Internship Series

Why You Should Intern at TSN

October 6, 2016

By: Genevieve Kwan, postgraduate student in Sport and Event Marketing at George Brown College

I owe my incredible summer internship experience to my manager, the Events Manager at TSN, my talented colleagues, and the overall Bell Media organization. As the TSN Events Intern, I was provided a fantastic platform to support my manager in planning and assisting in all TSN and Bell Media events initiatives.

So in tradition to the TSN Top 10, these are my top ten reasons why sport business students should intern at TSN:

1. There is no better way to understand the sports industry than to work behind the scenes at Canada’s leading sports channel. Being involved in the business side rather than broadcasting at TSN, the Events department gave me the opportunity to work with numerous departments, such as Marketing, Communications, Live Production, and Sales, to enhance brand awareness.
2. At the beginning of my internship, I was quite intimidated by my hardworking colleagues at TSN because they were incredibly passionate and diligent about their work. This environment motivated me to work just as hard to assist my manager and demonstrate my enthusiasm to my work, regardless of the task.
3. Having a manager that provides straightforward instructions for all tasks, was flexible to changes, and was patient to my adjustment into the role, gave me greater confidence to what I was doing.
4. The advantage of interning at a large organization is the amount of opportunities you have to network and build relationships with co-workers. You will also find individuals who will provide you with great advice for your future and share their experience in sport.
5. I assisted in corporate sporting events, including the TSN Euro 2016 Kick-Off Celebration and CFL Argonauts Tailgate Party; non-sporting events, including the CTV Upfront and iHeart Radio MMVAS. These experiences provided new perspectives of the creativity that goes into operating high profiled events.
6. Coordinating successful events was just one of my many responsibilities. As an intern, I assisted my manager with other duties, including the apparel program for TSN Talents and Production team and ticket management for various sporting events.
7. Befriending and working with other interns really does make all the difference in the world. We got to meet all kinds of talent at TSN and learn about each other’s internship roles. We even got to explore different routes around the office back to our desks, and of course, talked about all things sports!
8. Working hard has its perks — combined with a bit of luck — as there were extra tickets to games lying around the office. Getting the chance to watch a game from platinum seats (and treating my dad to his first ever live Toronto FC game) was something I won’t forget.
9. TSN has created a well-structured internship program that offers meaningful and challenging work for its interns to learn from. I even had the chance to take the lead in organizing a small event in the office for the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup.
10. My manager provided me with valuable feedback where I had the chance to re-evaluate my skills and continue my dream career in sport event management. Receiving this kind of feedback is beneficial to anyone who wishes to pursue a career in sports.

So, to my young sports business enthusiasts, where will you be applying for your next internship placement?

We would like to thank Genevieve for her time and providing us with her insights from her internship at TSN, and wish her the best in reaching her dreams! To learn more about the internship program at TSN you can connect with Genevieve on LinkedIn.