CBC will not air NHL video games in ‘finish of an period’ as broadcast deal expires

CBC will not broadcast NHL hockey video games after it and nationwide rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet had been unable to return to settlement on a brand new sublicensing deal that may have allowed the general public broadcaster to air video games on its Saturday program Hockey Night in Canada.

The CBC, which started televising NHL video games in 1952, had operated beneath that settlement since Rogers Sportsnet acquired the league’s Canadian rights in 2013 for $5.2 billion. Rogers Sportsnet renewed these rights with a 12-year, $11.2-billion deal to start in October. The CBC beforehand aired nationwide video games on Saturdays, together with all 4 playoff rounds annually.

The CBC and Rogers Sportsnet introduced the change in a joint assertion Tuesday.

“After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milano/Cortina Olympic Games,” the assertion mentioned.

“Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. This has been a terrific partnership, and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

WATCH | Hockey analyst says it is ‘finish of an period’:

No NHL on CBC marks ‘finish of an period’: hockey analyst

CBC will not air NHL video games after it didn’t renew its sublicensing take care of Rogers Sportsnet. Hockey analyst and podcaster Jeff Marek says it is not only a loss for sports activities followers, however for Canadian tradition extra broadly.

While the CBC nonetheless holds the Hockey Night in Canada trademark and will incorporate the model into future protection, it is the primary time this system will not be obtainable to Canadian viewers through the general public broadcaster.

“I can’t imagine it,” mentioned Michael McKinley, writer of Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons. 

“I mean, I can imagine it. I don’t want to imagine it.”

“It’s definitely a bit of an end of an era,” CBC Sports government director Chris Wilson mentioned in a cellphone interview. “But we’re choosing to look at it more as an opportunity as opposed to a loss.”

“But [we] totally perceive that it may take a possibility away from some Canadians to see it on CBC. But that is sadly the place we landed, and we’re excited for the subsequent chapter.”

‘Hockey is an essential Canadian story’

Hockey Night in Canada was a Saturday night mainstay for generations of hockey fans.

“The CBC model was so dynamic and so finely created and offered that it outlined a means of [the] telling of the sports activities story,” McKinley said in a recent interview.

Broadcasters like Dick Irvin, Bob Cole, Ron MacLean, Don Cherry, Dave Hodge and Foster Hewitt — to name a few — helped provide the soundtrack that Canadians would cherish.

Traditional baby blue blazers — complete with a puck and stick HNIC logo on the jacket pocket — were as familiar as the announcers’ voices.

“The CBC’s curiosity in sports activities has mainly been in novice sports activities for fairly some time, and different skilled sports activities are on sports activities channels [like] Sportsnet or TSN,” Hodge said in a phone interview.

“They all look the identical. Nobody wears any child blue jackets with Hockey Night in Canada crests to establish it as a Saturday evening recreation. I believe that this was coming. It was inevitable.”

Things began to change when Rogers first secured a 12-year, $5.2-billion rights deal with the league in 2013, with many games available on the Sportsnet broadcast platform.

The telecom giant and the CBC agreed on a sublicensing deal for English-language broadcasts of HNIC, and a separate French-language deal was made with TVA.

“I believe that because the nationwide broadcaster, because the entity that’s accountable for telling Canadian tales to Canada, hockey is an important Canadian story,” McKinley said. “I believe it was a part of [the CBC’s] mandate to do it. They obtained it proper for a very long time.”

Under the setup, Sportsnet produced the games, retained editorial control and managed the advertising.

The CBC’s inclusion helped broaden the reach across the country. It also kept the tradition intact and allowed the broadcaster to promote some of its own programming.

“It was the unique appointment tv for Canada each Saturday evening,” said James Nadler, chair of the radio and television arts media program at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The first sublicensing deal, a four-year agreement that started with the 2014-15 season, was followed by a one-year extension.

When a seven-year sublicensing deal was finalized ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Rogers said it ensured “that Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts proceed to achieve the utmost variety of Canadians each Saturday evening on CBC, Sportsnet and City.”

Rogers also said that HNIC “persistently ranked among the many Top 5 packages, reaching on common 7.5 million Canadians every week.”

“Saturday evening NHL hockey is woven into the material of Canada and our companions at Sportsnet will proceed this nice custom, as they’ve for the final 12 years,” NHL chief communications officer Jon Weinstein said in an email.

New show on Canadian athletes to replace HNIC

In place of Hockey Night in Canada, CBC will launch a new Saturday night prime time show on CBC and streaming on CBC Gem, featuring Canadian athletes competing at home and at the biggest events around the world. 

“As the proud home of Team Canada, we’re already investing in the L.A. Games in 2028 and setting a course for the French Alps in 2030,” said Doug Smith, executive vice-president, CBC.

“At the same time, our commitment doesn’t pause following the closing ceremony; we will be there between the Games — in every community, every arena, every early morning practice and every late night training session.”

In addition, Radio-Canada, the broadcaster’s French-language service, will launch Rendez-vous Podium, a weekly present on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV on Sunday afternoons.