Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “,….. proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community….
This is going to sound far fetched, but people close to the inner circle are adamant that the concept has been floated
The Canadian Hockey League has a multi-year broadcast rights partnerships with TSN, RDS, and the CBC
On the surface, the agreement calls for around 30 regular-season CHL games to be broadcast each year, in addition to playoff coverage and all the CHL national events.
And that’s the hidden hook
According to those close to the scene, that’s what TSN is most interested in; the big stage events like the KIA Memorial Cup, the Top Prospects Game and the Canada-Russia series.
The interest in the marquee events is understandable; the international series is a great primer for TSN’s World Junior coverage plus the other events are also great lead-ins for TSN’s Draft coverage.
But here’s where it gets a little hard to swallow, at least for me……
The people I talk to INSIST that TSN has floated the proposal to the Canadian Hockey League to alter the traditional playoff structure and switch instead to a NCAA Basketball-March Madness type format.
I don’t see it, especially since the 60 teams in the gate-driven Canadian Hockey League often rely on playoff revenue to make or break their fiscal year and financial well being.
Still the voices state the power of persuasion from TV will continue to persist and suggest an alteration to the CHL Playoff format.
For Pete’s Auto Body, I’m Fred Wallace.