Canada’s national broadcaster has been handed a double major from hockey fans across the country who were unable to watch the Edmonton Oilers clinch their first Stanley Cup appearance in 18 years.Instead of carrying the game on (free) nationwide TV, hockey fans were forced to tune into specialty channel Sportsnet — which is only available on paid cable packages — instead. Due to a contractural arrangement, the game wasn’t available on the CBC’s Gem streaming service, either.Instead, it broadcast the season finale of cross-country reality competition show Canada’s Ultimate Challenge..In a statement, the broadcaster defended the decision.“We set our schedule long before the playoffs are determined. And that schedule includes Canada’s Ultimate Challenge on Sunday nights (April 28-June 2) as well as the CSAs gala,” said spokesman Chuck Thompson. “With that context, we knew there would be occasions during the playoffs when CBC would not be carrying certain games.”On social media irate fans said the decision was likely made once the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens were both eliminated from contention.“Truly I can't think of a statement more removed from reality and blind to their audience,” PR specialist Lindsay Finneran-Gingras wrote on her Twitter (‘X’) feed.The irony is that the CBC is supposedly dedicated to promoting Canadian content. .Hockey Night in Canada was licensed to Rogers Communications in 2013 along with exclusive national multimedia rights. In return, Rogers sublicences the Saturday night broadcasts and playoff games back to the CBC under contract starting in 2015.The decision to air non-hockey programming during the playoffs is unusual for CBC, which used to treat the season as sacrosanct — to the dismay of in the The National news division — which was rescheduled on a regular basis from April to June each year.In 1982, a broadcast featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II to proclaim the Canadian Constitution was bumped up more than an hour and a half to accommodate a playoff game between the Quebec Nordiques and the Boston Bruins.In a subsequent statement, CBC representatives said it plans to broadcast all games of the Stanley Cup finals.
Canada’s national broadcaster has been handed a double major from hockey fans across the country who were unable to watch the Edmonton Oilers clinch their first Stanley Cup appearance in 18 years.Instead of carrying the game on (free) nationwide TV, hockey fans were forced to tune into specialty channel Sportsnet — which is only available on paid cable packages — instead. Due to a contractural arrangement, the game wasn’t available on the CBC’s Gem streaming service, either.Instead, it broadcast the season finale of cross-country reality competition show Canada’s Ultimate Challenge..In a statement, the broadcaster defended the decision.“We set our schedule long before the playoffs are determined. And that schedule includes Canada’s Ultimate Challenge on Sunday nights (April 28-June 2) as well as the CSAs gala,” said spokesman Chuck Thompson. “With that context, we knew there would be occasions during the playoffs when CBC would not be carrying certain games.”On social media irate fans said the decision was likely made once the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens were both eliminated from contention.“Truly I can't think of a statement more removed from reality and blind to their audience,” PR specialist Lindsay Finneran-Gingras wrote on her Twitter (‘X’) feed.The irony is that the CBC is supposedly dedicated to promoting Canadian content. .Hockey Night in Canada was licensed to Rogers Communications in 2013 along with exclusive national multimedia rights. In return, Rogers sublicences the Saturday night broadcasts and playoff games back to the CBC under contract starting in 2015.The decision to air non-hockey programming during the playoffs is unusual for CBC, which used to treat the season as sacrosanct — to the dismay of in the The National news division — which was rescheduled on a regular basis from April to June each year.In 1982, a broadcast featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II to proclaim the Canadian Constitution was bumped up more than an hour and a half to accommodate a playoff game between the Quebec Nordiques and the Boston Bruins.In a subsequent statement, CBC representatives said it plans to broadcast all games of the Stanley Cup finals.
