The CBC recently had the term contract rights to the Hockey Night In Canada (HNIC) theme song come to an end and have failed to renegotiate deal that would see the song remain on the CBC television show.
Dolores Claman's song has been one of the most recognizable tunes on Canadian television and the round-up call for millions of Canadians to gather around the tv sets for an evening of hockey. To many people, the song is the unofficial anthem of hockey and some I'm sure would love to see it take the place of O Canada even. The song cost the CBC around $500 for every time that it was played on the air in their contract. The CBC apparently was not keen enough to keep the song safe under their own contract and even publicized the idea that they might be accepting applications in a contest to create a new HNIC theme.
Today, CTV and TSN announced that they have purchased the rights to the song, ending the nearly 40 years of the CBC's theme. This is one more battle lost by the CBC in the sports television competition as TSN is beginning to solidify itself and forge ahead in the NHL television market. It will forever remain as the Hockey Night in Canada theme for Canadians...we'll just be seeing it on another channel now. Will we soon see Grapes and McLean leaving as well?...it's come close to that before.
Here's a track of the HNIC theme from the 1970's and 80's to bring back some memories of the good ol' days.
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