TSN "believes it took another shot to the chin from the NHL after failing to win the broadcast rights" to the '16 World Cup of Hockey, which were awarded to Rogers, according to David Shoalts of the GLOBE & MAIL. Sources said that Bell Canada President & CEO George Cope, whose company is the parent of TSN and CTV, "is not happy," although no one is saying much publicly. Shoalts notes TSN execs "worried about the bidding process" because Rogers is in the first year of a 12-year, $5.2B (all figures Canadian) contract for the NHL’s Canadian national broadcast rights. TSN "expected the competition for the World Cup," which is being operated by both the NHL and the NHLPA, "to be a blind auction with the winner being the highest bidder." The auction "was held about 10 days ago." TSN’s bid was between $28-32M for the two-week tournament, "which will be held for the first time in 12 years." TSN execs "were sure they had the highest bid but were informed by the NHL that Rogers was the winner." CTV President of Sports & Entertainment Programming Phil King said, "We were told the rights were being awarded to Rogers. As far as we can tell, they (Rogers) seem to have a quasi right to match." While it is "unlikely Bell Media will challenge the NHL’s decision, this will not create a thaw in the relationship between the two parties," as those relations "were torn apart" when the NHL awarded Rogers its Canadian broadcast rights. A source said that TSN "expected to lose" between $8-10M on its World Cup of Hockey bid (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/29).
