Shame on CBC

It's too bad that CBC doesn't see the ramifications of its inaction.

Recently the contract that CBC's Hockey Night in Canada had with the composer of its iconic theme song had run out. We as Canadian hockey fans have associated that song with Hockey, and in turn the CBC, for 40 years. The song has been known in Canada as the unofficial 2nd national anthem. It's as important here as the theme to Monday Night Football is in the U.S., probably more so. I can remember hearing that song and I'd know that I was going to be in for a great Saturday night.

After CBC negotiated with the song's composer, Dolores Claman, no agreement could be reached. The song however will not be sitting on the shelf collecting dust, CTV, the owner of TSN, the Canadian ESPN, swooped into the mix and bought the rights to the song "in perpetuity". This means that TSN's hockey broadcasts will now be lead into by the famous song. In my opinion, this is a great move for TSN, they've now put themselves in a position where they have the premiere broadcast rights to almost all the major sports, including the NHL, NFL and NBA, as well as the heart of the nation. And what does CBC have? Well, they still have Hockey Night in Canada, but will it be the same?

The CBC is going to be banking on the fact that the H.N.I.C. brand will be enough to keep viewers and sponsers linked to their network for the upcoming NHL seasons. And in an attempt to keep brand loyalty, the CBC is having a contest where people can create the new H.N.I.C. theme song. A good idea in theory, but it makes me wonder how many songs will be submitted that have that same rythm and cadance as the original.

I believe that many people will be making moves toward TSN for their tv hockey viewing. The song is seen as a symbol for all hockey in Canada and CBC just lost the right to have it. It's easy enough to say that they should have payed any price to keep the song on their network, but their tax-payer funded budget is nowhere near the private budget of CTV, if the negotiating came down to money than CBC never had a chance. That being said, they still should've done more. Generations of people have watched the CBC for their hockey coverage, and from now on that broadcast has lost something special, and I don't think that Don Cherry and Ron MacLean will be able to hold it together on their own.