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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on May 5, 2004 6:23:58 GMT -5
RatingsTeam's TV channel a lot more objective CHRIS ZELKOVICH That loud noise you heard just after the Philadelphia Flyers scored the winning goal last night wasn't the sound of Richard Peddie sharpening his axe. It was the ear-splitting sound of CBC executives gnashing their teeth and rending their garments at the prospects of a Leaf-free playoff from here on in. Who knows, one of Don Cherry's jackets may even have been sacrificed. But who could blame them for mourning the prospects of a Leaf defeat? A seventh game would have been watched by as many as 4 million viewers and ratings for a conference final involving the Leafs would have been more than 1 million a game higher than a Tampa-Philadelphia series. The prospects of a Leafs team in the final, well, these are the things of which CBC dreams are made. - full Toronto Star articleFrom another article in the Star: Don Cherry, of course, is blaming the usual suspects [for the Leafs' exit], meaning any Europeans whose names he can remember.
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Post by LeafSuck on May 5, 2004 6:27:21 GMT -5
During the news before the games, the pro-Leaf CBC tried to justify their Leaf ass kissing.
"Well we lose alot of viewers once they're out"
Note, they never say this about the Habs or FLames or Nucks or Oilers or Sens. The CBC's Leaf-butting kissing is tiresome. I am so glad they lost. Hopefully thats the end of Don Cherry.
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Post by cigarviper on May 5, 2004 7:43:52 GMT -5
Unfortunately in recent polls, respondants voted almost %70 for Cherry to be back. Can you believe it?
I can see Don at his keyboard hitting the y key all night long. He loves himself.
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Post by LeafSuck on May 5, 2004 8:15:10 GMT -5
That poll was taken by a right-wing newspaper. Most readers like Cherry for his political views, not his opinion on hockey.
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Post by blny on May 5, 2004 8:27:38 GMT -5
I understand many of the reasons the CBC went pro Leaf some time ago. It echoes many of the reasons teh CBC went largely pro Habs in the 80s.
When CBC decided to air predominantly Habs games in the 80s, though not to the extent of the current lovefest with the Leafs, it stemmed from the fact that the Leafs were putrid. The days of Dan Daoust were not fun ones for Leafs fans. The early reasons given by many for the move to a mainly Leafs sched by the late 90s was that the Habs on ice product was less than stellar, while the Leafs were icing very competitive clubs. The feeling was/is that you cater to the market that's witnessing success because you're more likely to get viewers keen on seeing winning Leafs hockey than the Habs struggling.
Perhaps the biggest reason though is the name of the show. "Labbatt's Hockey Night in Canada" as opposed to "Molson's ...." The sponsorship change had a major impact on who got aired every Saturday night. Labbatt's and Interbrew have a major stake in the success of the club, and certainly don't want to promote a team that has Molson blood in it. It's akin to seeing Ford plug Chevy products in their showrooms.
As Montreal returns to consistant winning, and the teams even out (or perhaps the "Geri-Leafs" go in the crapper) I think the pendulum will swing the other way. While this is good for Habs fans, it puts Leafs fans in the boat we're in now. They do have the right to watch their team too.
I have no problem with a happy medium. There is no reason that CBC can't rotate week on - week off with the clubs. This week Montreal, next Toronto. I'll never believe that a regular season game of Toronto's gets substantially, or even noticeably, better ratings. There is an even distribution of fans for both teams with their concentrations in each home province. The fact that both teams get large followings at all the other Canadian rinks says that the CBC should be able to draw roughly the same with a more Canadien flare to things.
I don't think that Cherry is the reason for the Leafs lovefest. While he is no doubt a homer for Toronto, some of it is an act appealing to the market. Until the CBC made a clear choice in who to broadcast over the other, Cherry was unbiased team-wise. At this point he's merely playing up to, or down to, the market.
The only solution, as I see it, is to get a dish or contact your digital cable provider. I know that Star Choice offers a package that supplies you with CBC/Global/CTV outlets from across the country. I'm on digital cable and would love to see my provider offer something similar. That way I can tune into CBC Montreal every Saturday instead.
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Post by jkr on May 5, 2004 18:00:35 GMT -5
The most interesting thing about this article was that the reporter found the most unbiased broadcast to be Leafs TV. They seemed to go out of their way to be neutral.
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Post by franko on May 5, 2004 18:20:16 GMT -5
Perhaps the biggest reason though is the name of the show. "Labbatt's Hockey Night in Canada" as opposed to "Molson's ...." The sponsorship change had a major impact on who got aired every Saturday night. Labbatt's and Interbrew have a major stake in the success of the club, and certainly don't want to promote a team that has Molson blood in it. It's akin to seeing Ford plug Chevy products in their showrooms. It has more to do with broadcast rights than sponsorship rights. RDS bought the rights to play Hab games -- SRC quickly gave up the bidding war (though a public outcry made them buy rights from SRC; hence Saturday games on two networks). Because CBC gave up the rights to broadcast during the regular season, there is indeed a reason CBC won't pay -- in fact, it makes sense for them not to pay -- they have Toronto in the East and then the western teams for the second game of the doubleheader. While there may indeed be they don't need to do it -- they have the advertising revenue while paying for only one team's broadcasts. btw, Ottawa fans have the same complaint: the Sens may be playing but Toronto games are shown here.  |
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Post by MC Habber on May 5, 2004 22:03:19 GMT -5
they don't need to do it -- they have the advertising revenue while paying for only one team's broadcasts. But they *do* broadcast some Montreal games where they aren't playing another Canadian team - I don't see why they couldn't just buy the rights to broadcast (nationally) more Canadiens' games and fewer Leafs' games. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 6, 2004 16:15:30 GMT -5
Actually, I don't really have a problem with Cherry being an out of the closet Leafs' fan. After all, he is a good ole Kingston boy, like his buddies Kirk and Dougie, who grew up down the shores from Leaf Nation. He also spent most of his NHL coaching years behind the bench in Bahstan Gahdens, where all allegencies were clearly anti-Hab. He has owned an OHL team in TO and is so intrenched now in the TO hockey culture (I am sure the Grapevine chain while it was open prayed allegences to all things blue and white because of its market location). So, we all know this bulldog won't change the colour of his stripes at his ripe old age.
When you look at SRC and RDS, to an outsider, they would paint a fairly strong pro-Habs bias. After all, they are playing to their audience, which is mainly very regional in Quebec. They hire folks that know the Habs and provide a fairly informed discussion about the team. Should that same bias be acceptable to 90% of the on air personalities of a national network? I would argue that some more impartiality is needed, but CBC also knows where its bread is buttered, and more revenues come from advertising (much resulting from Corporate HQ's based in S. Ontario) than from our little taxpayer contributions.
Until CBC, TSN, Sportsnet and the Score move outside of Toronto (which won't happen), the main hockey analysts and play by play guys will likely be drawn from a large host of unemployed ex-Leafs who all see the world through blue-coloured glasses.
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Post by Pam on May 6, 2004 18:20:28 GMT -5
I was watching most of the Leafs Playoff games on CBC on Centre Ice (a couple I only got on ESPN), and saw HNIC on CBC every Saturday since the beginning of January. It seemed to me that CBC is Pro Sens and not Pro Leafs. It got very annoying listening to Harry Neale and Bob Cole running on and on and on and on and on about how wonderful the Sens were and how they were going to win. Ugh!! Maybe CBC/Harry Neale/Bob Cole are bandwagon fans and talk up which ever team they like that day. I sure know I was ready to throw a brick at the TV with their gushing over the Sens whenever they played the Sens in Regular Season and the Playoffs.  So much for the NHL's Darlings (Sens)! |
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Post by franko on May 6, 2004 18:27:16 GMT -5
It seemed to me that CBC is Pro Sens and not Pro Leafs. It got very annoying listening to Harry Neale and Bob Cole running on and on and on and on and on about how wonderful the Sens were and how they were going to win. Ugh As someone who lives in Ottawa, the ugh about Cloe/Neale is that they know every nuance about every Leaf player but can't even match number to name on a Sens jersey; or, if they do happen to guess right they mispronounce the name. Of course I'm whining -- I don't like either of them! |
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Post by Pam on May 6, 2004 18:44:04 GMT -5
As someone who lives in Ottawa, the ugh about Cloe/Neale is that they know every nuance about every Leaf player but can't even match number to name on a Sens jersey; or, if they do happen to guess right they mispronounce the name. Of course I'm whining -- I don't like either of them! LOL!! ;D ;D ;D Hey, we all have to whine sometimes don't we.   |
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So much for the NHL's Darlings (Sens)! 
