Pierre Houde (born 14 July 1957) is a Canadian

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

sports announcer for

Réseau des sports Réseau des sports (RDS) is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language Discretionary service, discretionary specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Special ...

(RDS). He has announced broadcasts of

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

games since 1989, and received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2024, in recognition from the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

for his broadcasting career.

Early life

Houde started his broadcasting career at

CKOI-FM :For the CKOI radio network, see '' CKOI (network)''. CKOI-FM (96.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It airs a French-language contemporary hit radio format and is owned and operated by Cogeco. The studios are in Pl ...

as a weekend DJ when he was 20 years old and still going to

HEC Montréal HEC Montréal (; English: ''High Commercial Studies of Montreal'') is a bilingual public business school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the graduate business school of the Université de Montréal and is ...

. His first sports broadcasting was doing half-time NFL broadcasts in French as a freelancer. Houde was one of the original staff at RDS when it started in September 1989.

Hockey broadcast career

Houde has announced broadcasts of

games since

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. Over the years he was partnered with Pierre Bouchard and

Yvon Pedneault Yvon Pedneault (6 August 1946 – 26 August 2023) was a Canadian sports journalist and television and radio broadcaster from Chicoutimi, Quebec, who is known for his coverage of ice hockey. Pedneault is the only person to have worked full-time for ...

. From

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, his partner was former Canadiens' player Benoît Brunet. In 2009, Joël Bouchard was his and Brunet's partners, but when Bouchard left for the

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada is a Canadian junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, and plays its home games at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau. Histor ...

, he was replaced by former NHL goaltender Marc Denis. Houde also broadcasts

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Races at the same station along with Bertrand Houle. Houde's goal call is "Le tir, et le but!" ("The shot, and the goal!") after every Canadiens goal, though depending on the moment he stretches "but" out for as long as ten seconds. Other calls are "Eh bien, coup de théâtre, ma parole!" which he often uses when unbelievable situations occur and "Les rouges s'éteignent... et on roule!!" at the start of a Formula One Grand Prix. Houde does hockey play by plays on ''Le Hockey Du Samedi Soir'', ''Le Hockey Du Mardi Soir'', ''Le Hockey Du Jeudi Soir'' and any other days the Canadiens play. Houde is fluently bilingual in both English and French. However, he has only called two games in English. When Dino Soto, the English play-by-play announcer for the Canadiens on CJAD, was unable to get back to Montreal from a party to celebrate the station's 50th anniversary, he asked Houde to step in and to call CJAD's broadcast of the Canadiens' game against the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

on December 2, 1995. Houde reluctantly agreed, as no other experienced anglophone broadcaster was available. The Canadiens lost that game in an 11–1 rout that proved to be Patrick Roy's last game with the team before being traded to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. The second came when he called a Canadiens game against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

on RDS' anglophone sister,

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by the Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE ...

. Houde had previously been considered for the play-by-play spot with the Avalanche.

Honours and reputation

Houde has acquired a fairly large following among the Canadiens' anglophone fans, many of whom watch his telecasts rather than those on

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

. According to a 2020 poll by ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

,'' 44.5 percent of Canadiens fans watch Houde's broadcasts, a figure that ''The Athletic'' attributed to large Anglophone viewership. Houde received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2024, in recognition from the

for his broadcasting career.

Personal life

Houde is from

Saint-Laurent, Quebec Saint-Laurent () is a Montreal borough, borough of the city of Montreal, Canada, located in the northern part of the Island of Montreal, island. Although it is no longer an independent city, it is still commonly known as Ville Saint-Laurent (''C ...

, now a borough in the city of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He has shared his life with Lyne Couture since summer 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houde, Pierre 1957 births Living people Canadian sports announcers Canadian television sportscasters Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners Montreal Canadiens announcers Motorsport announcers National Hockey League broadcasters People from Saint-Laurent, Quebec