I work for the most amazing private broadcasting company in the world (Starboard Communications), so you won’t usually hear me taking the side of our public broadcaster against a private company.
Today is different.
News leaked yesterday that we have seen the last of Hockey Night in Canada.
NHL hockey will not be shown on CBC television next season after a sub-licensing agreement that allowed the public broadcaster to air “Hockey Night in Canada” expired after the
playoffs. The CBC and Rogers Sportsnet said in a joint statement that the agreement was not renewed.
The CBC previously aired national games on Saturdays, along with all four playoff rounds each year.
There are few traditions in this country as universally followed and loved as gathering with your family and friends to watch Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays. While we will have other options, that time has ended.
The CBC and Sportsnet’s statement was issued jointly, but I can’t believe that the CBC didn’t want to renew again, so my anger is aimed squarely at Sportsnet. While they are paying the bills, their corporate intransigence is now costing us a beloved Canadian tradition.
CBC still owns the name “Hockey Night in Canada” but little else, and while the licensing deals mean more money for the sport, we are all poorer for this major change in our sports and cultural landscape.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
