TSN's new deal with NHL raises Canadian content

Truth & rumours

TSN's new deal with NHL raises Canadian content

WILLIAM HOUSTON
GlobeandMail.com
January 21, 2008

A new TSN-NHL national television agreement has been delayed, leading to speculation that something has gone wrong.

It hasn't. The deal is done, but for some minor paperwork, according to sources, and is likely to be announced next month.

It will be a long-term deal, six years in length, starting next season and extending through 2013-14.

TSN will receive more games involving Canadian teams, most important of which will be extra games featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs, a leading audience producer among the six Canadian NHL clubs.

The CBC's contract extension with the NHL, which was announced a year ago, will kick in next season and also will run through 2013-14. In that deal, the CBC's Leafs telecasts are reduced by three a year. Those three games will go to TSN.

As well, TSN will get a larger share of Canadian content in the playoffs. TSN's fee for NHL rights is estimated to be roughly $30-million to $40-million a year.

Habs beat Leafs

There was skepticism from inside the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada about the decision to air the Pittsburgh Penguins-Montreal Canadiens game countrywide on Saturday, particularly after Pens star Sidney Crosby was sidelined the night before by an injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs traditionally receive national distribution, but, instead, the Leafs' game against the Buffalo Sabres was limited to Ontario.

Don Cherry of Hockey Night made a dismissive remark on Saturday about the Pens-Habs taking precedence. And during his Montreal radio show last Friday, Hockey Night analyst P.J. Stock questioned the decision.

Well, guess what? The Pens-Habs game nationwide, with the Sabres and Leafs seen only in Ontario, drew an audience of 1.201 million.

That's more than the 1.163 million Hockey Night has been averaging this season with the Leafs going countrywide.

Monster deal

TSN has locked up hockey analyst Pierre McGuire to a six-year contract extension, starting next season and running through to the duration of the network's new deal with the NHL, according to sources.

It is believed McGuire has an escape clause should he choose to return to the NHL, where he worked previously as a head coach.

McGuire and the network declined to comment, but a source close to TSN confirmed an agreement in principle has been reached.

As well, TSN will move to sign hockey analyst Glenn Healy to a contract extension. Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, strongly denies rumours that the network is pursuing Healy for Hockey Night.

The first requirement of Hockey Night, starting next season, will be play-by-play announcers, not analysts.

The best Canadian play-by-play announcer not on national television is Leafs voice Joe Bowen. For a national audience, however, Bowen would need to tone down his enthusiasm for the Leafs and cut back on his signature expression "Holy mackinaw."

Davis Cup online

For next month's Canada-Mexico Davis Cup competition in Calgary, Tennis Canada will provide live online coverage at tenniscanada.com, free of charge and in high-definition TV.

Michael Cvitkovic, regional media director for Tennis Canada, said Canadian networks were not approached about airing the event because Tennis Canada anticipated that their schedules would be full.

The webcasts will be limited to Canada, but will be available in Mexico if a broadcaster in that country does not air the event. Canadian tennis analyst Robert Bettauer, a former Davis Cup member, will provide commentary.

The webcasts will be on Feb. 8, 2 p.m. EST (two singles); Feb. 9, noon, (doubles); and Feb 10, 10 a.m. (reverse singles).

Pierre LeBrun of The Canadian Press and Rogers Sportsnet contributed good information to the Hockey Night Hotstove segment, particularly a report on 22-year-old Swedish forward Fabian Brunnstrom, "the best player outside the NHL." Ken Campbell of The Hockey News did a piece on Brunnstrom earlier this season.

On NBC Sunday, analyst Mike Milbury described Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin as "dumb" (for skipping the 2007 NHL awards show, at which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year). He asserted that New York Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr no longer enjoys the game, calling him "Dr. Gloomy." And he said he would trade Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins, despite his strong season. "I've seen the flaws and they look to me to be fatal," Milbury said.

ESPN Classic Canada will air a 12-hour tribute to Don Wittman, the veteran CBC announcer who died of cancer last Saturday. Telecasts called by Wittman will begin on Saturday at noon EST with the seventh game of the 1994 Calgary Flames-Vancouver Canucks series.

The NFC championship game on Fox, New York Giants-Green Bay Packers, earned a 31.7 overnight rating (percentage of potential households tuned in). That ranks as the highest overnight rating for a U.S. TV show since last year's Super Bowl. It was up 12.8 per cent from last year's overnight rating for Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots on CBS. CTV's audience of 1.83 million increased 25 per cent from Global Television's late Sunday audience last year for Colts-Pats.

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