HNIC unscathed by CBC budget cuts

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star talks about the budget cuts at CBC:

On the first point, CBC Sports boss Scott Moore says the fat has already been cut at HNIC through travel reductions and behind-the-scenes stuff. In fact, he says HNIC came in under budget after trimming.

But what about all those regional telecasts on Saturday nights? Surely, they don’t help the bottom line considering how much they add to costs.

Well, Moore says, in fact they do add to the bottom line. “The regional broadcasts have added from 100,000 to 300,000 viewers a night,” he says. “Without the extra Montreal Canadiens games, we would have less revenue because of lower ratings.”

Read his entire post here.

Good news for hockey fans in Canada and those in the U.S. who live on the border or subscribe to the NHL Center Ice package.  Hockey Night in Canada is the best hockey broadcast out there, and I really don’t think any other broadcast comes close.  In reality, HNIC drives the revenue truck for CBC and reading the above is only good news, as this means the network won’t cut the regional broadcasts that spare many of us from late March Leafs games.