NHL Could Learn from Pierre McGuire

Frequently forced to juggle his Canadian and U.S. broadcasting duties, TSN/NBC analyst Pierre McGuire employs a strikingly different approach than that used by the game he covers. Unlike the NHL, which routinely accommodates U.S. television interests at the expense of the Canadian public and, at times, even the integrity of the game itself, McGuire doesn't ditch respect for throngs of Canadian hockey fans just because he has a contract with NBC.

For example, it would have been all too easy for McGuire to abandon TSN mid-way during the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon earlier this year so that he could travel to Boston and cover the outdoor Winter Classic game for NBC. But he didn't. It would have been all too easy for McGuire to disappear from Canada's Olympic coverage so that he could work the Gold Medal game on NBC. But he didn't. And it would have been all too easy for McGuire to be missing in action from Saturday night's Canadiens-Capitals game on TSN so that he could appear on NBC's weekend afternoon telecasts. But he didn't. Although McGuire is prepared to accommodate U.S. television interests whenever possible, he isn't prepared to alienate established hockey fans on this side of the border to do it.

Conversely, the NHL does almost everything it can to please U.S. broadcasting partner NBC - more often than not at the expense of the league's loyal Canadian fanbase. Remember that outdoor Winter Classic in Boston? Well, the Bruins wanted to play against their natural rivals from Montreal, but NBC pushed the NHL to schedule an American opponent for Boston in order to try and maximize local U.S. ratings. And, so, instead of playing Montreal, the Bruins hosted Philadelphia. In fact, since the Winter Classic became an annual tradition in 2008, all three matchups have been entirely U.S.-based to please NBC. Not only have Canadian teams been barred from appearing in the Winter Classic, but they've also been prohibited until now from staging separate outdoor games of their own so as not to dilute the novelty of NBC's annual outdoor product. Although Calgary has been conditionally approved to host an outdoor contest in 2011, rumour has it that the game won't be marketed under NBC's Winter Classic umbrella. Surprise, surprise.

Then there's the yearly struggle regarding the playoff schedule: Canadian networks like Saturday night games but NBC wants weekend afternoon games. Both get what they want while there are enough series to distribute, but Saturday night games are always sacrificed once enough teams are eliminated and the Conference Finals come along. In 2007, not only did NBC arrange to have Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final between Buffalo and Ottawa air on Saturday afternoon instead of Saturday night, but the network then abandoned the telecast when the game went into overtime and created a conflict with a horse race preview show. As for the Stanley Cup Finals themselves, last season saw the NHL schedule games on back-to-back dates for the first time in 54 years so as not to interfere with NBC's 10 o'clock debut of The Jay Leno Show. And even though Leno has since returned to his 11:35 timeslot, NBC tentatively lists Game 1 of this year's Stanley Cup Finals for June 5 at 6:30, followed by Game 2 the very next day at 8 o'clock.

Unlike Canadian networks, which pay through the nose for NHL television rights, NBC pays no upfront fee to carry the games. Although I'm not familiar with the terms of Pierre McGuire's contracts with TSN and NBC, suffice it to say that he earns a lot more each year covering a plethora of hockey games for TSN than he does working a dozen or so for NBC. Money, no doubt, influences McGuire's decisions when conflicted between Canadian and U.S. interests. It's surprising that the NHL doesn't use the same rationale for solving its trans-border broadcasting dilemmas. The league may not see it, but when it comes to hockey, there's simply more money to be made up here than there is down there.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Capitals at Canadiens - Game 3, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Sabres at Bruins - Game 3, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Canucks at Kings - Game 3, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS - joined in progress)