Next Season - and TSN

[Dobber]

I caught in another thread how someone is trying to transition his morning ritual to include Sportsnet instead of TSN. He wonders how much TSN will care about the NHL. Here are some quick thoughts (and when I say 'quick' it means I didn't research anything, this is just off the top of my head - so exact dates and details may be slightly off):


- TSN had no NHL rights I believe through the latter half of the 90s? Not sure of exact year, but they went about five years without NHL rights. Hockey coverage was stronger than ever.
- TSN still has regional rights to Ottawa games and Winnipeg games
- After the Sportsnet deal, TSN promptly signed Duthie, McKenzie, Dreger and Miller (I believe). For a very long time. The panel will still be together and they won't be talking about cricket.
- TSN still has the WJC rights, and I'm sure they'll be all over the World Championships if they're not already.
- They will still lead with hockey, and may even increase the highlights and panel time. They were very much a part of covering hockey in the 90s

I think I'll still be watching TSN for highlights, free agent frenzy and trade deadline coverage. Unless Sportsnet gets McKenzie, Dreger and Duthie, they won't be able to compete in hockey talk

[doulos]

Couldn't agree more. The difference in quality between the talking heads on those two stations is really significant. TSN just knows how to do it right. They are not perfect, of course, but McKenzie alone is enough to push it over the edge for me. Hockey is the sport in Canada, and TSN is all about sports, so I don't see them letting off the gas.

[Reuben]

Agree with both above. TSN, based on the names it's held on to, has the advantage panel-wise. A big advantage.

But over time, that may shift.

Sportsnet's issue is that the regional coverage has resulted in regional names/personalities. Half the time you don't know who the hell you're watching, and that hurts. And Sportsnet also insists on insisting that their guys are experts we should care about. And that's really not the case yet. I mean Jaffe, Morrison, Cox, Chris Johnston, whoever...all big names to SNet, but not a lick on the TSN guys.

But I think that viewers will adjust as they see those faces after each game.

You'll stick with SNet once the game ends...and there's simply no way TSN can give an alternate panel to switch to after each game on SNet.

So we may start by watching the TSN boys at 3 for Sportscentre, and maybe at 4 for That's Hockey (I'm Pacific time, obviously)...but once viewers find a game, they likely won't switch back to TSN afterwards AS LONG AS the sportsnet panel is decent.

And as that continues to happen, SNet will make inroads.

It'll take a while. Like probably 4,5 years of the deal..but SNet should get there.

The bigger issue is all the talk about games on every channel. I can't speak for everyone and their dog, but I get SNet Pacific, SNET one, and the Score. I don't have West, Ontario, or East. So it's great to say you'll have TONS of games eeach night. How many can the viewer with the average package see?

[austeane]

Friedman went to SN, which is a pretty big deal. He is definitely in that upper echelon, even just for his 30 Thoughts. Will he be continuing that column on SN?

[The Bottlenecker]

But I think that viewers will adjust as they see those faces after each game.

You'll stick with SNet once the game ends...and there's simply no way TSN can give an alternate panel to switch to after each game on SNet.

So we may start by watching the TSN boys at 3 for Sportscentre, and maybe at 4 for That's Hockey (I'm Pacific time, obviously)...but once viewers find a game, they likely won't switch back to TSN afterwards AS LONG AS the sportsnet panel is decent.

And as that continues to happen, SNet will make inroads.

It'll take a while. Like probably 4,5 years of the deal..but SNet should get there.

The bigger issue is all the talk about games on every channel. I can't speak for everyone and their dog, but I get SNet Pacific, SNET one, and the Score. I don't have West, Ontario, or East. So it's great to say you'll have TONS of games eeach night. How many can the viewer with the average package see?

Like a rebuilding hockey team, it may take SNET some time, but eventually they are going to challenge for being the Gold Standard in Sports Journalism in Canada, and they are going to become our default channel for hockey. I like the panel on TSN, but they won't be enough to stop people from increasingly watching SNET.

[Pengwin7]

Mercy... that whole TSN vs. SportsNet thing sounds crazy up there.
I'd imagine the shift is really going to eff with the way the passionate Sports fans get their dose of hockey & other sports.

I remember when ESPN didn't re-bid (well enough) for the hockey package.
Once they dropped hockey, they didn't really cover much via highlights either.
Surprisingly, their limited hockey staff actually still do a decent job of internet coverage... but there's no chance I'll catch more than 5min of hockey highlights in a 1hr sports show.

I'm sure TSN will do a much better job staying with hockey... but sheesh, what a shift for y'all.

[MarmotKing]

I'm just wondering this:
How much will TSN be able to show highlights if they don't have rights other than some regional games? (For example, they only briefly showed one video per game of the world cup, then it was all pictures...)

[doulos]

Mercy... that whole TSN vs. SportsNet thing sounds crazy up there.
I'd imagine the shift is really going to eff with the way the passionate Sports fans get their dose of hockey & other sports.

This makes little difference for someone like me. I don't even have cable television and will be watching my hockey through GameCentre online (if I decide to get it again this year) or alternate online sources. At some point live sports is going to find a way to get away from the Cable television setup in a way that makes sense, and then TSN and Sportsnet will both become irrelevant.

[newfcollins]

I'll start watching Sportsnet for their panels when they start doing two things:

1) Have panelists that don't suck, and
2) Have actually interesting discussions.

Until then, I'll keep watching TSN. I don't think I've ever learned one bit of info from a Sportsnet panel.

As for Sportsnet Connected, or whatever they call their highlights show, no thanks. I've mentioned this before, but when Pat Burns (my all-time favourite coach) passed away, I watched Sportsnet to see their coverage. Instead of leading with that story, they decided the weigh-in for UFC was a bigger story, and led with that. That was followed by an interview with UFC president Dana White, and then the top five fights of the week. All before anything about Burns.

For TSN, I'd love it if they started showing old stuff. I'm not sure what they rights would be (if they aired it, do they own the rights or the NHL?), but if you told me that TSN is re-airing their unedited 2003 draft tonight, I'm watching that for sure.

[Dobber]

I'm just wondering this:
How much will TSN be able to show highlights if they don't have rights other than some regional games? (For example, they only briefly showed one video per game of the world cup, then it was all pictures...)

I beleive FIFA hogged those rights and doled them out only to those who pay. I think the Big 4 sports each allow for highlights to be shown everywhere - regular news networks, other sports networks, etc

[MarmotKing]

I beleive FIFA hogged those rights and doled them out only to those who pay. I think the Big 4 sports each allow for highlights to be shown everywhere - regular news networks, other sports networks, etc

I see. Thanks for the info. I was asking myself this for a while now.

[rataylor22]

I see. Thanks for the info. I was asking myself this for a while now.

FIFA is similar to the IOC, extremely corrupt and exclusive with video content. Same reason TSN can never show Olympics highlights. NBA, MLB, NHL, and MFL are all fine.

[Dutch]

I made it super easy on myself.

just cancelled the sports package. I'll find my stuff online...

[newfcollins]

I beleive FIFA hogged those rights and doled them out only to those who pay. I think the Big 4 sports each allow for highlights to be shown everywhere - regular news networks, other sports networks, etc

I laughed when watching highlights. They could should highlights of the games, but during the panels, they had to use still photos.

[butch]

I figure it'll be a bit of a learning curve for everyone during the first season .

for the bob mackenzie fans like myself , we'll figure out where to find the big guy