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Rogers Taking Over Canadian Hockey Broadcasts: Why It's Bad |
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As most of you are probably aware, the NHL recently signed a $5.2 Billion dollar broadcast deal with Rogers Cable, which means the NHL will no longer be on TSN and that the beloved Hockey Night in Canada will now be under the dubious control of Rogers.
This is bad for so many reasons. The first, obviously, is that the NHL is doing away with the broadcaster who puts on the best games in the NHL - and I can vouch for this, having watched what I have previously termed a "marriage risking" amount of hockey last year, taking in broadcasts from all over the league.
The difference in quality between TSN games and the second best games is greater than the difference between Sidney Crosby and the second best player in the NHL (so noticeably and indisputably better, basically).
So, for the NHL to greedily take the money and let their best broadcaster lose hockey games to an inferior competitor (Rogers Cable, i.e Sportsnet) is to me, an embarrassment for the league. Here's some problems:
- Sportsnet puts on worse games, has worse people working for them, and even their nightly Sports Desk type show is inferior. Despite being worse, they have now usurped hockey broadcasts from the unquestionably best.
- Rogers might be rich, but only because they basically have a monopoly on cable in Canada - they are a horrible company to deal with and not known for quality in anyway. Their cable/cell phone prices are high (Canadians have among the highest cell phone and internet bills in the developed world), and they have been poor owners of both the Leafs (their first move was to fire Brian Burke!) and Blue Jays.
- Their ownership of the Blue Jays has been particularly pathetic, acting like they are "small market" when in fact Toronto is one of the largest markets in the MLB and Rogers one of the wealthiest owners. In fact, just the other day, it came out that the Blue Jays are "not interested in taking money back in trades" despite the fact that they are in contention for the first time in 20 years and just spend a cool 5 Billion on the NHL. Let's just acknowledge for a second that The NFL knows what it's doing by not allowing corporate owners.
- Rogers is taking over Hockey Night in Canada, a Canadian institution. This is like if, in America, all apple pie was now brought to you by Comcast.
Their first move is to install ubiquitous hipster George Stroumboulopoulos as host at the expense of National Treasure Ron McLean. A move that, trust me, people would complain about more if it was easier to spell George's name. Never heard a single person complain about McLean but Roger's wants their own people. At least they are keeping Don Cherry, for now, although how long before they replace him with Greg Zaun? (A Cherry impersonator on Rogers baseball broadcasts).
Firing Glen Healy might make up for this, but since Rogers seems to revel in annoying people, it's likely Healy will be promoted! They have also brought in Darren Millard and you can bet HNIC will now feature 100% more Nick Kypreos yelling at confused senior citizen Doug Maclean. Now, why you would spend $5.2 billion to get the rights to the NHL and then just import the talent you had when you were the third tier broadcaster is beyond me. I mean, for what they are spending, keeping Millard seems the equivalent of buying a Mercedes and then changing your own oil to save $50.
The problem with all these moves is that Sportsnet has inferior people to TSN and now all the best broadcasters - Bob Mackenzie, James Duthie, Ray Ferraro, Pierre McGuire, Steve Kouleas etc. will now have no hockey to broadcast. This is just a bad move for short term gain (i.e money) by the league to allow the inferior Rogers to push out TSN and HNIC.
Competition drives quality and now there will be none. Furthermore, Rogers also owns the Leafs, so having them control 100% of hockey broadcasts in Canada seems like a conflict of interest to me. I am biased, of course, because due to dealing with them on a daily basis for my cable and internet, (of which they immorally gouge me) and due to their horrible tenure as Blue Jays owners and their already insufferable half ownership of the Leafs, I am thoroughly disgusted and distrustful of them already.
Furthermore, the fact is, the public broadcaster, owned by Canadians, and producing one one of the most beloved staples in this country for decades - i.e Hockey Night in Canada - is now being taken over by corporate dummies, and there are exactly zero instances of a white-washed corporation, motivated only by profit, improving anything.
Let's not even get into the fact that the NHL has a salary cap and two recent lockouts, but yet has record revenues, a 5 Billion dollar TV deal (just for Canada) and yet, players make less than they did ten years ago. Jarimor Jagr made only $1.5 million less in 1999 than the $12 million Sidney Crosby will make this year, which, adjusted for inflation is much more.
My prediction? The next CBA negotiations kill two seasons as NHL players refuse to play in a cap system anymore. And why should they? They are the ones we pay to watch, and, as far as I can tell, owners have never made more than they do today. I for one would rather see my money go to players and not owner.s
So, to conclude, Gary Bettman and his lawyers have sacrificed two things that were really great about the NHL: Hockey Night in Canada, and TSN's broadcasts (to say nothing of their spectacular production of things like the draft which is also done) and has replaced them with a company that has not really had success in obtaining quality in anything they do - whether it be putting on inferior broadcasts, hiring inferior people, owning professional sports teams or providing a decent service at an affordable price.
Rogers is about as popular and beloved in Canada as Nickleback or the Ebola virus. The NHL has sold out to the worst of corporations and my prediction is that it will live to regret it.
Thanks for reading.
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