LadyStanley
Registered User
http://spectorshockey.net/wordpress/2011/07/17/hnic-could-face-uncertain-future/
Despite the rise of the cable sports networks, Hockey Night in Canada continued to have strong ratings in recent years, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there are some troubling factors which could have an impact upon upon the show’s long-term future.
Gone are the days when major league baseball, Canadian pro football and the Summer and Winter Olympics Games were the domain of CBC. While the network offers up soccer coverage, including that of the FIFA World Cup, the loss of those other sports have raised questions in recent years over the future of the network’s sports coverage.
While CBC’s current contract with the NHL lasts until the end of the 2013-14 season, it is expected CTV could make a serious push for the exclusive broadcast rights of Canadian-based NHL teams, which would then be televised on TSN.
In 2007, CBC successfully outbid CTV for full broadcast rights of all Canadian NHL teams , but the market has changed since then, and CBC could find it very difficult in three years time to top CTV.
The aging of Hockey Night’s top on-screen personalities could also become a potential problem.