treat Edmonton Eskimo fans is unforgivable. I understand that the Oilers are #1 and why they come first. Still is having a half-decent football broadcast crew too much too ask? Calls for Bryan Hall to be replaced were ignored forever. Morley ("What's this hock....er football team got to do, Kavis?") Scott is a slight improvement only because he's not 112 years old. Meanwhile, longtime colour guy Dave Campbell offers about as much football insight as Neve Campbell would. My other, bigger issue has to do with the fact that the combo of Dave Rutherford and Al Stafford drove me away from CHED (aside from occasional hockey/football broadcasts) with their disgraceful antics during the 2002 Alberta teacher's strike.
There's no doubt that the TEAM 1260 is far from perfect. It's been a work in progress for 9 years and still is. The morning show has a decent host saddled with a dreadful sidekick and weekends loaded with filler- aside from The Pipeline Show, Nation Radio and Live from Wayne Gretzky's. As soon as I hear either "Hello friend!" or "Ow! Sharon! Sharon!" I know it's time to shut off the radio. Despite this, I still like what I hear on 1260 for the most part. They do a pretty skillful job of tailoring their local programming so that it balances heavy hockey content with an acceptable amount of other sports stuff. As sure as I am that the TEAM would do Eskimos broadcasts more justice than CHED, I'm glad that they're not the rightsholders because of the limitations that situation creates for hosts and callers.