Weighing in here...
To me, HNIC is special. I can't quite explain it - although I'll try - but it's something that TSN/CTV will never have.
"The following is a live presentation of CBC Sports...."
Those words, followed by the new theme give me chills every Saturday night.
CBC's production is top-notch. Every double header feels like (and really is) a big event. In contrast, TSN's broadcasts - while their play-by-play guys are better - just can't offer that feeling of culture that CBC brings to the table.
The name of the show is "Hockey Night in Canada." And that's truly what it is. They describe the sport in a broader context - how does hockey fit in to life as a Canadian? To me, it feels like they strive to answer this question in every broadcast. It's so much more than just showing the games and reporting on trades, contracts, and injuries. They bring their cameras and microphones into the streets, livingrooms, bars and backyard rinks. CBC melds the sport with music and art, and give their show a uniquely Canadian feel. And I like Ron's poetry. Culture is something that you work hard towards and earn. CTV thinks culture can be gained by buying a song, and that sports news coverage should be a carbon copy of ESPN's.
What's more, CBC has guys like Ron MacLean and Scott Oake - journalists as much as they are sportscasters. They ask tough questions, and are critical of the NHL when it's warranted. For being Canada's premier sports network, TSN's coverage of the Thrashers move and the Coyotes financial troubles were been nothing short of embarassing. Does anyone actually think that Darren Dreger is a "hockey insider" as much as he is just an NHL mouthpiece?
And I'll take one of Cherry's sometimes nonsensical, always thoroughly entertaining, and always off-the-cuff rants over one of Bob McKenzie's wooden teleprompter-read analyses any day.
Another thing I absolutely love about HNIC is that their appreciation for the history of hockey. I'm not an old-timer - I'm 30, but I love when Ron or Don show a clip from the 60s, 70s, or 80s, and make great comparisons to the game today. That's something that TSN rarely does - probably because they don't own much archived footage - but history is important - and nobody does that better than HNIC.
I can put up with CBC's weak links like Cassie Campbell and the growing number of grey haired dudes. To me, HNIC is a far superior product, and a Canadian institution to boot.
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An aside about CTV:
If their Olympic coverage is any indication, I won't look forward to CTV's handling of big time hockey. Their coverage, while thorough, was lacking in personality and professionalism. They used people from Canada AM, Ben Mulrooney, and other nauseating CTV personalities for a lot of their coverage. Seamus O'Regan? Enough said.
One morning several years ago, I saw Jeff Hutchison, the weather guy on Canada AM, recount the Oilers game he watched the night before, and during his anecdote he used the expression "Roloson stoned him!" Immediately, the rest of the Canada AM clan - including that tool Seamus, sat dumbfounded at the expression. Then they all snickered in a "if you say so..." way as the weather guy explained that "stoned" means to make a great save, and isn't some sort of drug reference. Cringe. Then a few years later, I have to sit through Seamus covering big time sports as if he knows what the hell he's talking about. Ugh, I hate that guy. Let's all hope we never see him anywhere near an NHL broadcast.
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As far as the existence of CBC in general, I feel it would be a terrible shame if our country lost it. Being partly government funded keeps the CBC and in particular its news coverage, autonomous and unbiased. I wouldn't trade that for the sideshow that passes itself off as news coverage in the U.S. A broadcaster with a mandate to serve the people of Canada and not shareholders is refreshing and well worth the relatively little tax dollars I spend on it.