Rogers Sportsnet's George Stroumboulopoulos on Saturday debuted as host of "Hockey Night in Canada," anchoring the net's "new interpretation of the venerable TV franchise in spite of the apparent displeasure of long-time host Ron MacLean and partner Don Cherry," according to John Chidley-Hill of the GLOBE & MAIL. Stroumboulopoulos was "dynamic throughout the pre-game show," leading several discussions with analysts pulled from the CBC’s former "HNIC" crew and Sportsnet’s roster of hockey experts. He "was energetic in all of his segments." But not everyone on "HNIC" was "thrilled with the changes." Cherry at the start of the Coach's Corner segment "asked how much time he had to get through his list of topics." Cherry: "I only got five minutes, eh? This is what you call phasing a guy out, you know what I mean?" MacLean responded, "At least you’re still in the phasing part." Cherry: "Yeah, yeah, you’re phased out." The "highlight of the pre-game show" was a taped interview by Stroumboulopoulos with Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/12).
COLLATERAL DAMAGE? One "HNIC" staffer said, "I’m angry at the CBC for how they handled this. I think a lot of people are mad. They fired 50 people in sports and those are people with families." The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts wrote CBC and "HNIC" staffers believe NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and COO John Collins "were willing to offer the CBC a compromise that would have saved a scaled-down version of Hockey Night for the network that still would have been a significant source of revenue." Those staffers "also believe the CBC executives missed this chance because of their failure to recognize the changed broadcast landscape and to see the threat posed by Rogers and BCE Inc., which owns the TSN and CTV networks." The anger of the staff "is directed" at CBC President Hubert Lacroix and the two execs in charge of negotiations -- CBC Exec Dir of Sports and GM of Olympics Jeffrey Orridge and Interim Exec VP/English-Language Services Neil McEneaney (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/11).
GAINING STREAM: In Toronto, Raju Mudhar noted Rogers' "major marketing push has been towards Rogers NHL GameCentre Live," which also includes a new GamePlus mode with extra camera angles "exclusively for Rogers customers." The service is "already a hit, with the company reporting more than 55,000 fans live streaming the games on opening night," with 75% at home and 25% "on the go." Mudhar: "My initial impressions -- it is very cool and works well. Rogers says the Ref Cam is the most popular, and it is a very cool new look at the game. The Sky Cam is okay, but a little too far removed the action." However, it "is a bit troubling the GamePlus angles are exclusively for Rogers customers" (TORONTO STAR, 10/11).
