CBC Sports Plus delayed indefinitely

William Houston reported the other day that the long-anticipated CBC Sports Plus digital sports channel not only won't be launching this year, it may not launch at all. Houston cites carriage issues as one of the major problems, which makes sense considering the difficulties TSN ran into trying to get Rogers to carry TSN2 (and TSN2 had much more high-demand programming when it started than CBC Sports Plus was anticipated to have).

This is disappointing news for Canadian sports fans as a whole, as more channels tend to mean more sports events are available. However, it may be particularly damaging to CIS fans hoping to see more televised university sports content. I've been following the CBC Sports Plus saga for several years now, and first spoke to CBC Sports head Scott Moore on the subject for a Queen's Journal piece on CIS TV coverage in March 2008. At that time, he seemed quite optimistic that the CIS might have a plcae on the new channel, commenting, "I think it’s a great product that’s underexposed at the moment."

In September 2008, I took another look at the channel (see the factbox at the bottom of the page) and some other university sports initiatives, including some of The Score's new initiatives and Streaming Sports Network's expansion of its coverage. The other two networks were already in existence and thus had much firmer ideas about their coverage of CIS events, but Moore still sounded very positive about CBC Sports Plus and the chance to televise amateur sports content such as CIS sports. As I mentioned in my CIS Blog companion piece, CIS made a lot of sense for CBC, as the CRTC mandated them to carry at least 30 per cent amateur content per week and 80 per cent amateur content per year. CIS sports fit both of those criteria very nicely, and the timing of many CIS games on weeknights and weekend evenings would have been perfect, seeing as much of the other potential amateur content (skiing, curling, swimming, etc) generally takes place on weekend mornings.

The really disappointing thing about this is that it seems the Canadian Olympic Committee's proposed amateur sports network (which I also wrote about in the first piece) is also dead in the water; its website hasn't been updated in over a year. Both networks seemed quite promising and very interested in televising CIS content, and their interest alone might have convinced the other existing networks to see CIS programming as more valuable. Even the success of one of them could have made a substantial difference given the amounts of amateur sports content they were talking about carrying. For the moment, though, it looks like the status quo will prevail.

There is some reason for hope, though. Houston's report makes it clear that CBC Sports Plus hasn't been officially written off yet, and it could still launch in the future. If the CBC is able to acquire some high-end sports properties (more NHL content, some Blue Jays games, more soccer and basketball), they could be in a stronger position to force cable companies like Rogers to carry a new channel. Alternatively, Rogers Sportsnet's ratings could improve to the point where Rogers is no longer terrified of upstarts cutting in. There's also the chance that the CBC and cable companies might be able to come to a reasonable deal that would permit the channel to launch. It's not dead yet, it's just resting!



[Cross-posted to The CIS Blog]

Intertubes Roundup: CIS media coverage expansion and more

Seeing as I'm spending so much time writing for other sites and publications these days, which means this blog doesn't get updated as often as I liked, I figured I'd bring in a new feature and rework an old one. I'll try to do a Bucholtz Roundup post every week with links to some of the pieces I've written (for any readers who want to see what else I'm doing and why I don't have much time to write here). To keep it from getting too self-promotional, I also plan to include a Best of the Intertubes section, where I highlight some of the most interesting pieces I've seen over the last week (it's pretty much the old Links of the Day, but that never turned out to be daily and I like this title better). Collectively, I'll call the combined post the Intertubes Roundup. Here's the first one.

Bucholtz Roundup:

Out of Left Field/The CIS Blog:

- "More coverage of CIS Sports on the way?": This is a piece based off of the feature I wrote for Friday's Journal about the potentially expanding media coverage of the CIS. It includes quotes from CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore, Score Media chairman and CEO John Levy and Streaming Sports Network Canada president Bengt Neathery. The Journal piece is written as a traditional news story, while the blog piece features more analysis, so feel free to look at whichever one suits your fancy.

Queen's Journal, Friday, September 12:

- "Football prepares to face Golden Hawks": This is a preview of today's football game between Queen's and Laurier, featuring quotes from quarterback Dan Brannagan, running back Mike Giffin and head coach Pat Sheahan. It also includes the details of the last times Queen's played Laurier. The last Gaels' victory came on October 11, 2003 during the Tommy Denison era. Dan Pawliw was nice enough to link to this one in his excellent Queen's Football Newsletter.

- "An ugly mark on a beautiful game": This is a column I wrote about Canadian investigative journalist Declan Hill's allegations of match-fixing during the 2006 World Cup. I highly recommend Stephen Brunt's piece on the same subject in The Globe and Mail (which includes an interview with Hill) for those looking for more information on the topic. This interview with Hill in Der Spiegel (a German news magazine, but the article's in English) is also very interesting.

- "Gaels fall to Trent in regular-season opener": This is a game recap of the women's rugby team's loss to the Trent Excalibur Wednesday. It features interviews with co-captain Shauna Geerts and head coach Beth Barz. The team plays again at home tomorrow against the York Lions.

- "Rock and Roll Report Card": Yes, it's not sports, but this review of Alice Cooper's new CD Along Came A Spider is the first album review I've ever had published, so I thought I'd include it.

Queen's Journal, Tuesday, September 9:

- "Football defeats Guelph": My game story on the football team's 41-30 win over the Guelph Gryphons. Includes quotes from centre Dan Bederman, quarterback Dan Brannagan, running back Mike Giffin and head coach Pat Sheahan.

- "Baptism by fire": My game story on new Queen's men's soccer head coach Carlo Cannovan's first win over the Trent Excalibur Saturday, and the team's loss to the Carleton Ravens the next day. (My earlier thoughts on Cannovan's appointment can be found here [Out of Left Field]). The story includes quotes from Cannovan, defender Andrew Nador and midfielder Grame Webber, a new transfer from Cornell.

- "A win and a loss for women's soccer": A game story on the women's soccer team's victory over Trent Saturday and loss to Carleton the next day. Includes quotes from head coach Dave McDowell, midfielder Jenn Pentesco and striker/defender Sara Buckham.


Best of the Intertubes:

-"The Brief Wonderous Life of Angel Berroa" [Joe Posnanski, September 7]: Posnanski delivers his usual excellence with this post about Dodgers' shortstop Angel Berroa. He covers stats, fandom, bizarre stories, and the unusual places you have to turn to for hope when your franchise falls on tough times. Highly recommended.

-"The Hunted" [Ivan Solotaroff,Details (I don't usually read Details, so hat-tip to Deadspin's Clay Travis for picking this up), October issue (yes, it's from the future)]: A fantastic profile of Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who's been described as "the next Vince Young and the next LeBron James—in one".

-"Twelve-Year-Old Girl Kicked Off Boys' Basketball Team For Being Too Good" [Clay Travis, Deadspin, Sept. 12]: Clay makes another solid pickup, this one from The New York Times Magazine. Both his thoughts and the original article are well worth a read.

"Zen Dayley: Manny is taking it easy for all of us sinners" [Neate Sager, Out of Left Field, Sept. 12]: Neate has a great deconstruction of Daily Breeze writer John Klima's article that alleges in the lede, "Manny Ramirez is the worst ballplayer I have ever seen." What I like about Neate's piece is how he gets why Klima would write that and why Ramirez is frustrating to watch, but still exposes the illogical nature of Klima's arguments.

"Still dreaming of the Ontario Derby" [Duane Rollins, Out of Left Field, Sept. 13]: Duane comes through with some good insight about why an Ottawa MLS franchise may not be a ridiculous idea.

"Angst Over Sonics' Departure Drives Local Man To Reach For New Heights...With His Feet!" [Damon Agnos, Buzzer Beater, Seattle Weekly, Sept 11 (via the fabulous J.E. Skeets at Ball Don't Lie)]: This is a hilarious but sad post about a Seattle resident who's started kicking his ceiling to cope with the loss of the Sonics.

The song doesn't remain the same: CBC loses Hockey Night theme to CTV/TSN

Photo: For Hockey Night in Canada, the song doesn't remain the same. (Photo from The Globe and Mail)
CTV announced today [tsn.ca] that they've acquired the rights to the popular "Hockey Theme", better known as the opening soundtrack to the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, "in perpetuity." This comes shortly after the CBC's last-ditch attempt to bring in Gord Kirke as a mediator (as if he didn't have enough on his plate with the Leafs' GM search).

There are several intersting aspects to this move. First, it draws a hell of a lot of attention to TSN's new six-year deal with the league, and with every one of their games now featuring at least one Canadian team, the case can be made that their "Hockey lives here" slogan is becoming more and more accurate. It continues their attempt to look more like the first line instead of the grinders and checkers. It also should bring a fair bit of public goodwill to their side: just look at the reaction to this on call-in shows, online story comments and in the blogosphere. They're suddenly the good guys who saved "a cherished piece of Canadiana," according to CTV president Rick Brace [The Globe and Mail], while the CBC is portrayed as the heartless corporation that couldn't pony up the deal. I have no issue with CTV/TSN buying the song: in fact, I think it's a brilliant marketing move for them.

At first glance, it's not so good for CBC Sports: sure, their $100,000 talent search will draw attention, but it again looks as if TSN and CTV have once again stepped in with the resources to rid CBC of its top talent and properties when they weren't willing or able to pay for them (see Cuthbert, Chris; Williams, Brian). That isn't entirely the case here, as one of the main issues seems to be the lawsuit hanging over CBC's head rather than the strict financial terms, but you can bet that's how it's likely to be interpreted by the public, many who are very upset over this (and the politicians are even leaping into the fray [Adam Radwanski, The Globe and Mail).

I've got a fair bit of sympathy for the CBC here. They really were put into a bad position, first by the other side unexpectedly going to the media when negotiations stalled (or according to CBC Sports head Scott Moore, were still ongoing) in what seemed like a clear attempt to use public support as leverage in getting a deal. Also, as I mentioned, I doubt money was the main issue (especially as the CBC can apparently afford to put up $100,000 as a contest prize): the bigger problem was likely the outstanding lawsuit, as well as the new media rights. This new deal and situation works out great for composer Dolores Claman, as she can get her desired royalties (probably with a premium tacked on by CTV for the "in perpetuity" bit) while keeping her lawsuit active against CBC. It's also great for TSN: this is a shrewd marketing ploy that wil not only give them a good bit of public goodwill, but also associate their name, brand and network with hockey even more than before. The big loser here is the CBC, but I'm not sure if there's anything else they could reasonably have done.

In any case, this may not be as big of a loss for the CBC as you might think at first. Sure, they're taking some public flack at the moment, but they weren't driven into making a business decision based solely on public sentiment, which can often be a bad idea. Those negative feelings will surely dissipate with time, and people will flock to Hockey Night in Canada whatever the theme song is. Also, they clearly made a solid effort to keep the song, so they can play that up. Their $100,000 contest may sound like a gimmick, but the popularity of shows like American Idol and its imitators suggests that it's probably going to put up decent ratings (especially in hockey-mad Canada: they can hopefully attract both the hockey crowd and the American Idol crowd, and those twain have largely been strangers to this day). If they can pull in some decent ratings for the show, that $100,000 looks pretty minimal compared to some of the prizes offered on TV (think Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or its ilk), and they also get a free hockey theme that they can play whereever they like, however much they want and sell as any form of ringtone or other download they choose with nary a potential lawsuit in sight. Sounds like a pretty decent business decision to me.

Also, Moore suggests in the Globe's story on the deal that Claman wanted between $2.5 and $3 million for the song, so $100,000 looks like peanuts in comparision. Now, keep in mind that TSN may not have had to pay quite that much, as Claman's lawsuit was for $2 million: the $2.5 to $3 million figure may have included settling the lawsuit, and it may have also been inflated due to the animosity between the parties. This may hurt a bit in the short term, and I still think it's a big success for TSN and Claman, but the CBC isn't too hard done by here either.

Related:
- Press release on the new deal [tsn.ca].
- Steve's post on the mediation proposal. [Eye on the Media].
- James Mirtle's take on the matter [Mirtle].
- "CTV scoops up hockey theme song" [Brodie Fenlon and Peter Cheney, The Globe and Mail]
- "CTV gives the CBC a smackdown on the Hockey Theme" [HockeyNation]

Possible new TV coverage for CIS sports

I've been meaning to put this up for a while, but just didn't have the time. A couple weeks ago, I wrote a story for the Journal about two new proposed TV networks the CRTC is looking at. The first application is an initiative of the Canadian Olympic Committee, which wants to launch English and French channels focusing on amateur sports, called the Canadian Amateur Sports Network and Réseau des sports amateur canadiens respectively. The second application is from the CBC for its own sports channel, which would also include an amateur sports component. Scott Moore, the executive director of CBC Sports, told me that their application proposed 35 per cent amateur content. Both applications are currently before the CRTC, and should soon enter the "gazetting" period, where the public and other companies can intervene for or against the new channels.

These applications are interesting because they may very well lead to more televised coverage of CIS sports. CIS Director of Marketing Peter Metuzals told me that the CIS has been in contact with the COC about their application, and the website for the proposed new channels lists CIS as a supporter. Steve Keogh, the COC's communications manager, told me that they're quite interested in televising university sports. CIS officials haven't yet had extensive discussions with CBC, but Moore also seemed quite receptive to the idea of televising university sports.
"I think it’s a great product that’s underexposed at the moment," he told me. "If we get the license, it’s certainly an area we’d look at."

Anyways, that's the recap of the article. There were some other interesting aspects I picked up from the interviews for it that we couldn't fit in due to space, so I figured I'd try and highlight the best ones here.

One thing I found particularly interesting was Keogh's comment that the COC would be interested in picking up some of the CIS sports that aren't currently televised, as well as possibly televising regular-season games in sports where only the championships are televised. "Our goal is to put a spotlight on sports that don’t already receive attention, but that doesn’t mean we won’t want a high-profile CIS event," he told me. That seems to fit with CIS chief executive officer Marg McGregor's comments that she'd like to see more regular-season games televised. "We were very happy with the quality of the coverage we got this year from various networks," she told me. "That being said, for sure we would like to see more games covered, and not just the championship games, but the lead-up games to build that audience, build that interest and build that excitement, particularly around certain games that are good rivalries and good matchups."

Both McGregor and Metuzals were quite clear that any coverage on the new networks would supplement existing coverage rather than replace it: CIS is locked into a deal with Sportsnet for coverage of the men's hockey championships for the next two years, and is currently negotiating a renewal of their agreement with The Score for various championships, including football and men's and women's basketball. In my mind, this is the right move: you don't want to throw away what you have, and as McGregor said, the quality of the coverage The Score and Sportsnet provided was quite high. It would certainly help expose university sport if they were able to get other games or championships on the air.

Both McGregor and Metuzals seem to highly value television as a means to expand university sport's presence and influence, which is good to see. Metuzals told me he wants to see as many CIS sports and matches televised as possible. "I would like to have as much distribution as possible in a variety of sports,” he said. McGregor said that the exposure they get from television is quite valuable. "TV is an excellent vehicle to promote what a great product university sport is," she told me.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both of the proposed new channels for those hoping to see more CIS sports. The COC bid would likely feature more university sport content, but it will probably have a harder time passing, as they're applying for mandatory carriage. As the Globe's William Houston pointed out in his column about the networks when they were first proposed, "A must-carry designation is difficult to receive." The CBC bid may also have difficulty passing, as it's closer to what's already offered by TSN, Sportsnet and The Score, and the companies that own those networks may file negative interventions. Another advantage if the COC bid passes is it would mean more revenue for CIS: the organization currently subsidizes some of the broadcasting costs of Sportsnet and The Score, but CASN's website states that it would pay all broadcasting costs, donate up to one-third of the advertising time to the organization involved and also establish an amateur sports fund that organizations like CIS could apply to. CASN isn't focused on commercial viability, as it would be primarily funded by the mandatory carriage fees: thus, it would also have an easier time covering lower-profile sports.

Ideally for university sports fans, both networks would be approved. Some have suggested that the two proposed networks are hurting each other's chances, but Moore didn't see it that way. "The CRTC may see fit to license one or both, but I don’t see them as being directly competitive," he told me. There's a point there, as the channels would have dramatically different focuses: the CBC one would probably feature some Raptors games, along with other professional sports, and it would also likely serve as a place to run more coverage of events like the Olympics and World Cup, where there's usually a lot going on at once. Both networks would be quite helpful for the exposure Canadian university sports: hopefully, the CRTC will recognize that.

Speaking of the CRTC, Keogh told me community support will be integral to the COC's bid. "What’s going to sell this to the CRTC is public support," he said. "If the Gaels want to be on the air, they’ll need to throw their support behind this. ... We’re asking the entire sports community, not just the CIS, to put their support behind this so we can make it a reality. There truly is a need for this. What parent won’t want to watch their sons’ or daughters’ events across the country in both languages? It presents such a great opportunity."

Public support will probably be necessary for both bids, particularly if the anticipated negative interventions by other sports networks materialize. The CRTC's final decisions could be made as early as the fall or as late as next year.

One final thought: Metuzals was very optimistic about the viability of CIS sports in a television marketplace. "The quality of play, the quality of the athletes is tremendous," he told me. "If you’re a hockey fan, and you love pure hockey, you should be watching university hockey, because next to the NHL, it’s the best. … Basketball, it’s the highest-quality basketball we have in the country for both men and women. If you like it and you enjoy it—and a lot of people are playing basketball in the country—this is the avenue. I think in years to come, we will have something similar to the NCAA tournament, or we should try and focus on that—not such a big monstrosity, but certainly the awareness and the interest that people have in the game and the various teams playing, it’s a great opportunity for us to build it."

Normally, I'd take his words on his own product with a grain of salt, as he is the marketing director: however, there are many outside sources talking about the quality of CIS sports these days. As I wrote about on The CIS Blog today, everyone from Darren Dreger to Don Cherry has talked about how good CIS hockey is. It's true in other sports, too: media personalities like Michael Grange of the Globedevoted significant time to covering the men's basketball tournament (and did a great job of it too), and the NCAA-champion Kansas Jayhawks are coming north to take on Carleton and McGill this summer, while soccer only has pros like Srdjan Djekanovic and former NCAA Division I stars like Israel Jones. It's looking like a pretty good time for CIS sports, even with the threat of the NCAA still looming.