A Canadian Catastrophe
My family refused to pay for cable television when I was growing up. I never really complained about my parents cheapness because I was always able to watch a lot of hockey. Why? Because our television antenna picked up the CBC feed out of Windsor, ON. Back then, CBC aired hockey games every Saturday night during the regular season and every night during the playoffs. I was able to see almost every playoff game every year. I was also able to watch magnificent live coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympics instead of tape delayed coverage that focused on US athletes and human interest stories.
Unfortunately, times are a changing for CBC. First, TSN, an ESPN-like cable network in Canada, started pilfering parts of CBC's Stanley Cup Playoff coverage (don't worry, it was only some games between American teams). Then, TSN won the right to air Blue Jays baseball games , the Grey Cup CFL Championship, and curling matches in Canada. This might seem silly, but curling is a huge deal up in Canada. However, TSN's hostilities reached a new level when they stole the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games from CBC.
How did CBC react to all of this? Well, they continued to show managerial ineptness. They tried to fire Ron MacLean a few years ago. After a huge public outcry, they gave him the additional pennies he was asking for.
Now, CBC's cheapness emerged again when they played hardball in their negotiations to renew their right to play the Hockey Night in Canada theme song beyond this season.
You think another national outcry was coming? Oh yeah! Despite CBC's lame attempt to run a national contest for a new HNiC theme song, they got destroyed across the country for their lunacy.
Unfortunately, CBC was not able to resolve this situations. Despite a wonderful attempt by Stephen Colbert (really funny...watch it!), the rights to the HNiC theme song were purchased by a rival Canadian television network. Who? CTV. For somewhere around $2.5-3 million. And you probably already figured it out, but CTV owns sports cable network TSN.
CTV gave CBC every opportunity to renew their contract with the writer of the HNiC theme song before swooping in. Unfortunately, CBC was too freakin' incompetent to do anything about it.
Where does this leave CBC? Well, I will be shocked if TSN does not outbid CBC for the rights to Hockey Night in Canada and coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when CBC's current contract is up in a couple years. CBC is almost begging TSN to take hockey away from them.
Once HNiC is gone from free television in Canada and parts of the U.S., CBC essentially becomes the Canadian version of PBS. What a shame.
UPDATE - CBC probably got what it deserved. Seriously.
Unfortunately, times are a changing for CBC. First, TSN, an ESPN-like cable network in Canada, started pilfering parts of CBC's Stanley Cup Playoff coverage (don't worry, it was only some games between American teams). Then, TSN won the right to air Blue Jays baseball games , the Grey Cup CFL Championship, and curling matches in Canada. This might seem silly, but curling is a huge deal up in Canada. However, TSN's hostilities reached a new level when they stole the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games from CBC.
How did CBC react to all of this? Well, they continued to show managerial ineptness. They tried to fire Ron MacLean a few years ago. After a huge public outcry, they gave him the additional pennies he was asking for.
Now, CBC's cheapness emerged again when they played hardball in their negotiations to renew their right to play the Hockey Night in Canada theme song beyond this season.
You think another national outcry was coming? Oh yeah! Despite CBC's lame attempt to run a national contest for a new HNiC theme song, they got destroyed across the country for their lunacy.
Unfortunately, CBC was not able to resolve this situations. Despite a wonderful attempt by Stephen Colbert (really funny...watch it!), the rights to the HNiC theme song were purchased by a rival Canadian television network. Who? CTV. For somewhere around $2.5-3 million. And you probably already figured it out, but CTV owns sports cable network TSN.
CTV gave CBC every opportunity to renew their contract with the writer of the HNiC theme song before swooping in. Unfortunately, CBC was too freakin' incompetent to do anything about it.
Where does this leave CBC? Well, I will be shocked if TSN does not outbid CBC for the rights to Hockey Night in Canada and coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when CBC's current contract is up in a couple years. CBC is almost begging TSN to take hockey away from them.
Once HNiC is gone from free television in Canada and parts of the U.S., CBC essentially becomes the Canadian version of PBS. What a shame.
UPDATE - CBC probably got what it deserved. Seriously.
posted by GaryGinew at 7:22 PM
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