Rogers Sportsnet "got to show off its bells and whistles" during the opening doubleheader of the company's new national NHL Canadian media-rights deal, but then the network settlled into "what was a solid night of broadcasting," according to Allan Maki of the GLOBE & MAIL. Sportsnet's first telecast "came with 14 cameras to show all the action in its 11,000-square-foot studio." The pre-game show for Canadiens-Maple Leafs "featured an outdoor mini-concert by The Tragically Hip and a mixed bag of familiar faces in different places." Sportsnet "had a whole bunch" of new cameras, including a sky cam and a ref cam. The ref cam "looked goofy the first time you saw it – a small contraption crazy glued to the top of a helmet." When it was used for the opening face-off in Toronto, the view "was so distorted it made you dizzy." But as the game progressed, the ref cam "provided a unique perspective." But several things "didn't work for Sportsnet's big-time debut." The Mark Messier commercials for Rogers "got old in a hurry," and the pre-game bit where analyst Darren Pang "took a plastic disk with the Canucks logo on it and plunked it into a computer that displayed numbers and graphics was too hokey." Maki: "It wasn’t all on the mark, but it will get there one day. As new eras go, the NHL and its Canadian TV partner are one with a shared belief: less is bad; more is good and never go small" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/9).
OVER THE TOP? In Toronto, Steve Buffery writes under the header, "Lots Of Hyperbole, But Sportsnet's First Hockey Telecast Was Impressive." Sportsnet's presentation "was impressive, although it was pretty obvious from the opening that Rogers’ modus operandi was to show off the [C]$5.2 billion they’ve invested on NHL hockey over the next 12 years, with the new studios and funny game boards, etc." (TORONTO SUN, 10/9). The CP's Bill Brioux wrote Sportsnet's pre-game show "tested out some of the new toys and tried to ease viewers into the transition." If there is "a knock on the set it is that it looks too American." Rogers' "Man Cave could also use a female presence or three." The ref cam "was used on the opening puck drop and then put in the same bin where Fox put that flaming puck tail distraction." The sky cam "was used sparingly during the broadcast." The opening anthem, which was "sung not by a rock star or celebrity but by the fans in the rink," was "a nice touch" (CP, 10/8).
