Ron MacLean and CBC just got pushed out of one of Canada's oldest hockey habits.
That is the real blow here. Hockey Night in Canada is not disappearing, but Saturday nights on free over-the-air CBC are.
Sportsnet announced Tuesday that the NHL will no longer be broadcast on CBC, ending the cross-licensing partnership that kept certain games on both networks.
From next season on, Sportsnet will carry all Saturday games under the new 12-year NHL rights agreement that starts in 2026-27.
That changes the feel of Saturday hockey in Canada right away. For a lot of fans, CBC was not just another channel. It was the front door.
CBC first aired Hockey Night in Canada on television in 1952 and held exclusive Saturday night rights through the 2013-14 season.
The last 12 years already told the story of where this was heading. Sportsnet ran the production and CBC carried the games, but the old arrangement still left the tradition visible on public television.
-
The new face of Hockey Night in Canada has fans furious and the reaction is intense
Because this is the clean end of a Canadian ritual that always felt public, even after Rogers took control of the business side.
Sportsnet called it a time-honoured tradition and said it is privileged to keep delivering it. CBC said it is moving into a new sports programming strategy after the Milano/Cortina Olympics.
The business reason is obvious. Rogers and the NHL signed a new 12-year national media rights deal worth $11 billion Canadian, running through the 2037-38 season.
That deal gives Rogers national rights across TV, digital, and streaming for national regular-season games, all playoff games, the Stanley Cup Final, and special events. It also allows strategic sublicensing, but CBC is no longer part of the Saturday package.
So yes, hockey will still be there on Saturday nights. But it will sit behind Sportsnet's platform instead of living on a channel every Canadian household could find without thinking about it.
That is why this lands as more than a media note. It is the official end of the CBC version of Hockey Night in Canada, and that means the tradition survives while the feeling around it changes for good.
Source : CBC announces pathetic replacement for Hockey Night in Canada broadcast
Will Hockey Night in Canada feel the same without CBC on Saturdays?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Elliotte Friedman just revealed a major new twist in Toronto's coaching search
