[News] Sportsnet signs 12 year $5.2 billion for NHL CDN Broadcast rights.

[Bertuzzied]

TSN won't be gone. As much as some people hate it on here, the CFL is the 2nd most watched sport in Canada.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by MacFlame

It could, but it isn't, because it would be nowhere near as profitable. That would totally change the structure of how cable companies run their business.

Streaming games on tsn.ca or sportsnet.ca is essentially an "a la carte" model, which is great for the consumer, but not as profitable for Rogers..not to mention that it would absolutely kill a lot of the TV channels currently in existance.

12 years is a long time in the technology business and there's already pressure from players like Apple to shake up how content is delivered. I think the cable landscape will change significantly during this time. But rest assured, those that own the content (Rogers) will do just fine.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by moon

I am not sure why TSN would be gone in a few years. They still have a ton of other content, Sportscenter is light years ahead of Connected, their talent (even if they lose some) is still lightyears ahead of Sportsnet, they have a deal with ESPN that gives them solid programming and Sportsnet survived without hockey and morons running it so TSN should be fine with actual intelligent people running it.

Sportsnet has shown in the past the care about going cheap rather than getting actual talented people in place so it will be interesting to see if they do take some of the good people from TSN or go with the god awful people they already have in place.

Principe, Quinn or Kerr involved in a national broadcast would be a nightmare. DeBrusk and Garrett's super homerism would not translate well at all to a national game and Simmer puts people to sleep on the local broadcast.

Hard to see this as anything but a huge downgrade based on what we have seen from Sportsnet on all their programming not just hockey. Up to this point there has been nothing they do remotely close to as well as TSN so hopefully that improves a lot.

This brings up an interesting question. If Sportnet is really going to broadcast say 7 games on a Saturday, they are going to have to hire a boatload of commentators. Its one thing to have brutal or homers on regional broadcasts, but you can't have a national broadcast with crazy homers (even Hughson is subtle about his homerism) or awful announcers.

I guess the only truly national games will be the ones on CBC and City unless they show a game on all of the Sportnet channels. So I suppose they could cheap out keep Kerr/homers to do the games on Sportsnet West/East/Ontario/Pacific and just assume no one besides the fans of those teams are watching.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Ugh!

Sportsnet has the production quality of a College Brodcasting Newscast....and boom goes the dynamite.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

TSN won't be gone. As much as some people hate it on here, the CFL is the 2nd most watched sport in Canada.

and Dog shows.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

This brings up an interesting question. If Sportnet is really going to broadcast say 7 games on a Saturday, they are going to have to hire a boatload of commentators. Its one thing to have brutal or homers on regional broadcasts, but you can't have a national broadcast with crazy homers (even Hughson is subtle about his homerism) or awful announcers.

I guess the only truly national games will be the ones on CBC and City unless they show a game on all of the Sportnet channels. So I suppose they could cheap out keep Kerr/homers to do the games on Sportsnet West/East/Ontario/Pacific and just assume no one besides the fans of those teams are watching.

Having one game across all SN regional channels appears to be in the plans. If a game is on one of the regional channels, putting it on all of them is the only way to get away from the "regionalization" that they spoke of doing away with in the presser.

I also don't think they'll have regional guys calling games, only to do away with them and parachute in a national crew when the game is on coast-to-coast. It doesn't seem cost effective to shuffle people in and out that way.

About all we can hope for is an uptick in quality of the regional product. I'll believe it when I see it.

[$ven27]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

TSN won't be gone. As much as some people hate it on here, the CFL is the 2nd most watched sport in Canada.

Maybe outwest, don't know a single person who watches CFL.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I guess no one watches it then.

[$ven27]

No need to be a smart ass. CFL is more popular out west then it is here in the east/atlantic.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I have no idea if that's true. People watch it, that's all I know.

What's the second most watched sport among people you know?

[MacFlame]

Originally Posted by edslunch

12 years is a long time in the technology business and there's already pressure from players like Apple to shake up how content is delivered. I think the cable landscape will change significantly during this time. But rest assured, those that own the content (Rogers) will do just fine.

I agree with you. However, I guess my point is that the changing cable landscape is why this deal for Rogers is so important and why they were willing to pay so much for it.

Like the music industry, they are going to fight the inevitable change. A la carte offerings are a dream for many, but the cable industry has been fighting it relentlessly. This deal gives them more control over the NHL offerings, not less.

Their hope is probably that this will increase the subscription based revenue, while delaying or even halting the a la carte model. I have a hard time believing that they are going to offer on-line streaming without a full cable subscription...I hope I'm wrong.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

If they keep their panels the way it is, I know I for one will pretty much only watch the games, and skip the intermissions.

I honestly can't envision a game without Mackenzie's poignant information at the breaks. Outside of Friedman I can't think of a guy I actually like on TSN/Sportsnet, that includes most of their play-by-play guys and commentators as well.

This is a real sad day for hockey.

I always skip RSN intermissions. In fact I usually skip HNIC intermissions. The only time I ever tune into intermissions is when it's a TSN broadcast. They are just more informed and interesting usually than the rejects on RSN and I'm sorry but P.J. Stock to me means turn the channel as fast as possible.

I realize that the bottom line is that it's all about money but did Bettman or anyone in the NHL actually do any studying to see what Canadian fans think of RSN's coverage? If they did they would have realized that as a whole most hockey fans hate it. I got a boatload of texts from friends (mostly Oilers fans unfortunately) yesterday that were pretty upset with this. They all can't stand Principe and Debrusk in particular.

It's just kind of shocking to me that a sports league as big as the NHL would just take the money and give exclusive rights to what is clearly the least popular option hockey broadcaster in the country by a significant margin.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I always skip RSN intermissions. In fact I usually skip HNIC intermissions. The only time I ever tune into intermissions is when it's a TSN broadcast. They are just more informed and interesting usually than the rejects on RSN and I'm sorry but P.J. Stock to me means turn the channel as fast as possible.

I realize that the bottom line is that it's all about money but did Bettman or anyone in the NHL actually do any studying to see what Canadian fans think of RSN's coverage? If they did they would have realized that as a whole most hockey fans hate it. I got a boatload of texts from friends (mostly Oilers fans unfortunately) yesterday that were pretty upset with this. They all can't stand Principe and Debrusk in particular.

It's just kind of shocking to me that a sports league as big as the NHL would just take the money and give exclusive rights to what is clearly the least popular option hockey broadcaster in the country by a significant margin.

Meh... people rage and complain about everything. If you took that into account you'd have to have all games with Rick Ball as commentator, Ron McLean with Bob McKenzie/Elliott Freidman on every intermission.

They'll still watch. And there's no way that Rogers is going to spend 5.2 million and then put out some kind of amateur hour broadcast. They need to get viewers for their non-hockey programs like Connected to make this deal work out for them and if their hockey broadcasts are terrible people will still default to Sportscentre.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by $ven27

Maybe outwest, don't know a single person who watches CFL.

I don't know a single person east of Montreal. Must be empty out there! hehe

Regular season CFL games have audiences of 600k to 1 million each game.

[PeteMoss]

I think the bigger concern for the NHL would be that TSN has a track record of being able to build things into must watch EVENTS. The WJHC and the NHL draft are two things TSN has really been able to build up and develop into must watch events.

Can Sportsnet do the same with the draft or any other hockey event they may develop/create? The Memorial Cup is probably the closest they've came to developing a property but its still a long way away from being a big time event. Things like the all-star draft or draft may fade if Sportsnet can't build them up.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Meh... people rage and complain about everything. If you took that into account you'd have to have all games with Rick Ball as commentator, Ron McLean with Bob McKenzie/Elliott Freidman on every intermission.

No this isn't just complaints. People really don't like RSN. Look at the game threads over the years. The laughable PBP and production, the audio issues, audio/video sync issues etc. I really, really, really dislike how Sportsnet has taken the rights to Flames broadcasts and produced a 3rd rate product far inferior than even the old local channels like 2&7.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Regular season CFL games have audiences of 600k to 1 million each game.

That's only four games a week though, from July to October. Apples and oranges.

[troutman]

Button said on QR77 last night that the NHL left a ton of $ on the table by agreeing to 12 years. He thought they shouldn't have gone longer than 5 years. Why the long term?

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by troutman

Button said on QR77 last night that the NHL left a ton of $ on the table by agreeing to 12 years. He thought they shouldn't have gone longer than 5 years. Why the long term?

I'm not sure how ready Sportsnet is going to be. Scott Pelley admitted they went into talks with the NHL only wanting Sundays nights....

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by troutman

That's only four games a week though, from July to October. Apples and oranges.

That is still 162 games a year. and the playoffs draw around 2million people and the Grey Cup draws 4.5 million. TSN isn't folding.