mr.x Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Game over for the CBC The public broadcaster will have little to draw viewers if it loses Hockey Night in Canada By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto Sun, Oct. 05, 2006 For more than half a century, Hockey Night In Canada and the CBC have gone together like Don Cherry and plaid. But Grapes might as well get himself fitted now for a CTV/TSN jacket. When the NHL's current contract with the CBC expires at the end of the 2007-08 season, look for them to get the puck out of there. Hockey Night In Canada returns tonight at 7 p.m. with Toronto facing off against Ottawa in the first half of a double header. Calgary at Edmonton follows. Fact is, the Leafs have a better chance of winning their first Stanley Cup in 40 years than the CBC has of re-signing with the NHL. It's not just that CTV, which has coveted HNIC for years, is reportedly prepared to make a $1.4-billion, 10-year offer. It's not just that picking up HNIC would give CTV the one night of the week it doesn't automatically win now -- Saturdays. Rather, it's that so many Canadians have stopped watching CBC that the NHL almost has no alternative. After all, you wouldn't play hockey in a dark rink. The CBC brass know this. Last week in Ottawa at the CRTC's television policy review, the network basically admitted it would soon be out of the hockey business after a 70-year association on TV and radio. CBC president Robert Rabinovitch said it was "distinctly possible" that the NHL would skate over to CTV. This would mean a loss of revenue for CBC estimated at $100 million a year, the committee was told. The CBC brass went on to say that if they lose hockey, they want more taxpayer money. Otherwise, Rabinovitch said, "we will have to seriously re-evaluate almost everything about English television." So that's their pitch: We give up, and give us money. Way to rally the troops after CBC chairman Guy Fournier's "bestiality and bowel movement" meltdown. (The 75-year-old Fournier, one of the most powerful and influential men in Canadian culture, resigned last month after blathering on like an idiot in print and on TV.) If CBC isn't already seriously re-evaluating almost everything about English television, it may be too late. Ratings for this season are so low they're shocking even for dwindling CBC standards. Hockey: A People's History, on billboards and bus shelters all over town, drew just 390,000 viewers Sept. 24. Nine times as many Canadians (2.7 million) watched Desperate Housewives that night at the same hour on CTV. About a year ago, CBC programmers were all excited about a quirky little animated series called What It's Like Being Alone. The series finale Sept. 18 drew 163,000 viewers. It gets worse. That miniseries on Rene Levesque? Part of CBC's high-impact programming strategy? A washout Sept. 21 with 131,000 viewers. Don't even ask about last season's Kraft Hockeyville fiasco, which plunged below 100,000. This after a nightmare summer during which CBC programming head Kirstine Layfield got roasted for reaching across the border to try to boost her schedule. The One, a copycat ABC star-search series, was one of the biggest bombs ever, yanked after two weeks in the States. Right idea, wrong show. CBC will have to take more chances if it wants to stay in the TV business, and Canadian nationalists be damned. Otherwise, all that Canadian-made content they have lined up for next week -- Moses Znaimer's new gossip magazine comedy Rumors (Sunday), Chris Haddock's new crime drama Intelligence (Monday) and the South African-based medical drama Jozi-H (Friday, Oct. 13) -- is doomed. The hard lesson for CBC programmers is you can't launch new shows if nobody is watching your network. Ask former WB executives. The prospect of losing the one top-20, million-viewers-a-week-plus show on your schedule -- leaving a huge 400-hour programming hole -- is like Fox losing American Idol, times a billion. It is condo time at 205 Wellington West. It is game over for CBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 What does this have to do with Vancouver 2010? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave199 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 What does this have to do with Vancouver 2010? My thoughts exactly and Mr.X says he doesn't post useless **** on these boards Anyways, CBC is TOAST!! I hope the government doesn't give them any taxpayers money when Canadians don't even tune into the station. Thats my only thought on this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 My thoughts exactly and Mr.X says he doesn't post useless **** on these boards Anyways, CBC is TOAST!! I hope the government doesn't give them any taxpayers money when Canadians don't even tune into the station. Thats my only thought on this issue. well actually this would be the first time in awhile that non-related information has been posted. secondly, non-related topics are always posted in the London, Beijing and 2014 forums so why not here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taichi Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Nooooooo! How can you say such a thing? I like watching CBC. Especially hockey. I like watching sports on CBC. I don't want it to be toast! I wan't to continue to watch CBC! Taichi Nomura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave199 Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Nooooooo! How can you say such a thing? I like watching CBC. Especially hockey. I like watching sports on CBC. I don't want it to be toast! I wan't to continue to watch CBC! Taichi Nomura OK there buddy!! The CBC lost their contract to broadcast the Olympics begining 2010 and it is imminent that they are going to lose their NHL broadcasting rights to CTV again after they outbidded them for the Olympic broadcasting rights as well. If this is no clue that CBC is TOAST, I don't know what is since this is the programming that brought in the ratings and money for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 lol, well on the bright side.............. CBC wins World Cup soccer rights Last Updated: Friday, September 15, 2006 | 11:42 AM ET CBC Sports The world's best soccer players are coming to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio-Canada through 2014. CBC/Radio-Canada reached a comprehensive programming agreement with FIFA, soccer's global governing body, on Friday for Canadian broadcasting rights from 2007 to 2014. The deal features the 2010 and 2014 World Cup soccer tournaments. It also includes the 2007 men's under-20 World Cup in Canada, the 2007 women's World Cup in China and the 2011 women's World Cup. "A central tenet of CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate is the sharing of major national and international events," said Robert Rabinovitch, CBC/Radio-Canada president and chief executive officer. "Soccer is a game that touches new Canadians and old, it touches all cultures and all communities. It is one of the most popular sports in Canada, both to watch and to play. We're looking forward to helping the continued growth of the game across the country." CBC/Radio-Canada will act as host broadcaster in July for the men's under-20 tournament, which takes place in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Victoria and Burnaby, B.C. "This is truly a momentous day, an historic day for all of Soccer in Canada," said Kevan Pipe, chief operating officer of the Canadian Soccer Association. "To have CBC/Radio Canada partner with FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association for the next eight years will take the 'beautiful game' to an even higher level in our country." The agreement includes rights for all CBC/Radio-Canada platforms, including its eight national radio and television networks, websites, regional stations and affiliates. CBC/Radio-Canada will be able to make FIFA games available for viewing on mobile phones and through video-on-demand. Telelatino has also teamed with CBC/Radio Canada as a broadcasting partner under the agreement. The global television audience for the 2006 World Cup in Germany surpassed 30 billion viewers over the tournament's four weeks. so i guess CBC Sports isn't over quite yet, even with the loss of the Olympics, NHL, and probably the CFL. the opening and final match of the 2006 World Cup each raked in 9 million viewers in Canada, and there were 2-4 million watching the other games. quite impressive, considering Canada doesn't even have a team playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Though quantity isn't always quality, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia on Canadian 2010 coverage: In Canada, a consortium of Bell Globemedia and Rogers Media properties will broadcast the 2010 Games. Specific outlets tentatively include CTV, TQS, TSN, RDS, Rogers Sportsnet, OMNI Television, OLN Canada, CTV Newsnet, RIS, Discovery Channel, Report on Business Television, The Biography Channel, Rogers radio stations, as well as third-party broadcasters APTN and ATN. With Bell Globemedia's takeover of CHUM Limited, more stations may be included as well, making probably the largest grouping of TV channels from one country to air Olympic-related live footage. Although not confirmed, free content is also being offered to Radio-Canada, mainly due to its larger reach of francophone viewers. [16] [17] The CTV network alone is promising 22 hours a day in coverage during the Games. CTV's Downtown Vancouver studio is likely to be the broadcast headquarters for the coverage. Just think....Brian Williams sitting against the window: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooette Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 wow. service spread accross that many networks.... i don't know. how specialized will they make it? there's only so many hours of curling i can handle. but i can tell you there won't be much olympic footage being watched by yours truly unless something changes. i don't get CTV. or anything besides global and CBC. meh. i can just watch them for real i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted October 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 to go even more off-topic, Global BC has purchased a helicopter.....now, CTV Vancouver won't have the exclusive bragging rights to owning a helicopter, Chopper 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox334 Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 That seams to be quite the thing right now, buying 'copter. Wonder when St. Jhon's will be covered . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Guys, remember how some of us moaned on how CTV won the IOC contract to broadcast the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games over the CBC and its aftermath? Well, I put it bluntly here. The IOC, last Tuesday, gave out the "broadcast awards" for covering the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Guess what? CBC "got crushed" over the likes of NBC of the United States and, believe it or not, Australia's Seven Network. Here's is more salt to the CBC's wound: the Australian one got the "gold medal" in this category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted December 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 ^ well i don't blame the IOC. CBC's coverage of Torino wasn't even up to par to their Athens coverage. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw worse for Beijing. i'm not saying CBC coverage is bad, it just isn't as good as quality as it used to be following the announcement of CTV-Rogers 2010/2012 winning bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deasine Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 I'm sure CTV would do fine. After all, their teaming up with Rogers Sports Net. And CTV would do especially better for 2010 as it is there first time, they would want to keep this title for a while. Is their head office going to be in Vancouver then? I think it's a little small there. And there news room hasn't renovated in a while... I like Global's news room... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted December 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 I'm sure CTV would do fine. After all, their teaming up with Rogers Sports Net. And CTV would do especially better for 2010 as it is there first time, they would want to keep this title for a while.Is their head office going to be in Vancouver then? I think it's a little small there. And there news room hasn't renovated in a while... I like Global's news room... Actually, CTV did Canada's Olympic Broadcast for Barcelona and Lillehammer.......both coverages were utter embarrassments from what i have read. However, back then CTV had little resources. Today, it's part of a $20 billion telecommunications giant, Bell Canada, and has dozens of affiliate networks such as broadcast partner TSN. It's great that Bell Globemedia will provide Olympic coverage on at least twelve of its networks including CTV, but it payed [with Rogers Communications] US$90 million for the 2010 Games. Contrast that with CBC's US$28 million for Torino. Does that mean viewers will be bombarded with advertisements? Like NBC. This doesn't include the CAN$50 million Bell Globemedia will be spending to broadcast the 2010 Games on site, and they're promising live programming, 22 hours a day on the main CTV network, and together on all Bell Globemedia networks a total of 1,000 hours (compare that to CBC's 230 hours for Torino). The CTV broadcast facility will be in Vancouver (where else would it be????), and it's likely that CTV will set up at its Vancouver headquarters on Burrard and Robson. They will build an entirely new set for the Olympics. And it's possible they'll rent the top floor of the building, where MTV Canada was formerly headquartered a few years ago. OR they may choose to set up at the convention centre (media centre). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 More salt to CBC's wounds. If you die-hard Canadian ice hockey fans did not know about it, the "second national anthem of Canada" which is the Hockey Night in Canada theme song, was dropped from the CBC recently because of some degree of dispute between it and the owning composer of the song. Well, today, did you know where it went? CTV bought the rights to the song and it will be played on TSN's ice hockey games as its intro, like the way the CBC used to do it. More so, believe it or not, it will be used by CTV to signal the beginning of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games for all those days in February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Moore said CBC had negotiated for 14 months but to no avail, and that the agency was asking for $2.5 million to $3 million for use in perpetuity."If they got that from CTV, we would never have been able to get there," Moore told CBC Newsworld. "It is not a responsible price for us. "If that is the price CTV wants to pay, it won't be the first time nor will it be the last time, probably, that they outbid us for something. They have a lot more profits than we do." The song had been used on Hockey Night in Canada since 1968. The song owner was asking for $2.5-3 million from CBC to use the song forever.....obviously, CBC doesn't have that kind of money. CTV has been known for being nortorious spenders, I'm pretty sure they came up with the $3-million or so for the rights to the song. CTV hasn't 'saved' anything, they're ripping off a tradition from another network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniaturesnickers Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 The song owner was asking for $2.5-3 million from CBC to use the song forever.....obviously, CBC doesn't have that kind of money. CTV has been known for being nortorious spenders, I'm pretty sure they came up with the $3-million or so for the rights to the song. CTV hasn't 'saved' anything, they're ripping off a tradition from another network. I think CBC probably had the money, but were playing the ethical card, not spending tax dollars on a song. That said, with the acquisition of CHUM and now the HNIC theme, I'm pretty sure CTV won't stop until they own every TV channel in the country. It's pretty pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Thankfully CBC has scored the contracts with the major federations, FIFA, IAAF and FINA to rights to those events and CBC will be right in there for the Olympics for 2014 onwards again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 CBC has been gradually losing all sports, including the Olympics, to CTV/TSN and Sportsnet (I just wish HDNet had permission to broadcast the NHL in Canada because their MSL soccer coverage is first rate!). It is past time the government did all tax payers a huge favor and dump the CBC!!! It has long outlasted its usefulness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 CBC has been gradually losing all sports, including the Olympics, to CTV/TSN and Sportsnet (I just wish HDNet had permission to broadcast the NHL in Canada because their MSL soccer coverage is first rate!).It is past time the government did all tax payers a huge favor and dump the CBC!!! It has long outlasted its usefulness. The problem is money......the CBC has been stuck with a budget that hasn't changed for nearly 20 years: $1.4-billion to spend on both English and French television, news, radio, and internet services doesn't go that far. Give the network a huge cash infusion, and you'll be bound to see the network go back into giving us some decent programming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 If people want a public television station let them pay for it like PBS in the USA. I have been a proud supporter for 25+ years. They give me the type of quality HDTV programming sadly missing from the CBC. The only program that I ever watch on CBC is the Nature of Things ... if they had more like that I might watch more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 If people want a public television station let them pay for it like PBS in the USA. I have been a proud supporter for 25+ years. They give me the type of quality HDTV programming sadly missing from the CBC. The only program that I ever watch on CBC is the Nature of Things ... if they had more like that I might watch more often. Personally, I would like to see more of a BBC model rather than PBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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