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Rogers, NHL complete deal for TV exclusivity

I didn't expect a deal this soon, but did think a deal would be announced in mid-December.

I was surprised that Rogers would get sole national Canadian TV rights.

I expected that a consortium which would have included Rogers, CTV, and TSN would have gotten the rights.

I am stunned that the CBC still has the Saturday/playoff "Hockey Night In Canada" package, although I would think that midweek playoff games in the first three rounds will move to Rogers Sportsnet.

But it appears the CBC may only be guaranteed NHL games for four years. Could Rogers take games away from CBC in the 2018/2019 season and run "HNIC" on Sportsnet" or City after that time, or might the CBC keep the "HNIC" package beyond that??

I suspect that the CBC portion of the package may keep the same announcers they do now, even if CBC no longer produces the games. Remember that when Fox got half of the U.S. Sunday-afternoon NFL TV package (the NFC portion) in the mid-1990's, ending a 38-year run of NFL games on CBS, most of the key CBS football announcers and production personnel were hired by Fox.

I suspect that in six of the seven cities with Canadian-based NHL teams, the local Rogers-owned City TV stations might wind up with a few (I'd guess 15 or so) midweek regular-season games of their local team, with a similar deal possibly being made with someone in Ottawa (unless Rogers buys a station there to convert to "City Ottawa"). If that occurs, you can "bet your bottom dollar" that these local midweek games will be far and away the most popular shows on those channels.

With French-language coverage on TVA, it will mean that (in all likelihood) French-language Saturday-night games (of Montreal), weekend playoff games, and the Finals will return to over-the-air TV in Quebec; however, I would think that a French-language cable channel may get midweek games.

Articles and a webcast of the press conference announcing the deal suggest that there might be no more regionalization of "HNIC".

In a CBC News story (http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-scores-nationa-nhl-tv-rights-for-5-2-b-1.2440645 ) , Canaccord media analyst Davi Ghose suggests that Rogers could sell-off some games to Bell (parent of TSN and CTV). If the City stations in each Canadian NHL city that has one gets 15 or so local midweek telecasts of the local NHL team, I could see such a deal with the CTV Two station in Ottawa for local Ottawa Senators' telecasts. But I can't see any other scenario for Bell involvement.

One other note: Based on news stories, I get the impression that Rogers will buy airtime on CBC for "HNIC". Am I right in assuming that??
 
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CBC is giving Rogers the airtime for free in exchange for allowing CBC to promote own shows. CBC is not paying a rights fee and will receive no ad revenue.
 
"Categorically this is positive for shareholders at Rogers," he added. "It’s a financially good deal for us."

That says it all - who cares about the viewers.

In the big picture, this doesn't bother me a whole lot, except for the fact that Sportsnet is not on basic cable where I live; Cogeco includes TSN in its basic cable package but Sportsnet is in a premium package that costs over $20/month extra.
 
City TV already has a channel on air in Ottawa, but it's a rebroadcaster of Toronto. You don't need cable to see it but it is also offered on local cable. There won't be any conversion. So likely the games might air on sportsnet, as CITY is not allowed to solicit advertising in Ottawa. TVA is a possibility as well, as we have a local TVA affiliate.
 
So, if I understand this new deal, it will be similar to the Molson one where at the end of the old HNIC we'd hear the close "HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA IS A CBC SPORTS PRESENTATION , PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH MOLSTAR COMMUNICATIONS "
 
Also, TVA Sports might lease out some of the games to SRC Radio-Canada, so that the entire French market in Canada will be covered. Ya never can tell, you know.
 
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