Less than 24 hours after millions of Canadians watched the Detroit Red Wings hoist the Stanley Cup on live television, a story spread like wildfire about the CBC and the Hockey Night in Canada themesong. It was reported earlier today that CBC president John Ciccone was ending the license agreement after this season but was still in ongoing negotiations to sign a new deal with composer Dolores Claman, the gatekeeper of the Hockey Night in Canada theme music. Ciccone said that the CBC may decide to drop the song because of it’s hefty price tag, namely royalty fees of $500 per broadcast. This story blew up so quickly that yours truly heard it on four different local media outlets (POWER 97.5 FM, 92.1 CITI FM, 92.9 KICK FM, CJOB 680 AM) over a three hour span. Illegal Curve will continue to follow this still-developing story as it has far-reaching consequences for anyone remotely concerned about their own Canadian heritage and culture.
This release was issued by CBC just under an hour ago on their website: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/06/05/moore-hockeynight-theme.html
For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.
