DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: The pros and cons of multiple broadcasters

This week marked the first time Winnipeg Jets fans needed a streaming service to watch their team play, as the Jets took on the Maple Leafs in a game broadcast exclusively on Amazon’s streaming service.

The move drew ire from some, and the amount of services needed to watch your home team play grew by a lot.

If you don’t have television, the cost to watch every Jets game is now nearly $50 per month ($20 for TSN, $20 for SportsNet, $8.25 for Amazon, with extra charges to remove ads).

While that’s a steep price, there are benefits to the league when multiple companies hold broadcasting rights for a sport.

I believe part of the NFL’s dominance of American culture can be traced to multiple networks broadcasting and promoting the sport.

When the NHL sold it’s exclusive national broadcast rights in Canada to Rogers 10 years ago (to the tune of $5.2 billion), the broadcasts took an immediate downgrade.

Without competition for hockey fans, there was no incentive to deliver an outstanding product, especially when it came to play-by-play and intermission segments.

While there have been improvements since the beginning of the deal, they still haven’t recovered all the way to when SportsNet, CBC and TSN were all carrying national games.

As a Jets fan, I also always think in the back of my head Winnipeg doesn’t get a fair shake, because TSN/Bell are the regional broadcaster for our team.

The Amazon deal should hopefully drive all NHL broadcasters in this country to deliver a better quality product for hockey fans, no matter what platform they watch on.

Remembering Cliff Dueck

I would like to pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Cliff Dueck, who passed away last week. He was a mainstay at hockey events across the Southeast, and a major volunteer for the Pistons, which honoured his memory with a moment of silence before their game Oct. 25.

Dueck, alongside Dale Plett, could be seen at hockey games all over the province, regularly travelling to watch the Pistons and Ste Anne Aces play away games in the playoffs, and was always ready with a smile and willingness to talk hockey, updating me on games he went to.