News That Is Sure To Surprise You: The NHL Favors NBC Over CBC

Stunning. I know. But it is quite clear that by what the NHL is doing on Saturday, they care much more about NBC and their American audience than CBC and hockey's Canadian audience, even though hockey is a much bigger sport in Canada than it is in the United States. So what has Garry Bettman done this time? Well....Hockey Night In Canada won't exactly be Hockey Night in Canada this Saturday. Instead, it will be Hockey Afternoon In Canada. From The Hockey News.

If there were ever any doubt the NHL has almost no regard for Canadians and the network that broadcasts games to them, let there be doubt no more. The league’s decision to cater to NBC by having Game 4 of the Montreal-Philadelphia Eastern Conference final at 3 p.m. Saturday is nothing short of an outrage.

You see, the Saturday night slot for Hockey Night in Canada is sacrosanct. The last time the league pulled this, in Game 2 of the first round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Canadiens, CBC lost 800,000 viewers. There are those at CBC who reckon that number will be up well over one million for this one. That’s because Canadiens aren’t hard-wired to watch hockey on a Saturday afternoon and, as it turns out, they won’t all watch it regardless of what time it’s on.

Nice, eh? The league gives priority times to a network that would probably draw about the same numbers as it would if it showed old strongman competitions or tractor pulls at the same time. Meanwhile, people in British Columbia get treated to Hockey Morning in Canada, all in the name of catering to American viewers. To add insult to injury, NBC had apparently originally planned to not air any of the games in Montreal during the playoffs, but has since backtracked on that decision.

And don’t think the people at the CBC aren’t incensed at how they’ve essentially been told by the NHL they’re second-class citizens. You’d think the NHL would realize the CBC recoups that $110 million it gives the league with ad revenues, but again, you’d be wrong. Cutting out that many viewers by putting the game on in the afternoon puts a serious dent in the rates CBC can charge advertisers, so it makes far less money. And if you think the NHL will make that up with increased revenues from advertisers on NBC, you’re dreaming.

And when it comes to league-wide hockey-related revenues, something that should get the league’s attention, just how many more $10 beers does the NHL think it’s going to sell by putting a game on at 3 p.m. as opposed to 7 p.m.?

When games are played in Montreal, traditionally Reseau des Sports gets first priority in terms of camera positioning, intermission guests and access to the teams. CBC is second and NBC is third. In all other Canadian cities, CBC gets top priority and in all American cities, top priority goes to NBC, with CBC second in the pecking order.

Some at CBC are anxious to see what the pecking order will be for Saturday’s game. Chances are, though, they’ll show up at the rink on Saturday to find out the league is rolling out a red carpet and hiring a marching band for NBC and they’ll have to be pleased with getting Ryan O’Byrne as an intermission guest.

I can't say I disagree with anything here. CBC has been partners with the NHL since the days of yore and they completely disregard them for a network that has proven countless times that it does not give two shits about hockey. But alas, that is Gary Bettman and his hard on for the United States. After all, since when has Gary Bettman ever cared about that huge island landmass northeast of the United States?