CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, which is recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-running sports TV programme, will be returning for another season. The public broadcaster’s new plan to keep this program alive doesn’t make much sense, however.
Let’s examine why.
As I wrote in my June 17 Loonie Politics column, it appeared that HNIC had reached the “end of an era.” Rogers Sportsnet and CBC issued a joint statement the previous day that its 12-year partnership had reached its conclusion. “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.”
Sportsnet outbid CBC and TSN in November 2013 and signed a 12-year, $5.2 billion exclusive national broadcast deal with the NHL. The decision was then made by Sportsnet to offer CBC a sub-licensing arrangement for English-language rights to NHL games. This offer was accepted and originally slated to run for at least four seasons. It ultimately went three times as long.
Times change. Organizations change. Arrangements change.
Sportsnet announced a new 12-year sub-licensing agreement with Amazon’s Prime Video to broadcast NHL games into the 2037-38 season. ““Over the past two years, Prime Video has been a valuable addition to the NHL’s media lineup in Canada, joining Rogers in bringing marquee NHL games to Canadian fans,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was quoted as saying in a July 28 press release. “We’re excited that Prime Video and Rogers are deepening their relationship through this long-term agreement, reflecting our shared commitment to serving English and French-language hockey fans across Canada with premium NHL content for years to come.”
The decision was also made by Sportsnet to start a new TV program, Saturday Night Hockey, to replace HNIC. Most of the latter’s old production staff and on-air personnel, including Ron MacLean, Kevin Bieksa and Elliotte Friedman, have been retained.
CBC maintained ownership of HNIC’s trademark and signature logo. There was never a serious thought to sell it to Sportsnet or any other corporation. But for the first time in decades, the long-running program didn’t have a broadcast home.
Hockey coverage in Canada goes back nearly a century. The Canadian National Railway radio network started broadcasting Toronto Maple Leafs games on Saturday nights in 1931 as the General Motors Hockey Broadcast. The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which was created in 1932, took over CNR’s regulatory powers in 1933 and added games from the Montreal Canadiens and now-defunct Montreal Maroons to the schedule. Ottawa transferred the CRBC’s regulatory powers to the CBC in 1936, and it became the permanent home to what legendary radio broadcaster Foster Hewitt coined as “Hockey Night In Canada.”
CBC started broadcasting hockey on television on October 11, 1952. It was an important and ground-breaking decision that helped solidify Canada’s love and passion for hockey. There was HNIC’s instantly recognizable theme music written by Dolores Claman. There were personalities like Howie Meeker, Bob Cole and Harry Neale, who all became regular faces in many Canadian homes each week. And, of course, there was the legendary Coach’s Corner segment featuring MacLean and Don Cherry, which ran for more than half of HNIC’s existence and served as an entertaining and sometimes controversial few minutes of hockey and non-hockey banter.
What was going to happen to HNIC? It seemed like it was gone for good, but a new – and rather questionable – plan has just been unveiled.
CBC announced a new partnership with the PWHL, the three-year-old women’s pro hockey league. The public broadcaster will air eight games this season on Saturday nights with HNIC providing extensive coverage. “Our partnership with the PWHL opens a new chapter in sports history,” according to Chris Wilson, CBC’s executive director of Sports and Olympics. “We are proud to announce the return of the iconic Hockey Night in Canada brand, building on this beloved Canadian tradition with the PWHL’s growing fanbase and providing audiences across the country with free access to world-class hockey.”
CBC is allowed to do what it wants with its HNIC trademark. If they want to make a deal with the PWHL, or any other hockey league, they have that right. I have no particular opposition to the PWHL, although I don’t pay that much attention to the product.
That being said, considering the long, storied history of CBC, HNIC and the NHL, this is a far cry from its previous status.
The PWHL’s average attendance has gone up each season, but it’s only at 9,304 per game. Conversely, the NHL’s average attendance is 17,651 fans per game, which is almost double the PWHL. A short-term contract with HNIC, as well as CBC/Radio-Canada carrying exclusive audio broadcast rights for Montreal Victoire games, may help bump up the PWHL’s viewership a little. It’s not going to have a major impact, however.
Moreover, it’s a huge mistake by the CBC to shift HNIC’s rights from broadcasting more than six months of top-flight NHL games to an extremely limited PWHL schedule. The same way it would be a poor decision to shift its trademark to the American Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and so on.
If the CBC truly respects HNIC’s history and tradition in this great sport, it’s sometimes best to let sleeping dogs lie. Put the legendary trademark back into mothballs for radio, TV and streaming services. Find a possible path back to broadcasting NHL games one day. As for the PWHL, promote it on the network, by all means…but do something different with the telecast in that time slot.
HNIC is, and always will be, synonymous with the NHL. It seems unwise for the CBC to switch it to anything else.
Michael Taube, a longtime newspaper columnist and political commentator, was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.
