Sportsnet switcheroo: Canucks and Leafs not on CBC tonight

Today is Hockey Day in Canada, an annual celebration of the game.

Ron MacLean is hosting the 12.5-hour live television event in Victoria, beginning at 1 pm ET/10 am PT.

There’ll be no shortage of content for fans to consume on CBC and Sportsnet. That includes three all-Canadian NHL matchups, though fans in Vancouver and Toronto might have to do some channel surfing to find the Canucks-Leafs showdown.

O Canada! 🍁🏒@Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada features all seven Canadian @NHL teams in action as we celebrate live from Victoria, BC!

Tune into #HockeyDay this Saturday, January 20th starting at 1pm ET / 10am PT on Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+. pic.twitter.com/1Wcz6bivCg

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 17, 2024

The Canucks-Leafs game won’t be on CBC.

The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins are listed in the 7 pm ET/4 pm PT time slot on CBC, which is usually reserved for the feature game on Hockey Night in Canada. If you want to watch the Maple Leafs and Canucks, you’ll have to find it on Sportsnet.

Fans on the west coast are used to Hockey Night in Canada shifting the start time for the Maple Leafs’ annual Vancouver visit, but moving the game to a different channel is unusual for a Saturday night broadcast. At least it was prior to this season.

This is merely a trivial situation for anyone that has access to Sportsnet already, though it does beg the question, why?

Perhaps it’s a business decision to push fans in Canada’s two largest English-speaking markets to buck up for Sportsnet’s television channel or online streaming service. When games are broadcast on CBC, they are available to stream for free through the public broadcaster.

Daily Hive has reached out to Sportsnet asking for an explanation.

Rogers took over production of Hockey Night in Canada in 2014, as part of a 12-year, $5.2 billion NHL television rights deal. Games were to still air on CBC until 2019, but in 2017 Rogers and CBC extended their agreement until 2026.

“Hockey Night in Canada is the most celebrated hockey brand in the country and is steeped in tradition,” former Rogers Media president Rick Brace said in a 2017 press release. “We are committed to working together to ensure it reaches the widest possible audience.”

Saving marquee games exclusively for Sportsnet, like Saturday’s Canucks-Leafs game, appears to be a relatively new strategy for the network. Similarly, next weekend an all-Canadian matchup between the Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets is saved for Sportsnet. The Canadiens’ game in Pittsburgh will instead air on CBC.

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