NHL on Global

Last updated
NHL on Global
Also known asStanley Cup '87
Stanley Cup '88
GenreSports
Created by Global Television Network
Carling O'Keefe
Directed byHenry Pasila
Starring Dave Hodge
John Davidson
Dan Kelly
Jim Robson
Jim Tatti
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
Production
Executive producerDoug Bonar
ProducerJohn Shannon [1]
Running time150 minutes or until the game ends
Original release
Network Global
ReleaseApril 24, 1987 (1987-04-24) –
May 20, 1988 (1988-05-20)
Related
NHL on CTV

NHL on Global was the de facto name of a television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on the Global Television Network. The program aired during the 1987 and 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs under the titles Stanley Cup '87 and Stanley Cup '88 respectively.

Contents

Background

About CTV's NHL coverage

For the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons, CTV aired regular season games on Friday nights (and some Sunday afternoons) as well as partial coverage of the playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights on CBC, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday Night Hockey on CTV. This marked the first time since 1974–75 that CBC was not the lone over-the-air network broadcaster of the National Hockey League in Canada. CTV's 1965-75 NHL package consisted of Wednesday night games produced by the McLaren advertising agency, which also produced CBC's Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada telecasts.

The deal with CTV was arranged by the Quebec Nordiques (who were owned by Carling O'Keefe [2] ) and all 14 U.S.-based NHL clubs, [3] [4] [5] [6] who sought to break Molson's monopoly [7] [8] on NHL broadcasting in Canada. All of the CTV's regular-season telecasts originated from Quebec City or the United States, as Molson shut them out of the other six Canadian buildings (as Carling did to them in Québec City).

The deal ended following the 1985-86 season. CTV's limited access to Canadian-based teams (other than Québec, whose English-speaking fan base was quite small) translated into poor ratings. [9] [10] [11] [12] on the venture. [13]

Stanley Cup '87 and Stanley Cup '88

Despite CTV pulling the plug on their two-year-long venture with the NHL, Carling O'Keefe retained their rights (two years were remaining on the contract with or without CTV). [14]

Things became problematic when the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs opened with Carling O'Keefe still without a network of some sort. The problems arguably peaked when the Montréal-Québec second-round playoff series opened without Molson being allowed to broadcast from Quebec City, leaving Games 3 and 4 off of English-language television altogether. This led to a hastily-arranged syndicated package on a chain of stations [15] [16] that would one day form the basis of the Global Television Network. The deal between Carling O'Keefe and the Canwest/Global consortium (with a few CBC and CTV affiliates sprinkled in for good measure) came just in time for Game 6 of this series on April 30. [17] [18]

It must be stressed that Global, technically, didn't become a national network until 1997. During the 1980s, Global consisted of a single station in Toronto with numerous rebroadcast transmitters throughout Ontario, CanWest was a chain of independent stations in Western Canada (and at the time a part-owner of Global), and the two often combined to carry syndicated programming, such as this NHL package and the Canadian Football Network, which would also begin in 1987. These NHL broadcasts were aired under the names Stanley Cup '87 and Stanley Cup '88, before a merger between Carling O'Keefe and Molson (the presenters of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC as previously mentioned) put an end to the competition.

In 1987, coverage also included all five games of the Campbell Conference Final [19] between the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, [20] and Games 3–5 [21] [22] [23] of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals between the Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

In 1988, [24] coverage included select regular season games on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons from January 31 to the end of the regular season, the Smythe Division Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames (which Global carried nationally, except for the Edmonton and Calgary markets, where the CBC retained exclusive rights), [25] Game 5 of the Norris Division Final between the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, [26] [27] [28] the Campbell Conference Final between the Oilers and Red Wings, and the first two [29] games of the Finals between the Oilers and Boston Bruins. [30] They also had the rights to Games 6 and 7 of the Finals, which were not necessary.

Unlike the split CTV/CBC coverage of 1984–85 and 1985–86, the Canwest-Global telecasts were network exclusive, except for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals if it was necessary. When CBC and Global televised Game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, [31] [32] they used separate production facilities and separate on-air talent.

Commentators

Regular season schedule

1987–88

DateTeams
January 31 Philadelphia-Washington
February 7 Chicago-Québec
February 14 Calgary-Washington
February 21 Detroit-Philadelphia
February 28 Pittsburgh-Chicago
March 6 Philadelphia-New Jersey
March 18 New York Islanders-Washington
March 25 Montréal-Pittsburgh

Stanley Cup playoffs coverage

YearRoundSeriesGames covered Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1987 Divisional finals Montréal-Québec Game 6 [35] [36] [37] Dan Kelly John Davidson
Conference finals Edmonton-Detroit Games 1–5 [38] [39] Dan Kelly John Davidson
Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton-Philadelphia Games 3–5, 7 [40] [41] [42] Dan Kelly John Davidson
1988 Divisional finals Detroit-St. Louis Game 5 Dan Kelly John Davidson
Calgary-Edmonton Games 1–4 [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] Jim Robson John Davidson
Conference finals Edmonton-DetroitGames 1–5 Dan Kelly John Davidson
Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton-Boston Games 1–2 [48] Dan Kelly John Davidson

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ McKee, Ken (May 1, 1987). "If Canada has chance for gold Sunday match may be telecast". Toronto Star. p. F8.
  2. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Hockey-TV Suit". New York Times . July 25, 1984. p. B8. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ Eskenazi, Gerald (1984-08-17). "SUITS OVER TV SPLIT N.H.L." New York Times . p. A17. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  4. ↑ Warren, Kelly (September 25, 1984). "Great hockey/beer war takes to the ice in Chicago". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. p. B1. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  5. ↑ Jr, Robert Mcg Thomas (1984-12-07). "N.H.L. TEAMS SIGN TV DEAL". The New York Times . p. D26. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  6. ↑ "The National Hockey League and Molson Breweries announced Tuesday... - UPI Archives". UPI. December 18, 1984. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  7. ↑ Hadekel, Peter (December 19, 1984). "NHL, Molson Sign Contract to Settle TV Rights Battle". Montreal Gazette . p. 53. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ McKee, Ken (Oct 2, 1985). "Ziegler, Molson's meet over TV rights". Toronto Star . p. F2.
  9. ↑ McKee, Ken (April 16, 1986). "CTV's hockey games on thin ice Network reportedly unhappy with NHL's Friday night schedule". Toronto Star. p. E5.
  10. ↑ McKee, Ken (April 19, 1986). "CTV won't renew NHL contract". Toronto Star. p. D8.
  11. ↑ "CTV will halt NHL season broadcasts". Montreal Gazette . The Canadian Press. The Canadian Press. April 19, 1986. pp. 86, 88. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ "SCOUTING; Hockey TV War Is Brewing Again". The New York Times . May 15, 1986. p. D30. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ McKee, Ken (September 12, 1986). "Marketing mystery: Argos off the TV 38 days". Toronto Star. p. F8.
  14. ↑ Matsumoto, Rick (August 5, 1987). "Brian Propp determined to make Team Canada". Toronto Star. p. F1.
  15. ↑ McKee, Ken (May 6, 1987). "No game for fans in north". Toronto Star. p. C4.
  16. ↑ "Not many fans will see Montreal-Quebec series". The Phoenix, Canadian Press. The Canadian Press. April 22, 1987. p. 52.
  17. ↑ "West to see Leafs-Wings". The Phoenix . April 29, 1987. p. D6. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Sask Fans Blacked Out Tonight". The Phoenix . April 30, 1987. p. 54.
  19. ↑ McKee, Ken (April 29, 1987). "Habs-Nordiques are on Global". Toronto Star. p. C5.
  20. ↑ "Oilers, Wings on tube". Toronto Star. May 13, 1987. p. E3.
  21. ↑ "Let's put an end to goon hockey". Toronto Star. June 14, 1987. p. G6.
  22. ↑ McKee, Ken (May 15, 1987). "Where were commentators when NHL was on fence?". Toronto Star. p. F10.
  23. ↑ McKee, Ken (February 7, 1987). "Global network to share coverage for NHL playoffs". Toronto Star. p. D5.
  24. ↑ Gross, Jonathan (April 2, 1988). "Former goalie knows how to put it in the net before the cameras". Toronto Star. p. S6.
  25. ↑ McKee, Ken (April 28, 1988). "Global has the Oilers". Toronto Star. p. C8.
  26. ↑ McKee, Ken (April 8, 1987). "Leaf fans have case of blues". Toronto Star. p. B5.
  27. ↑ "Red Wings Yzerman Goes Through Workout". Lakeland Ledger. p. 18.
  28. ↑ "Yzerman works out with Wings". Toronto Star . May 1, 1988. p. G3.
  29. ↑ Intro to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final (May 18, 1988) on YouTube
  30. ↑ "Most of Canada able to tune in on Stanley Cup". Toronto Star. May 17, 1988. p. H1.
  31. ↑ 1987 Stanley Cup Final post-game (part 1) from Global on YouTube
  32. ↑ 1987 Stanley Cup Final post-game (part 2) from Global on YouTube
  33. ↑ McGourty, John (November 7, 2008). "The Doc is in". NHL.com.
  34. ↑ Issacs, Stan (April 26, 1988). "TV SPORTS Fischler's Simply the Best". Newsday. p. 114.
  35. ↑ Canadiens vs Nordiques 1987 GM.6 on YouTube
  36. ↑ 1987 playoffs - Habs vs Nordiques Game 6 Highlights on YouTube
  37. ↑ Canadiens vs Nordiques 1987 GM.6 on YouTube
  38. ↑ NHL CLARENCE CAMPBELL CONFERENCE FINALS 1987 - Game 3 - Edmonton Oilers @ Detroit Red Wings on YouTube
  39. ↑ NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Finals 1987 - Game 4 - Edmonton Oilers @ Detroit Red Wings on YouTube
  40. ↑ 1987 Philadelphia Flyers vs Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final Game 5 on YouTube
  41. ↑ 31/05/1987 - Philadelphia Flyers vs Edmonton Oilers - Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals on YouTube
  42. ↑ Game 7 of 1987 Stanley Cup Finals-Philadelphia Flyers at Edmonton Oilers, Global TV Broadcast on YouTube
  43. ↑ 1988 Second Round - Detroit vs. St. Louis & Edmonton vs. Calgary, Game 2, PART 3 on YouTube
  44. ↑ 1988 Second Round - Detroit vs. St. Louis & Edmonton vs. Calgary, Game 2, PART 4 on YouTube
  45. ↑ 1988 Second Round - Detroit vs. St. Louis & Edmonton vs. Calgary, Game 2, PART 5 on YouTube
  46. ↑ *Flames - Oilers brawl 4/25/88 on YouTube
  47. ↑ Otto and Messier talk 87-88 playoffs on YouTube
  48. ↑ Classic: Bruins @ Oilers 05/18/88 - Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals 1988 on YouTube
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