Three's Company

In about 3 weeks time my beautiful wife and me will be on a plane headed south to sunny Las Vegas for a quick 4 day retreat. There are many things to look forward to during this trip. American outlet stores, 80 degree weather, staying at the luxurious Wynn Hotel, and buffet eating in Vegas. Oddly enough, these words escaped my wife's mouth the other night: "Can't you just hardly wait until we are in Vegas and we can hang out in our hotel room and watch ESPN?" Even more odd was my quick agreeing response. Either I'm married to the most wonderful woman in the world (I mean, come on, what woman would be most excited about ESPN on a trip to Vegas!) or Canadian sports channels are just that bad. I think its a bit of both.

First of all to preface, Canadian sports channels referred to in this piece are TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, and The Score.

I feel that all three of the channels listed above have come a long way in the past decade. People ask me why I cheer for the Raptors and I simply state "if it weren't for the Raptors, we would have to watch 55 minutes of hockey every night." The NBA's influence on the Canadian sports fan has been appreciated in my home. Still, there seems to be something missing. To break it down, we'll look at each of the three broadcasters and break down some of their problems.

The Sports Network (TSN)

The granddaddy of them all in Canada, the ESPN of Canada is definitely the best funded and most professional sports broadcasting station in our country. Even watching Sportscenter on TSN reminds you a bit of ESPN...that is until either someone starts talking or highlights come on. Inevitably they will lead with hockey, even if it means covering the Leafs charity golf tournament at Glen Abbey in August. The odd time they'll lead with Raptors highlights when the NHL is on a break and there weren't cameras at the local Sudbury Wolves game. But the biggest thing that bugs me about TSN is not the content, but the hosts. It would seem to me that you either have to be an expert in hockey or curling to land a position at TSN. In a country that is growing more ethnically diverse by the day, we are stuck with good ol' boys and girls announcing our sports every night. Listening to a hockey player from Northern Ontario attempt to describe a Chris Paul crossover compares to having Carl Lewis be a guest judge on American Idol or Mark Madsen participate in Dancing with the Stars. Its a misfit. Until someone at TSN realizes that they are not The Hockey Network and start hiring some talent with more diverse backgrounds, we'll be stuck with the likes of Darren "Roof Daddy" Dutchyshen and Brian "Hurry Hard" Mudryk.

Rogers Sportsnet

Attempting to fill a niche many feel TSN ignores, or as some like to call it the Anything West of Ontario Niche, Sportsnet tailors their broadcasts to the local sports first. So those of us in Edmonton get to watch Sportsnet Connected Oilers Postgame edition. On paper I feel this is a good idea, but in practice it does not work. If I wanted the local angle on the Oilers, I would watch local sports, or listen to local radio, or read the local paper. It compares to a large national chain like a Macdonalds attempting to tailor their menu to the needs of different populations. In Vancouver they would serve the McSushi or the McVegan. Edmonton and Calgary would get the Quadruple Quarter Pounder. The Maritimes would have the McLobster. This might sound ridiculous, but Macdonalds knows better than to try to personalize their menu for every different region. Its because if people want the personal local touch they will just go local. They'll go to the High Level Diner or Culina in Edmonton. They'll go to their local Sushi bar in Vancouver. Same with tv. If I want the local angle on sports, I don't want it being done from a studio in Toronto. Its patronizing and arrogant. They really think they can sit halfway across the country and talk to me in Edmonton? By attempting to serve the local regional desires all that Sportsnet winds up doing is confusing the viewer. Am I watching the Ontario sportsnet or the West? Am I going to see the Oilers game tonight or the Flames? Worst of all, when there is something of importance on (say the 13th inning of a playoff baseball game) they cut away from it to show a meaningless October hockey game between the Flames/Habs. By trying to please everyone Sportsnet ends up pleasing no one.

The Score

The lesser of three evils, the Score is the most likable sports broadcaster in Canada. Well Sportsnet and TSN compete in the same category, the Score acknowledges that there are people out there who are not obsessed with hockey and actually like other sports. By far the least pretentious of the three, the Score focuses on basketball, soccer, and MMA far more that TSN or Sportsnet. Their shows are different, with Score Now being relaxed and having more of a MuchMusic vibe, and their programming is diverse. The problem with the Score is they don't have any money. A lot of their talent ends up going to TSN or Sportsnet. Their programming is fueled by Wrestling and Harness Racing. How seriously can I take a station that has live harness racing on in prime time? Too often the Score is not in my regular rotation due to the odd content. When they show highlights and have personable hosts like Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro leading the way, it is beautiful. The problem is they cannot live on 16 hours of highlight shows. They need something to pay the bills. This is where they stumble. But I think I have a solution.

The Solution....

Cooperation works beautifully sometimes. As Canadians, we just finished showing the world how well we can cooperate at the Olympics. We are not overly competitive by nature like our friends to the south. So why do we keep attempting to have 3 national sports stations? ESPN long ago took over the national sports scene in the States. What's taking us so long?

If you noticed at the Olympics Sportsnet combined with TSN to cover the Games. What was odd about it was that we actually have quite a bit of talent in this country. We are just spread out over 3 different stations. Combine all three stations into 1 under TSN"s name. Combine the talent from all 3 stations and have a group that actually has experts in all sports related to Canadians (Vic Reuter, you can stay and cover curling). Imitate programming that works in the States (PTI has a spanish version, why not a Canadian one?). Expansion killed hockey and its killing the Canadian sports broadcasting scene. We don't have the resources or talent to have 3 stations running.

So, as I get ready for 4 straight days of ESPN, I am both happy and sad. Happy that I get to indulge in 4 days of true sports programming and sad that we have such poor options in Canada.