You want predictions? Okay, you've got 'em!
1. Pan European network Eurosport will begin airing on DirecTV and Dish Network. Cable companies will resist any thoughts of adding it, but eventually they'll do it.
2. Meanwhile, up in Canada, on New Year's Eve, it's announced that CBC will lose the NHL to a Bell/Rogers consortium with TSN, RDS and SportsNet airing all the games on cable(no more OTA matchups on Saturday nights). CTV and Radio-Canada will air games on Sunday afternoons, selected playoff matchups and the Stanley Cup Finals.
3. This is not until 2021, but here goes. The NFL will negotiate a new Canadian TV contract with 1 p.m. games on TSN and RDS, 2 p.m. games on CTV and Radio-Canada and 4 p.m. games on City TV, CTV 2 and TVA sports. And CBC/Radio-Canada will get the Sunday night game, as well as the playoffs. And here in the USA, ESPN gets the 1 p.m. games, CBS will air the 2 p.m. games, and Fox airs the 4 p.m. games. You'll also see UniMas air the 2 p.m. games in Espanol. And NBC and Telemundo will air the Sunday night games. (All Times Eastern, of course).
4. Having lost the EPL, ESPN will carry English language coverage of the Liga MX and Copa MX with commentary by Tony Tirado and Toby Charles.
5.Nickelodeon and CTV will produce new episodes of "Fifteen."
6. NHK will start a new Japanese-language channel here in the USA. All programs will air commercial free with commercials airing between programs.
7. An all fine arts network will be started by Comcast. Classical music, arts cinema, ballet, drama, jazz and other cultural programs will air commercial free with commercials between programs.
8. Saturday morning cartoons will return to the CBS, ABC, NBC & Fox networks with the E/I requirements relaxed.
9. MTV and VH1 will stop airing reality shows and return to their music roots.
10. Bravo will go back to its fine arts roots.
11. Next Christmas, Home Shopping Club will bring back its Christmas Family Special from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve with their Yule Log airing between 3:00 p.m. Christmas Eve and 12:00 Midnight Christmas Night.
12. EWTN chaplain Father Joseph Mary Wolfe of the MFVA will become President of EWTN's rival Catholic TV based here in Boston.
13. We will have an all Irish channel, airing drama, music, culture, sports and live news from RTE in Dublin and TG4 in Connemara.
14. Original programming will return on Saturday nights to the networks, with mostly variety shows and live concerts.
15. Evening at Pops will air live on CBS in the USA and CBC in Canada.
16. RAIITALIA will sign-off for the last time, but a new RAI USA channel will take to the airwaves here in the USA.
17. The International Channel will return to the air.
18. CBC will start an American television channel featuring drama, arts, comedy, news and amaetur sports.
19. NBC will air every minute of the Olympics, as well as the English Premier League, live.
20. You'll see more World Cup qualifying matches on OTA TV here in the USA.
21. Shortwave broadcasting will be revived in the USA.
22. We might see our first Australian TV channel in the USA.
23. Finally, a channel dedicated to variety shows will begin airing on diginet and able.
Hey, it could happen. What do you say?