J
Joseph_Gallant
Guest
The Canadian Media Guild is reporting on their website (5 P.M. EDT September 28th) that the CBC is about to present a "comprehensive" offer to the locked-out Canadian Media Guild (CMG).
The blurb was written before 4:30 P.M. EDT, which is when the Guild reports is the time that the CBC was to present their offer (the CMG website reports that the CBC offer was to have been made to the union at 2:30 EDT, but had been delayed). As I write this, it is about 5 P.M. EDT, a half-hour after that time. Unless the presentation of the offer has been delayed, I suspect it has been presented to the union.
This development comes on the third day of negotiations mediated by Canadian Labor Minister Joe Fontana.
Of course, there is an unofficial but symbolic deadline: The premiere of "Hockey Night In Canada" is scheduled for Saturday, October 8th with three games. The two early (7:10 P.M. EDT) games are "regional", although one of them---Montreal at Toronto---will be seen on all CBC television stations except CBOT-4 Ottawa, which will carry Buffalo at Ottawa. I would think that the management of CBC Sports would like to summon announcers and key production personnel to Toronto a few days prior to that for an annual "pre-season meeting" of the major people on both sides of the camera. There probably would be similar meetings in each of the six Canadian NHL cities with local production crews who do "HNIC" games in those cities.
I would think that for "HNIC" to properly get it's new season "off the ground", these meetings would have to take place at least two days prior to the first games being broadcast. Ideally, these meetings should occur on Monday (October 3rd) or Tuesday (October 4th) of next week, prior to the start of the regular-season (which is Wednesday the 5th). So the unofficial deadline is probably anywhere from late Sunday night the 2nd until sometime next Wednesday the 5th.
The CMG website (and I presume the CBC's negotiations website as well) will be updated when they have more to report.
The question needs to be asked: Is the offer that (I presume) is being made to the CMG as I write this note a real breakthrough that will end the CBC lockout?? Or will it, like all previous offers from the CBC, be rejected?? And if the CMG rejects this offer, is there still time for an agreement to be made in-time for "HNIC"'s season opener?? Or will Canadian NHL fans tune-in CBC Television on October 8th to see either an NHL game with management camerawork and no announcers, or perhaps no NHL telecast at all??
Update (6:40 P.M. EDT): CBC has released on their "CBC Negotiations" website details of their latest contract offer to the CMG.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Joseph_Gallant on 09/28/05 10:40 PM.</FONT></P>
The blurb was written before 4:30 P.M. EDT, which is when the Guild reports is the time that the CBC was to present their offer (the CMG website reports that the CBC offer was to have been made to the union at 2:30 EDT, but had been delayed). As I write this, it is about 5 P.M. EDT, a half-hour after that time. Unless the presentation of the offer has been delayed, I suspect it has been presented to the union.
This development comes on the third day of negotiations mediated by Canadian Labor Minister Joe Fontana.
Of course, there is an unofficial but symbolic deadline: The premiere of "Hockey Night In Canada" is scheduled for Saturday, October 8th with three games. The two early (7:10 P.M. EDT) games are "regional", although one of them---Montreal at Toronto---will be seen on all CBC television stations except CBOT-4 Ottawa, which will carry Buffalo at Ottawa. I would think that the management of CBC Sports would like to summon announcers and key production personnel to Toronto a few days prior to that for an annual "pre-season meeting" of the major people on both sides of the camera. There probably would be similar meetings in each of the six Canadian NHL cities with local production crews who do "HNIC" games in those cities.
I would think that for "HNIC" to properly get it's new season "off the ground", these meetings would have to take place at least two days prior to the first games being broadcast. Ideally, these meetings should occur on Monday (October 3rd) or Tuesday (October 4th) of next week, prior to the start of the regular-season (which is Wednesday the 5th). So the unofficial deadline is probably anywhere from late Sunday night the 2nd until sometime next Wednesday the 5th.
The CMG website (and I presume the CBC's negotiations website as well) will be updated when they have more to report.
The question needs to be asked: Is the offer that (I presume) is being made to the CMG as I write this note a real breakthrough that will end the CBC lockout?? Or will it, like all previous offers from the CBC, be rejected?? And if the CMG rejects this offer, is there still time for an agreement to be made in-time for "HNIC"'s season opener?? Or will Canadian NHL fans tune-in CBC Television on October 8th to see either an NHL game with management camerawork and no announcers, or perhaps no NHL telecast at all??
Update (6:40 P.M. EDT): CBC has released on their "CBC Negotiations" website details of their latest contract offer to the CMG.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Joseph_Gallant on 09/28/05 10:40 PM.</FONT></P>