2008-06-20

"Hockey Night In Canada" Just A Tune?

We all know music can become part of the cultural fabric of a society. Whether it's classical pieces from Mozart, Wagner or Verdi or the music of Woodie Guthrie and just about all bluegrass ballads, they all form the essence of a people. Pop culture too has produced unforgettable songs and tunes that will remain. These come in the form of standards in jazz or musicals of another era. Even television has added to this richness with, 'All in the Family, Cheers and Hill Street Blues' to cite some quick examples.

After a while, works of music don't necessarily have a monetary value to it. They pass on from being ratings and rankings tools to becoming an accepted part of a culture.

In other words, music has no price tag.

Tell that to the CBC.

The CBC badly messed up when they lost the rights of the famous hockey song to CTV. What made this incompetent move more incomprehensible is the spin and explanation for why they decided to "make a change."

CBC's 'Hockey Nigh in Canada' is indeed need of a makeover but it baffles why they would tinker with the song. Seems to me this was the last of their concerns.

It does seem the CBC constantly misindentifies problems. Who decided that the song had its time? I certainly don't feel this way. It's a rite of passage to watching a hockey game for an entire nation.

The brains over at the CBC felt that the money demanded for the song could not be justified because the song did not "pull in any viewers."

Talk about looking at things from inside the box with a blinders on.

They further went on a "we're responsible with taxpayers money" to try and explain their decision. Gee, thanks. I guess.

It's all rubbish of course. They messed up and tried to spin it using the fiscally responsible angle to save face. It's in fact ridiculous to hear them speak as though they're a private network like NBC. They completely overlooked the intangible and intrisic value worth of the song. That to me is GOLD and they lost it.

I don't think ANY Canadian would have minded if the CBC spent a little more to keep the song. It seems Canadians understand and value the worth of a piece of Canadiana more than the people who run the CBC do.

Alas, someone at CTV wasn't so myopic. CBC's loss is CTV's gain.

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