A joint Rogers/Bell bid could have between them secured all network NHL rights in Canada, with CTV getting "Hockey Night In Canada", TSN keeping the national NHL cable rights, the potential for City TV stations in the Canadian NHL cities to have a handful of local midweek games (along with the Rogers Sportsnets), and for TSN and CTV to split the playoff games of Canadian based teams with CTV broadcasting the Finals.
I would expect Bell may either try a joint bid with CBC, or (far more likely) for Bell to bid alone.
CBC may only have two more seasons of the NHL.
What would happen if Bell got the NHL rights after 2014? My idea is that Bell will take the rights out of CBC's hands. You'll see the 2 TSN networks and the 3 RDS networks air games every night of the week. On Saturday nights, you'll probably see the 5 cable networks airing multiple games live. And on Sunday afternoons, you'll probably see 2 or 3 regional broadcasts on CTV, one of which will air in French over SRC Radio-Canada. During the playoffs, TSN and RDS will air the bulk of the playoff coverage on the 5 networks, with the weekend games carried over CTV and Radio-Canada. And you'll see CTV and Radio-Canada air the finals on a national basis.
Let's face it: Bell will make deals with broadcast partners to air limited OTA packages each weekend.
Any comments?
