The End of "Hockey Night in Canada"?

17*

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TSN does a reasonably good job with the CFL.

I can't honestly agree that they have more intelligent hockey people than CBC, however.

I think both networks have their share of intelligent people and not-so smart people.

That being said, the Saturday night hockey tradition will no doubt continue.
 

Sens Rule

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Sep 22, 2005
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Well I may be in the minority but I watched the Stanley Cup finals mostly on NBC. I would flip back and forth but ended up mostly on NBC. That says alot about the quality of HNIC as it should be trumping HNIC coverage with it's decades of experience. John Davidson was great. I don't mind MacGuire but he is sometimes a bit much especially DURING a game becuse he tends to talk too much. But at least he has something to say unlike the CBC guys who mostly start a story and then it goes no where or it is a repeated story/anecdote I have heard a million times before.

NBC would tell me how long a shift Brind'Amour was on. I don't really need to know that really. It is kind of cool but I don't pay too much attention to it. But if get up to go to the bathroom or flip the channel for a second or get a snack and I come back to the game I want to know it is 4-4 or if it is a PP if it is a 5-4 or a 4-3 or a
5-3. On CBC they don't do that. Watching Centre ICE and other broadcasts almost EVERY broadcast is telling you how long is left and what kind of PP it is. CBC doesn't do that EVER! They don't tell you if it is 4-4 when that would seem to be important and massively easy to do. The time ticker is on the screen regardless why not include very pertenit information?

And the cameras and the commercials. I have seen MANY times on CBc when the game comes back from commercial and the faceoff has happened already and the game is on. Or they interview someone important in the stands and the GAME IS ON. Or it comes back before the interview is done. I don't want to miss the game, on local broadcasts that likely cost a fraction of the experienced and unionized CBC broadcast they seem to make far fewer mistkes of this nature than the NATIONAL HNIC broadcast. Really there is no excuse for this kind of stuff to happen as often as it does. This is THE HOCKEY BROADCAST. Highest rating, highest broadcast costs and they make more mistakes then anyone else.
 

17*

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To be honest, I thought the Montreal series a few years back when the announcers on French CBC were on strike was outstanding.

Instead of listening to the play by play, you got to listen to the sounds on the ice surface.

For a playoff game, with all the intensity, it was great.

I don't know if it would work for the regular season but the option should be there.

If HNIC charged $5.00 to watch the Saturday night game, and $10.00 to watch the game with the added option of a second channel showing the game without the announcers, I wonder how many people would pay the $10.00.

Or, allow everyone to watch the game for free, as usual, but charge $10.00 to anyone that wants to watch the feed channel that has no announcers, just the sounds from the ice surface.
 

deathbear

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it's a bloody shame so many canadians don't respect the cbc.

outside the bbc, i'd say it's the best damned news network in the world.

oh, and hockey night in canada isn't all bad either...

the bbc is completely ad-free (radio + television) and paid for by registeration and through the government. i'm not sure, but i do believe british appreciate their public broadcaster AS THEY SHOULD.

and they're highly involved in sport too. particularly football. they're everywhere.
 

alecfromtherock

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Feb 2, 2004
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To be honest, I thought the Montreal series a few years back when the announcers on French CBC were on strike was outstanding.

Instead of listening to the play by play, you got to listen to the sounds on the ice surface.

For a playoff game, with all the intensity, it was great.

I don't know if it would work for the regular season but the option should be there.

If HNIC charged $5.00 to watch the Saturday night game, and $10.00 to watch the game with the added option of a second channel showing the game without the announcers, I wonder how many people would pay the $10.00.

Or, allow everyone to watch the game for free, as usual, but charge $10.00 to anyone that wants to watch the feed channel that has no announcers, just the sounds from the ice surface.

Free: Cole and Co announcing
$100 per game: New announcers or none at all(with some visual graphics such as PP% ect) CBC would more then be able to outbid Bell with this business plan :)

On Saturday with 4 networks (TSN CBC Sportsnet RDS) you should be able to view any Canadian team you want.

Game 1

CBC Toronto
RDS Montreal
Sportsnet Ottawa

Game 2

CBC Edmonton
TSN Calgary
Sportsnet Vancouver

If 2 Canadian teams are playing each other that leaves an open slot available to showcase one of the American rivalries (Rangers/Devils ect) on the same night.

CBC Toronto @ Montreal
Sportsnet Ottawa @ Buffalo
TSN Rangers @ Jersey

CBC Calgary @ Edmonton
Sportsnet Vancouver @ Avs
TSN Ducks @ Sharks

Most people have basic cable and if CBC still wanted to show some hockey games they would simply purchase the individual game rights from Bell.

Don Cherry and his Toronto/Boston/Canadian love-fest would finally be off the air :(, Ron is just a face-man with little to add into a conversation. CBC saves almost $2 million just on Ron/Don’s contracts.

I do not see a problem with offering the most hockey coverage available if basic cable is all you need in order to do so.

When a program such as HNIC is so reliant on the Toronto Maple Leafs it makes you wonder if they have a clue what they are doing. Sure they have the largest fanbase, but watching them, at times, is quite painful and the end result is always the same: NO CUP.
 

Nalyd Psycho

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I can't believe any fan of any team other than Toronto or Montreal could ever possibly consider CBC loosing HNIC as a good thing.

You think you don't get to see your own team enough now, just wait until a Private for profit channel is running the show.
For the CBC, welcome to Hockey Night in Toronto.
For Radio Canada, welcome to Hockey Night in Montreal.

And really, it's not like TSN does a better job with their broadcasts.

Dude, time zones. What, are the Leafs gonna play back to back games?

Currently: If the Leafs are playing out west, Van, Calgary and Edmonton are only on if they're playing the Leafs. If Van, Calgary or Edmonton is out east, then the game will only be shown if they are playing the Leafs.

The bias towards the Leafs scientifically cannot get worse.

it's a bloody shame so many canadians don't respect the cbc.

outside the bbc, i'd say it's the best damned news network in the world.

oh, and hockey night in canada isn't all bad either...

the bbc is completely ad-free (radio + television) and paid for by registeration and through the government. i'm not sure, but i do believe british appreciate their public broadcaster AS THEY SHOULD.

and they're highly involved in sport too. particularly football. they're everywhere.

Two things:

1. CBC Newsworld is a great network. CBC, not so much. CBC as a news service is a great part of Canada. CBC as a mainstream entertainment channel, laughable. CBC should stick to what it needs to be there for. The news. Everything else is a waste IMO.

2. Regionalism. Britain doesn't have this problem, but perspective on value will be very different in different parts of the country. It's no secret that Alberta generally dislikes CBC.
 

deathbear

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and it's no secret outside of alberta, that the far away majority of the lot are um... how shall i put this.

very conservative.

anyone remember the reform/alliance party? shouldn't be too hard to remember...

of course they wouldn't like the cbc. i can't see them liking anything but fox.
 

17*

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CBC news is heavily biased toward the left of the political spectrum.

They do not represent all Canadians.

This is the main reason why I want the CBC privatised.

HNIC is the only reason I have for wanting the CBC to remain public-owned.
 

Nalyd Psycho

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and it's no secret outside of alberta, that the far away majority of the lot are um... how shall i put this.

very conservative.

anyone remember the reform/alliance party? shouldn't be too hard to remember...

of course they wouldn't like the cbc. i can't see them liking anything but fox.

So their opinion doesn't matter because you disagree with their politics? How very democratic of you...
 

Hoss

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Feb 21, 2005
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CBC news is heavily biased toward the left of the political spectrum.

They do not represent all Canadians.

This is the main reason why I want the CBC privatised.

HNIC is the only reason I have for wanting the CBC to remain public-owned.

I cannot say I agree with you, I think you are letting your own political leanings polarize your view of the CBC.
 

shakes

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Don Cherry and his Toronto/Boston/Canadian love-fest would finally be off the air :(, Ron is just a face-man with little to add into a conversation. CBC saves almost $2 million just on Ron/Don’s contracts.

Why do you assume that Don wouldn't move to the new network? If he's still on the air at the time of the changeover (doesn't retire), he will most defiantely move with HNIC. I guess you don't remember the public outrage when CBC was trying to lowball Ron McLean. Just because you don't like someone, don't assume that everyone else doesn't either.



When a program such as HNIC is so reliant on the Toronto Maple Leafs it makes you wonder if they have a clue what they are doing. Sure they have the largest fanbase, but watching them, at times, is quite painful and the end result is always the same: NO CUP.

They are reliant on the Leafs because they make them the most money which will probably make it "worse" for you, (better for Leaf fans), if HNIC moves to a for profit, privately owned network... even if there is no cup.
 

Tb0ne

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Nov 29, 2004
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TSN has more time to play with than CBC simply because it's a "sports station"

Would it though, remember that HNIC takes place almost entirely on Saturday Night. CBC already devotes almost that entire day to hockey, so the fact they are multi-purpose channel doesn't really effect what they produce on Saturdays. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you mean?

I enjoy TSN's broadcasts more. THey've got more intelligent hockey people. They have better commentators. They broadcast more of their games in HD.

TSN has done a better job of packaging the NHL as a whole, rather than treating national broadcasts as a local game. Hence, I can watch a game like last nights Wings-Sharks on their network, and enjoy it.

On a Saturday Night though? they would definatly be showing Canadian teams. It is HNIC, not HNINA afterall.

As for the CBC crew, Old man Cole and co can't live forever, one day soon he'll retire and fans across the country will rejoice in knowing their players will be called by their actual names, and not some half-correct surname that randomly popped into his age-addled brain.

As for TSN's crew, personally I don't like them that much more if at all, but that is a matter of opinion and preference obviously. McGuire annoys me, Domi doesn't know what he's doing, Dreger is a complete and utter jack***, Healy is tired sack of hot air, Onrait annoys me, Dutchyshen says 'roof daddy' far too often, and Duthie also gets on my nerves sometimes.

Whether TSN will become more Leaf focused or not remains to be seen, but, to date, they've been focused on pushing the NHL as a whole, not the Canadian teams. That strategy has allowed them to strong ratings for their games, even when non-Canadian teams are playing. The CBC's strategy to go with an extremely pro-Leaf line-up does well for them at times, but, they were practically in financial crisis when the Leafs didn't make the playoffs. The fact that BGM thinks it can generate more money off HNIC than CBC does, tells me they plan on doing some things a little differently.

Currently: If the Leafs are playing out west, Van, Calgary and Edmonton are only on if they're playing the Leafs. If Van, Calgary or Edmonton is out east, then the game will only be shown if they are playing the Leafs.

The bias towards the Leafs scientifically cannot get worse.

How couldn't it remain Leaf's focused on HNIC produced by TSN? it is by far the largest market in English speaking Canada, with the most fans, and is percieved by some as 'Canada's Team' (even though many around the Country would beg to differ). If HNIC produced by TSN remained.. Hockey Night in Canada, it is completely reasonable to assume TSN will try to maximise its revenues by playing to that very large market on a basis as consistant or more than CBC.

For the 6/7:00 pm PST timeslot, one of Edmonton, Calgary or Vancouver would be shown. TSN would choose whichever team would likely make them the most money (based on fan base, how well the team is playing), instead of the roughly 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 ratio the CBC seems to have implemented. My guess is they would choose Vancouver or Calgary, at the expense of the smaller markets like Edmonton.

Now obviously I shouldn't mind if I get to see the Canucks play, as it is in my best interests, but I would feel guilty that other fans out here in the west don't get to see their own teams play as well.


1. CBC Newsworld is a great network. CBC, not so much. CBC as a news service is a great part of Canada. CBC as a mainstream entertainment channel, laughable. CBC should stick to what it needs to be there for. The news. Everything else is a waste IMO.

If CBC ever gets privatized, Newsworld at the very least should remain public. If anyone wants to know why, go watch Fox News or to a much lesser degree Global.

As for the main CBC channel, I'll agree some of it is low grade garbage.. however I think many peoples' reluctence to watch the channel might have more to do with the concept of the 'cultural cringe' than with the quality of all of the programming. No matter how proud of a Canadian one is, many still assume something made by Canadians is going to be inferior, and decide to go watch American Idol instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_cringe

CBC news is heavily biased toward the left of the political spectrum.

"Reality has a well known liberial bias".
-Stephen Colbert

Seriously though, where CBC sits in the political spectrum is up for debate. I wouldn't try to argue that they lean right, but they most often give an equal chance for proponents of both sides to get their say in whenever a new issue is being discussed in the news. (Keep in mind if they actually 'heavily favoured the far left', they would be a channel trying to get the NDP or Green parties a larger number of seats in Parliament. If the CBC favours any party, it is the Liberials, and the Liberials are most definatly scattered across the centre).

The CBC covers a variety of issues, some even taken right out of the Conservative platform such as their week long feature last summer on our military exercises to assert our claims over our Far North from countries which want to ignore our independence (though that should be an issue all Canadians should get behind, not just Conservatives), or to a social documentry on life on Jay and Finch in Toronto or on the various First Nations Ghettos.. err.. I mean Reservations across Canada. They will highlight the amazing effect oil has had on Alberta's economy, then have a balanced discussion on the pros and cons of the Kyoto Protocol or Harper's new and useless plan to fight Greenhouse gases.

If anyone should be calling their programs 'fair and balanced', in my opinion it should be the CBC.
 
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saskganesh

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Jun 19, 2006
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CBC news is heavily biased toward the left of the political spectrum.

They do not represent all Canadians.

This is the main reason why I want the CBC privatised.

HNIC is the only reason I have for wanting the CBC to remain public-owned.

my pov, CBC is centrist. its only "left wing" if you are a social, cultural and political conservative, which is, after all, a minority of canadian population.

for a reality check, visit some NDP message board where they complain about CBC media bias. they feel misrepresented as well. hee.
 

discostu

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How couldn't it remain Leaf's focused on HNIC produced by TSN? it is by far the largest market in English speaking Canada, with the most fans, and is percieved by some as 'Canada's Team' (even though many around the Country would beg to differ). If HNIC produced by TSN remained.. Hockey Night in Canada, it is completely reasonable to assume TSN will try to maximise its revenues by playing to that very large market on a basis as consistant or more than CBC.

This strategy assumes that CBC knows the best way to maximize revenues. If they knew how to do that, there wouldn't be much chance of them getting outbid here. The Leafs are the biggest niche market, but, the best way to maximize revenues is if you cut across multiple markets.

The biggest market of movie goers is males in the 15-30 age group. They make up the biggest bulk of ticketholders. There is a lot of money to be made, by making a movie directly with this groups interest in mind, however, to make a truly successful blockbuster movie, the goal is to cross over into multiple demographics. The biggest movie this year is Pirates of the Carribean 2. Why, because it's appeals to a wide audience.

TSN has focused their current broadcast on selling the NHL as a whole. HNIC will almost certainly still feature Canadian teams, but, with better marketing, they're more likely to get people more in tune with watching the game for whoever the opposition is as well. I find in any CBC broadcast, the opposition is treated as an afterthought.
 

alecfromtherock

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Feb 2, 2004
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Why do you assume that Don wouldn't move to the new network? If he's still on the air at the time of the changeover (doesn't retire), he will most defiantely move with HNIC. I guess you don't remember the public outrage when CBC was trying to lowball Ron McLean. Just because you don't like someone, don't assume that everyone else doesn't either.

Lowball? He gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, of taxpayer’s money, for a few minutes on Saturday and the playoffs.

It must be fun being Cherry’s B****

Are you sure a private network will pay Ron the same amount of money? Or will he see a 600% pay decrease?

CBC do not know how to negotiate as they should have had a replacement for Ron the second he refused what was being offered.




They are reliant on the Leafs because they make them the most money which will probably make it "worse" for you, (better for Leaf fans), if HNIC moves to a for profit, privately owned network... even if there is no cup.

Yes the Laffs make them the most money, but is it the goal of a publicly owned station to bombard us with commercials just as the privately owned networks do?

If a private company can make hockey more enjoyable and make money on it then what is the problem?

You have neglected to point out that if TSN2 gets CRTC approval then TSN will show the Toronto game and TSN2 will show one of Ottawa or Montreal. But if it based on ratings alone the Sens will always be second tier to the Habs.

TSN would have the monopoly on by far the 2 biggest draws in Toronto and Montreal.

While selling the rights of Saturday’s Sens game to Sportsnet might slightly effect the Leafs and Habs ratings, the end result will be more $$$ for Bell.

Also cable customers will be able to choose what game they want to watch, instead of the limited variety that is currently being offered.
 
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Tb0ne

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Nov 29, 2004
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This strategy assumes that CBC knows the best way to maximize revenues. If they knew how to do that, there wouldn't be much chance of them getting outbid here. The Leafs are the biggest niche market, but, the best way to maximize revenues is if you cut across multiple markets.

The biggest market of movie goers is males in the 15-30 age group. They make up the biggest bulk of ticketholders. There is a lot of money to be made, by making a movie directly with this groups interest in mind, however, to make a truly successful blockbuster movie, the goal is to cross over into multiple demographics. The biggest movie this year is Pirates of the Carribean 2. Why, because it's appeals to a wide audience.

TSN has focused their current broadcast on selling the NHL as a whole. HNIC will almost certainly still feature Canadian teams, but, with better marketing, they're more likely to get people more in tune with watching the game for whoever the opposition is as well. I find in any CBC broadcast, the opposition is treated as an afterthought.

All really good points, you could definatly be right. For a network that already has the nickname "Toronto Sports Network" you can understand why I'm apprehensive though.

Consider though the tradition of Hockey Night in Canada on the CBC, which has been a part of the Canadian experience ever since the first CBC radio broadcasts, and later the first TV broadcasts. While their current production of HNIC is far from perfect, with new management there is no reason why it couldn't improve drastically.
Only one man's opinion, but to me there is something appealing about the idea that my great grand kids generations from now would be able to switch their TV/Internet/Computer hybrid to Channel 2 and watch HNIC on a Saturday Night.

Some traditions are worth keeping.
 

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