Bell Globemedia bidding $1.4B for TV hockey rights
The Globe and Mail is reporting that Bell Globemedia, owners of CTV and TSN, are looking at offering $140million per year over a 10 year period to gain exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to NHL games. This would include Saturday night games effectively ending CBC's long running Hockey Night in Canada which they have aired since 1952. CBC's contract with the NHL expires after the 2007-08 season.
TV's Hockey Wars
Hockey telecasts remain one of very few money makers for the CBC, especially in the play-offs. It's believed the CBC rakes in more than $30 million a year in profit from Hockey broadcasts. Without that money, the CBC would be faced with a huge hole in its revenue.
Having already stolen sportscaster and Olympic commentator Brian Williams, now BellGlobal is trying to get its hands on Hockey Night in Canada. Creating a private sector monopoly to dominate the media market place leaving CBC to re-run Mr. Dressup. This is NOT competition, it is monopolization. CBC has historically facilitated competition in the radio/TV market place, like our national railway, post office and airline, they created and serviced markets that private capitalism would not take the risk on.
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I say ditch the CRTC laws on must carry Canadian content. Then you let Shaw, Bell etc, create a "canuk package" that has Canadian programming, and let the people of Canada decide whether it is worthwhile buying that theme, same as sports, news, education etc. I know this will never happen, as we all know what the outcome would be. Any time you force a product or service into the marketplace, that is a sure indicator that it would not last a week on its own.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theory.. except the Liberals run Bell Globemedia, not the Conservatives.
ReplyDeleteThose who proclaim the freedom of the marketplace for the electronic media, radio, TV and cable forget that this airspace is public. That it was the public who licensed the space, who created the media in the first place since private companies saw little value in it, that is could not figure out a way to make a profit. Once they did then the laws changed, liminting public access and allowing for private monopolization of public space.
ReplyDeleteFor instances in the 1970's when cable was introduced in Canada the CRTC ruled that we the people should have free access to the cable networks, that they had to provide us a channel for us. They did for a period of time and over the last decade that channel has disappeared replaced by their own 'community' programming.
The origin of 'public' access and 'public' broadcasting is the origin of the electronic media, not visa versa.
See: Monthly Review