Barring a last-minute hitch in negotiations, the Canadian Curling Association will announce this week that TSN is back as a curling broadcaster.
The CBC has contacted TSN, and sources say the two television networks have agreed to share broadcasts of the sport's big tournaments.
The agreement will mirror the deal that existed between the CBC and TSN before the CBC became the exclusive curling rights holder last year.
TSN will air the weekday draws of the Scott Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's championship, Tim Hortons Brier men's championship and the world championships. The CBC will come in for the weekend playoffs and finals. As well, TSN will provide coverage of the weekday draws for the Olympic qualifying tournament in December.
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For the past several months, the CBC and CCA have been fighting over several issues, including host broadcast production costs for the 2005 world championship in Victoria and the quality of CBC telecasts. The network came under fire for placing telecasts of weekday draws of the Tournament of Hearts on CBC Country Canada, a digital channel with a small subscription base.
With TSN back in the picture, look for Vic Rauter, Ray Turnbull and Linda Moore to return as the network's curling broadcasters.
Hockey's best buy
The National Hockey League season will begin next week, so let's look at the deals for television viewers in Canada's six markets, from worst to best:
No. 6, Calgary Flames. Only 30 regional Flames games will be televised. Rogers Sportsnet West, the carrier, would commit to only 30, because the Flames insisted on a rights fee. Comparatively, Sportsnet has a profit-sharing arrangement with the Edmonton Oilers that puts 48 of their games on the air.
The CBC, which is the only free-to-air NHL network in Canada, will carry 11 Flames games on Hockey Night in Canada. TSN will air six Flames games nationally. As well, the Flames will offer digital TV viewers about 10 pay-per-view games at $10.95 a telecast, or $99.95 for the package. In addition, Flames fans in Calgary will see the Oilers' telecasts when the team is playing Edmonton. Still, about 21 Flames games will not be seen on television.
No. 5, Ottawa Senators. Thirty-nine regional telecasts on Sportsnet (20) and the local A-Channel (19). HNIC will carry 13 games nationally; TSN, seven games; and French-language RDS, 14. Depending on which games RDS picks up, 10 to 20 of Ottawa's 82 regular-season games will not be seen on TV.
No. 4, Edmonton Oilers. Forty-eight regional telecasts on Sportsnet West; 12 national broadcasts on HNIC; five on TSN; and 10 pay-per-view games at $10.95 a game, or $99.95 for the package.
No. 3, Montreal Canadiens. RDS will televise all 82 regular-season games. In regions outside Quebec where RDS is not available, Société Radio-Canada will simulcast the Saturday night games. For English-language TV, the Habs will have nine games on HNIC and 13 on TSN.
We ranked the Habs below the Vancouver Canucks on this list because of the limited number of English-language telecasts available.
French-language telecasts aren't available for clubs in English-language markets, except Ottawa, but, outside Quebec, the French-language market is small.
No. 2, Vancouver Canucks. Forty-five regional telecasts on Sportsnet Pacific; 15 on HNIC, five on TSN; and 17 on PPV at $10.95 a game, or $139.95 for the package. Every game is on TV, but the number placed on PPV and cost involved make it expensive.
No. 1, Toronto Maple Leafs. There will be 17 regional games on TSN; 15 on Sportsnet Ontario; and 13 on club-owned Leafs TV. Nationally, 27 telecasts on HNIC and 10 on TSN. Every Maple Leafs game is on TV.
Leafs TV is a digital subscription service, but for $30 a year, it's good value.
This season, Leafs TV is airing eight exhibition games, 13 regular-season games, 19 Toronto Marlies' American Hockey League games, pre-game and postgame content and vintage game telecasts, panels and Maple Leafs news shows.
The CBC's plan
If the CBC's lockout of Canadian Media Guild employees is still in effect at the start of the NHL season, the network's managers are planning to put HNIC's first game, Montreal at Toronto, on the air, presumably without audio play-by-play.
The speculation is the CBC will drop the second scheduled game, Vancouver at Edmonton, and replace it with a U.S.-based game telecast. In that case, TV rights ownership of the dropped game would revert to the Oilers and Canucks. One or both could place the game on the air regionally.
TSN will pick up several U.S. Outdoor Life Network hockey telecasts this season.
Five of those games will be seen nationally. A few more will be aired nationally when TSN carries a regional Maple Leafs telecast.
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