On thin ice: Hockey Night in Canada and the future of national public service media

Abstract

This article considers the implications of rising sports rights fees and emerging digital media technologies for legacy public service broadcasters. I argue that, while the Hockey Night in Canada sublicensing agreement with Rogers prompted a significant amount of criticism of the CBC at the time, it is consistent with the broader history of the program. Furthermore, the situation is most significant in that it exposes the tensions between the CBC and the marketplace as manifested in CBC-TV. I suggest that this deal illustrates that the CBC should exit the commercial television marketplace. I conclude by suggesting that the CBC should shift its focus toward a renewed emphasis on noncommercial programming in areas often neglected by the commercial media. This approach could potentially provide a model for how legacy public service media institutions might reassert their civic and cultural value in an increasingly convergent and commercialized mediascape.