CBC loses Hockey Night in Canada, ending 70-year Saturday night tradition

FOX 2 - A Canadian tradition is ending not just across the Detroit River, but here in SE Michigan, as well.

The backstory:

On Tuesday the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that an agreement fell through with national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet, thus ending the Saturday night NHL staple for those of us in Metro Detroit access to Channel 9.

"The NHL will no longer be shown on CBC after it and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement on a new sublicensing deal that would have allowed the public broadcaster to air games on its Saturday program Hockey Night in Canada," the CBC said in a statement.

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC began in 1952 and for 74 years aired until the end of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday.

HNIC has always been a home away from home for Red Wings fans who could tune in from their antennae to watch Detroit games over that long span.

The other side:

Sportsnet also released a statement about the change:

"After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBS today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milano/Cortina Olympic Games.

"Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. This has been a terrific partnership, and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future."

What they're saying:

The social media response on X, formerly Twitter, was swift and less than charitable.

"For those confused by the terrible wording and no follow-up: It appears CBC will stop broadcasting HNIC, but it will still be broadcast on Sportsnet," posted an account named Tytan Durgan.

Another account this time, by a Canadian viewer named Lee Finishen did not hold back.

"Everyone in your management and affiliated should be embarrassed today," he wrote. "You just took a giant dump on a national institution, and while doing so insulted every Canadian who watched hockey and also made you a very rich corporation. I hope you’re proud of yourselves."

Another Canadian account named Tom Canadien also expressed frustration that Sportsnet is viewed with a subscription.

Yup… more reason to stop paying for CBC through our taxes and another monopoly that we are going to have to subscribe to view Canada’s game," he wrote. "The content will continually get worse as it was in playoffs and we are going to continually hear about is the cesspool called the Leafs."