Men's Hockey Team Selection Kicks Off Olympic Coverage

[ClusterFreak]

Tell me this isn't a breathtakingly outrageous example of the creeping nefariousness of media convergence as we've ever seen in Canada.

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Men's Hockey Team Selection Kicks Off Olympic Coverage

<snip>

...The long-awaited team selection airs English exclusively on CTV, TSN, Rogers Sportsnet, OLN, OMNI, APTN, ATN, /A\, CTV News Channel, CP24 and NHL Network. In French, the one-hour show will air exclusively on RDS and RIS Info Sports. CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca will provide live streaming coverage, while THE FAN 590 Toronto, THE FAN 960 Calgary and Corus Québec's CKAC Sports will air the announcement live on radio.

<snip>

... "Across a multitude of platforms, in both English and French, the Consortium is committed to providing Canadians with exclusive coverage and analysis of this significant announcement. The table is set for the entire country to experience Team Canada's selection and its quest for gold."

Full press release at:

http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000353076

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Please, someone smarter than I set me straight....but since when exactly does the Canadian Olympic Committee and Hockey Canada - both funded by the Canadian taxpayer - have the right to enter into an exclusive deal with a private mega-media Consortium regarding an announcement like this? Isn't the announcement of Canada's men's Olympic hockey team roster news? Ergo, it equally belongs to all properly accredited media outlets? It's supposed to be a news conference, isn't it? How is it that in Canada any media consortium is allowed to get away with this? Only Consortium media properties are allowed to broadcast and break this news event live from the site of the 'news conference' in Saskatoon? All others are barred? Yes, CTV owns the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics....but they haven't started yet!! This is a stand alone news event and as such shouldn't be part of any such broadcast deal. Or am I wrong?

This is two-tiered, chequebook journalism at it's most vile, disgusting and probably worse. This sort of thing isn't unique to private media entities either, because as a former news radio producer during the early days of the Iraq war I saw firsthand how the CBC benefitted from it's own sweetheart deal. I tried unsuccessfully to arrange for an interview with someone who was not an employee of but nonetheless had an exclusive contract with the CBC as a commentator. I was pissed then, as I am now.

Where is the CRTC in all of this mega-media convergence business anyway?? Oh, I know. On the take. I forgot.:mad: :puke: :wtf: :grr: :nuke: :sarcasm: :rant:

[BolivarianHero]

1. Not my main concern, actually...

My interests lie more in consumer protection, preventing conflicts of interest in media, and in getting a division between the ownership of infrastructure, content, and access to infrastructure. Convergence is tangential to these interests.