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End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
It truly is the end of an era - Hockey Night In Canada on the CBC is no more.
It's been on in one form or another across the country since 1952. But now the long running franchise on the public network has come to an end. It means future NHL games - including the Leafs - will now be shown only on Sportsnet (no word on whether City TV will still have some matches.)
“Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honored tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition,” [according to a] statement... “This has been a terrific partnership, and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future.”
I honestly never thought I'd see the day when regular season games - not to mention the playoffs - would end up on pay-only TV. I wondered if Canadians would stand for it. I guess we'll see if they will, but it doesn't appear they'll have much choice.
CBC to no longer carry NHL broadcasts after current season
- mace
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
OTA viewers in Quebec lost their Saturday night Canadiens games on Radio Canada back in 2004.
- paterson1
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It reads like CBC was not keen on renewing rather than Rogers. I wonder if Sportsnet and TSN will still partner with CBC on Olympic coverage.
- Aytononline
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Some speculation here, does this mean "The National will now air every night at 10pm, and will no longer be bounced around every spring.
I am sure the news department will be happy.
- ED1
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More people were watching NHL (playoff) hockey on Sportsnet than CBC based on ratings previously posted here. So it probably won’t mean much to most NHL fans.
- RadioAaron
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For context, best I can find - Canadian households
15% watch OTA only
54% Subscribe to cable, etc.
46% Cut cable/never had it, primarily use streaming.
- gch
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I remember living in Michigan as a kid, and watching hockey (in black & white) on Channel 9 from Windsor...
For awhile, the RedWings enforced a blackout of Leafs' games when Detroit was playing at Olympia...
An angry viewer tried, unsuccessfully, to topple the CKLW-TV tower.....
The first year I watched hockey regularly was 1961, when the Chicago Black Hawks won the cup!
- RadioActive
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This story is even bigger than I thought. It even made the New York Times, which indicates it wasn't just the CBC's decision. The article says the two sides simply could not come to a mutual agreement.
"The longtime over-the-air telecast will no longer be free after the national broadcaster, and Rogers Sportsnet, the N.H.L. rights-holder, could not agree on a sub-licensing deal."
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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I can only imagine the howls of protest if the Super Bowl ever went off free OTA television, even for those who watch it on cable or satellite in the U.S. There is something about having to pay for something you got free for decades that would rub most people the wrong way.
In fact, there's already action down south about the way the League is operating with politicians accusing the NFL of illegally placing games behind paywalls, depriving viewers of seeing their favourite players for free or forcing them to subscribe to endless multiple packages just to follow their teams.
Congress Probes NFL's Antitrust Exemption Over Fees
That hasn't happened here, with Rogers basically buying itself a monopoly that is great for the company - but not necessarily all that good for the viewing public.
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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For 74 years. the CBC has not had to fill time between around 7 PM - 11 PM on Saturday nights during the NHL season. It sure will be interesting to see what they choose to run there instead.
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Thread Starter- LOSat
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Coronation Street fans and The National fans will be pleased.
- RadioActive
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RadioActive wrote:
For 74 years. the CBC has not had to fill time between around 7 PM - 11 PM on Saturday nights during the NHL season. It sure will be interesting to see what they choose to run there instead.
And now we have a clue.
"CBC will shift its attention towards Olympic sports and Canadian athletes, with new sports programming set to launch after the current NHL season...The network's expanded coverage will include more live events and a greater emphasis on the stories behind Canadian athletes and their accomplishments."
OK, but is that really going to beat the NHL and the Leafs over on Sportsnet for Canadian fans? Likely not. They might well have been better off to not compete with sports programming at all in that time slot.
Hockey fans react as CBC, Sportsnet part ways marking end to Hockey Night in Canada - "Another nostalgic benchmark eliminated"
(Note: This linked site does not seem to play nicely with VPNs)
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Welcome to the future.
"The move means no Canadian teams from the four major North American men's professional sports leagues — the NHL's seven Canadian franchises, the NBA's Toronto Raptors and MLB's Toronto Blue Jays — are currently slated to appear on free-to-air television."
End of NHL broadcasts on CBC raises public access questions, advocacy group says
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Thread Starter- Ale Ont
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CITY - TV is an OTA broadcaster that carried NHL games on Saturdays. I am wondering if they will continue to televise those games.
- Skywave
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My understanding of the original deal was that CBC neither paid for the program feed, nor received any of the revenue at all. CBC merely broadcast the Sportsnet feed, and avoided the costs of trying to find four hours of Cancon per Saturday night plus playoffs.
Hubert T. Lacroix tells CBC/Radio-Canada employees about the agreement with Rogers for NHL games - CBC/Radio-Canada
I suspect that Rogers now wanted some actual cash.
Get set for endless reruns of Canadian movies, and maybe a retro festival of Wojeck, Beachcombers, Cannonball, and Tugboat Annie, to name a few.
- RadioActive
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Get set for endless reruns of Canadian movies, and maybe a retro festival of Wojeck, Beachcombers, Cannonball, and Tugboat Annie, to name a few.
I wouldn't mind seeing Cannonball and Tugboat Annie again!
But this seems to be the plan.
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Thread Starter- Ale Ont
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
According to Fagstein, CITY-TV will not be carrying NHL games.
- RadioActive
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According to Fagstein, CITY-TV will not be carrying NHL games.
How ironic that the only way to see Canada's game over-the-air for free may be tuning into ABC's game of the week via WKBW-TV in Buffalo.
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Thread Starter- Radiowiz
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
Just a quick check on something.
I thought the CRTC has regulation in place that requires x percent of hockey games are carried OTA, the same way they were before Rogers got involved.
If this is still true, it most likely means x percent of Leaf games will still be seen on City TV...(?)
- RadioAaron
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Just a quick check on something.
I thought the CRTC has regulation in place that requires x percent of hockey games are carried OTA, the same way they were before Rogers got involved.
If this is still true, it most likely means x percent of Leaf games will still be seen on City TV...(?)
No such rule.
- Radiowiz
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
Just a quick check on something.
I thought the CRTC has regulation in place that requires x percent of hockey games are carried OTA, the same way they were before Rogers got involved.
If this is still true, it most likely means x percent of Leaf games will still be seen on City TV...(?)No such rule.
No, I think I am mistaking it for back when Rogers first got the contract years ago.
There were markets with no City TV or something, so CRTC (at that point in time) was securing that OTA be available there for games of that particular market. It's very old information, accurate or not.
I'm finding nothing to suggest that OTA is required anywhere currently.
Last edited by Radiowiz (Yesterday 6:50 pm)
- DX
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
My understanding of the original deal was that CBC neither paid for the program feed, nor received any of the revenue at all. CBC merely broadcast the Sportsnet feed, and avoided the costs of trying to find four hours of Cancon per Saturday night plus playoffs.
Hubert T. Lacroix tells CBC/Radio-Canada employees about the agreement with Rogers for NHL games - CBC/Radio-Canada
I suspect that Rogers now wanted some actual cash.
Get set for endless reruns of Canadian movies, and maybe a retro festival of Wojeck, Beachcombers, Cannonball, and Tugboat Annie, to name a few.
My understanding of the 2014 deal is that a key part of the deal was that Rogers leased a studio at CBC Toronto for the broadcast so that CBC was at least getting something out of it.
Maybe I missed but I wonder if CBC retains the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada name and so now the name will disappear?
- RadioActive
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Maybe I missed but I wonder if CBC retains the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada name and so now the name will disappear?
According to the CBC, the Corp. owns the name which - unless they somehow decide to revive it - is going to disappear from the Canadian media landscape.
"CBC still holds the Hockey Night in Canada trademark and could incorporate the brand into future coverage."
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Thread Starter- RadioAaron
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
Just a quick check on something.
I thought the CRTC has regulation in place that requires x percent of hockey games are carried OTA, the same way they were before Rogers got involved.
If this is still true, it most likely means x percent of Leaf games will still be seen on City TV...(?)No such rule.
No, I think I am mistaking it for back when Rogers first got the contract years ago.
There were markets with no City TV or something, so CRTC (at that point in time) was securing that OTA be available there for games of that particular market. It's very old information, accurate or not.
Not accurate. Nothing about the Rogers NHL deal fell under CRTC regulation.
- paterson1
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"CBC will shift its attention towards Olympic sports and Canadian athletes, with new sports programming set to launch after the current NHL season...The network's expanded coverage will include more live events and a greater emphasis on the stories behind Canadian athletes and their accomplishments."
"OK, but is that really going to beat the NHL and the Leafs over on Sportsnet for Canadian fans? Likely not. They might well have been better off to not compete with sports programming at all in that time slot."
I don't imagine the plan is to beat the NHL and the Leafs on Saturday nights. Nothing likely will top NHL hockey for many more years. Hopefully the Leafs will eventually be able to turn around their mediocre play. However running Olympic qualifying sporting events on Saturday evenings gives a nice change from hockey and opens up to a lot of different athletic competitions focusing on Canada's Olympic athletes and competitors from other countries. So I think it is not a bad idea and gives CBC extra promotion for their Olympic coverage every two years.
Last edited by paterson1 (Yesterday 8:44 pm)
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That is assuming they continue to get the Olympic rights. We've seen in the past few years how other networks and streaming services are looking for a piece of the pie. So far, it's on free TV. But as this hockey story shows, it may not always be there.
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada Ends On CBC
Well nothing will always be there, but CBC has the Olympic rights until 2032. And the games are every two years split between summer and winter. So they could have this new Saturday night sports programming for six years even if the Olympic agreement was not extended.
- torontostan
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For context, best I can find - Canadian households
15% watch OTA only
54% Subscribe to cable, etc.
46% Cut cable/never had it, primarily use streaming.
That's one aspect, however Leafs games on HNIC were basically a 50/50 AMA split between CBC and Sportsnet. Even when playoff games didn't have CBC (on random occasions), there was always a bit of a drop....
- torontostan
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Not accurate. Nothing about the Rogers NHL deal fell under CRTC regulation.
Not accurate. It was considered it's own network license by the CRTC
- RadioActive
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Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons suggests this is a chance for Rogers to make changes to whatever the new Saturday night hockey broadcasts will be called - and while some of the personnel will remain the same, he wants to see a makeover to the show.
"You need a new host. No more apologies, no more friend references, no more strange music history. If you can’t afford James Duthie, why not Bryan Hayes?...
With a new host. With new panelists. With new segments between periods that you can’t wait for. With better broadcasters on the second and third games. With fresh voices and a fresh look. An entire three-hour renovation is needed along with a creative vision for the future."
With Hockey Night in Canada gone, it’s time to reinvent Sportsnet’s NHL coverage
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