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Or sign-in if you have an account.Fans surround a CBC TV broadcaster prior to a game between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens during the 2015 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Photo by Jana Chytilova /Getty ImagesWhen Rogers stunned the hockey world in the fall of 2013 by scooping up the whole of the NHL’s national broadcast rights in Canada, Hubert Lacroix, then the head of the CBC, was at the press conference, like a guest at his own funeral.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorRogers and the CBC had cut a side deal that allowed the privately owned media giant to borrow the public broadcaster’s airwaves to continue airing NHL games, while Rogers would have editorial control and sell ads and keep the revenue.Lacroix said at the time that he was “comforted” that the arrangement would allow Hockey Night in Canada, for decades a CBC staple, to remain in some form.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIt was a baffling claim. It was like having someone show up and steal your wife and kids and then declaring that you were comforted that they still let you come to the house for birthdays.Somewhat amazingly, that deal, with Hockey Night broadcasts operated by Rogers on the CBC, persisted for the entire 12 years of the Rogers-NHL deal.Until now. Both broadcasters announced on Tuesday that the NHL will no longer appear on the CBC when the NHL’s new 12-year, $11-billion contract with Rogers, announced at this time last year, kicks off next fall.And now we will find out if the CBC can survive without NHL hockey.Back in 2013, the suggestion, coming from the CBC itself, was that it could not. Lacroix’s justification for letting the public broadcaster become a vessel for Rogers’ hockey productions was that it didn’t have the money to fill the airtime that was otherwise filled by Hockey Night in Canada — every Saturday during the NHL season and most nights during the playoffs. The CBC would also get some benefit from brief teaser ads that promoted upcoming programming, but how much value was derived from Chris Cuthbert mentioning the next episode of Murdoch Mysteries while coming out of commercial is up for debate.Twelve years ago, it was also true that the CBC had been blindsided by the Rogers-NHL deal. It had no way to plug an NHL-sized hole in its schedule, especially with Stephen Harper, a noted CBC skeptic, then the prime minister. His Conservatives were not about to hand the CBC a giant cheque so it could commission another round of heartwarming family dramas.But that excuse has long since passed. Allowing Rogers to continue to borrow the public airwaves was an increasingly ridiculous proposition, especially after the telecom and media giant started throwing more billions into professional sports, including its takeover of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Leafs and Raptors. Rogers’ push into sports has also come as the CBC’s television audience has splintered. Far more hockey viewers are used to finding Sportsnet broadcasts on their platform of choice today — TV, computer, phone — than they were in 2013.In other words, if Rogers needed the CBC as a partner for its first NHL deal, it’s much less clear that they need it for the second one. (Although at this time last year, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he was “sure our friends at Rogers will make the right decisions and have the right discussions with the people at the CBC.”) And there will no doubt be a bunch of Canadians who will turn on the CBC next hockey season and be quite puzzled that there is no NHL hockey. One of the oddities of the Rogers-CBC deal was that, to most viewers, it still looked like Hockey Night in Canada, even if the money was going in different pockets.All of which leaves the CBC staring out at an uncertain new world. It owns the Hockey Night in Canada brand, which began in 1952, and spokesman Chuck Thompson told the Post on Tuesday that “it has every intention of using it going forward.”But, for what?A statement from the public broadcaster on Tuesday touted a new commitment to sports programming, including the next two Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games later this year, the PWHL and events like the World Aquatic Championships, World Figure Skating Championships, and World Athletic Championships. It also said it will launch a new program on Saturday nights this year that will feature “the best performances by Canadian athletes competing at home and at the biggest events around the world.”It’s often said that no one cares about Olympic sports in between Olympic years, but the CBC is evidently going to make that programming central to its post-NHL era. And up against Rogers’ NHL broadcasts on Sportsnet. It is a bold strategy. And possibly a doomed one, unless the platform of a prime-time Saturday show sparks an interest in amateur athletics among television viewers that has previously not been in evidence.A dozen years ago, when CBC executives were trying to justify the arrangement with Rogers as a way to keep providing Canadian audiences with the type of programming they expected of the CBC, even if it was no longer CBC programming, the unspoken part amid all the talk was the thing that no one really wanted to contemplate.What would the CBC even be without NHL hockey?We are, it would seem, about to find out. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.