Christian Arcand is not getting bounced from Sports Hub’s weeknight program after all
“Change of plans — I’m back in."
Christian Arcand, cohost of the 98.5 The Sports Hub’s weekday evening program, thought his last night on the program would be Tuesday night.
But even though he learned approximately 10 days ago his contract would not be renewed, he maintained a hopeful attitude about the future.
“I know things aren’t great anywhere right now, but when things do get better, I want to be there for it,‘’ he said in a conversation Tuesday morning. “I told them when they hired me that I wanted to work there for a long time. I still feel that way and hope that I can.”
Little did he know then his second chance would come before Tuesday was done.
In what must be considered the good kind of plot twist given Arcand’s easy chemistry with cohost Adam Jones (for whom the show is named), Sports Hub management informed him that it intended to keep him on the program after all.
“Change of plans — I’m back in,‘’ said Arcand via text just before 5 p.m., a little more than an hour before he was set to go on the air for what he thought would be his final show as cohost.
Arcand was told of the decision by Mary Menna, the market manager for parent company Beasley Media Group’s Boston-based properties. He said he wasn’t sure why circumstances had changed — “I’m totally shell-shocked,‘’ he texted shortly after learning of his reprieve — but he said on the show that his contract was renewed.
Rick Radzik, the Sports Hub program director, said earlier in the day that “some things were still being worked out” and he wasn’t ready to comment on Arcand’s status.
Though Arcand was going to lose his role on “The Adam Jones Show,‘’ he said earlier Tuesday he planned to remain at the station as a fill-in and weekend host.
The initial decision to reduce Arcand’s role was financial. Beasley properties, including the Sports Hub, have been affected by the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Full-time employees were hit with a 10 percent pay cut in May.
It was initially supposed to extend only through one quarter of the fiscal year, but staffers were informed recently that it will continue through the end of the calendar year.
“In this business one thing that I’ve learned is that things can change really quickly, even in normal times,‘’ said Arcand earlier Tuesday.
He couldn’t have imagined then how quickly it would all change again, and even before the day was over.
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