May 16, 2005

The Czech Republic shuts out Canada for the World Title.: The Czechs win their first Ice Hockey World Championship since 2001 by shutting out Canada 3-0. The last time Canada was shut out in a World Championship game was way back in 1987. Russia clobbers Sweden to take the bronze. The final power rankings if you care.

posted by NoMich to hockey at 08:02 AM - 8 comments

It sure would have been nice to see the World Championships. It was offered FREE to American networks and all of them passed. I would even have appreciated some late night tape delay action, anything. I love hockey...but I fear it is dead here in the states.

posted by stofer71 at 11:24 AM on May 16, 2005

From a Philly Inquirer article (bugmenot registration info here): "According to a source at TSN who asked not to be identified, the big cost of televising the tournament wasn't in the rights fees but in the ancillary fees associated with each broadcast. For instance, the production costs can run up to $20,000 a day. Each network is required to pay for its "box" or location at the games, and that costs $100,000. The satellite feed is $12,000 an hour. Including pregame activity, TSN allows for a four-hour production, which means it is paying $48,000 per game. All of this quickly adds up over the two-week period into millions of dollars." So there you have it. TSN didn't think their ratings would justify the production costs involved. Anyway, I had a great time listening to the games. I do wish I could have seen them on a television though. I was excited to see that Joe Thornton won the MVP. Okay, back to following the Calder Cup playoffs, I guess.

posted by Samsonov14 at 12:02 PM on May 16, 2005

TSN didn't think their ratings would justify the production costs involved. TSN is Canadian, right? Even Canada didn't televise the tournament? That can't be. Okay, back to following the Calder Cup playoffs, I guess. Stupid Providence Bruins. Is Keith Aucoin related to Adrian Aucoin?

posted by NoMich at 12:56 PM on May 16, 2005

TSN is Canadian, right? Even Canada didn't televise the tournament? That can't be. They televised many of the games, just not all of them.

posted by dfleming at 01:11 PM on May 16, 2005

I guess just the team Canada games?

posted by NoMich at 01:22 PM on May 16, 2005

I'm sorry, I screwed up the conclusion of that quote. TSN is indeed Canadian, and they did broadcast some games. The quote was from a TSN source talking about why American stations didn't want to broadcast the games. This part of the article ends with "But if any of the American networks had asked TSN if they could share the feed [of the games], I'm sure we would have accommodated them," the TSN source said. Sorry for the confusion, guys. And no, I'm pretty sure Adrian and Keith Aucoin aren't related. Keith is a local kid from Waltham, MA, while Adrian is from Ottawa. They might be distant cousins or something, though.

posted by Samsonov14 at 01:39 PM on May 16, 2005

Actually TSN televised a few non-Canadian hockey games during the elimination round of the tournament as well. After watching the games it makes me wish the NHL had some way of going to the bigger ice surface. A lot more odd man rushes because of long break out passes. It was quite entertaining. On another note I haven't seen and info on the elimination round, but prior to that TSN was getting good ratings on games even though they were being shown live (8am for example in MST).

posted by camcanuck at 01:43 PM on May 16, 2005

The Czech Republic's victory received less notice than the dreadful NHL situation.A clear reminder that everything is not "bout the Benjamins".Wish I was in Prague to give a hefty toast.

posted by clarencesmmns at 02:06 PM on May 16, 2005

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