Biased media coverage in Canada

[Enga Olly]

Don't other cities have local media? Watch that, listen to your AM dial. It's like crying about your favorite band not being played on the radio. Jesus Christ grow up

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

No, it can be a regular season matchup even.

Plus when it was Vega-Florida a couple years ago, plenty of discussion on how “nobody” even cares.

Every NFL regular season game matters more to the American sports-viewing public than any NHL game because the NFL is a vastly more popular league. That's just the reality of it and it has been that way for a long time.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Pretty sad coverage on the so-called Canada's sports networks, TSN and Sportsnet.

Looking at both sites this am and one would have no idea the 2 best teams in the league played last night to a 5-4 OT thriller.

No need to lecture on the market size - I get that.

@Remparts666 do you disagree that the coverage is bad?

You just realized this now? I am 53 and had that figured out the first time I watched HNIC in 76 that there is a bias towards one team, regardless of who owns the rights.

The best example I can give by how bias the it has always been and I am an oiler fan, so keep that in mind

Jan 8th 1990. TSN starts with about a 10 minute segment on Tie Domi visiting a children ward. IT is a PR play out and out,. These are done today. But 10 minutes of a 30 minute show that is suppose to cove the headline of sports that day. After the segment ended? The was a hockey trade made. Vancouver trades Tony Tanti, Barry Pederson, and Rob Buskas to the Pens to the pens for Andrew McBain, Dave Capuano, and Dan Quinn. That is was it. They go to commercial and when they come back? 5 more minutes of talking about the leafs. At the time is was a big deal, Tanti used to be the face of the Canucks and considering what the Canucks gave up to get Pederson a few years earlier? Leafs have done similar deals where nearly the entire show was about a trade.

 

[Rubi]

Pretty sad coverage on the so-called Canada's sports networks, TSN and Sportsnet.

Looking at both sites this am and one would have no idea the 2 best teams in the league played last night to a 5-4 OT thriller.

No need to lecture on the market size - I get that.

@Remparts666 do you disagree that the coverage is bad?

You do realize that TSN stands for Toronto Sports Network?
As for Sportsnet they do nothing to hide their bias. They have a very popular daily 2hr show called Kyper & Bourne and the first hour is called the Leafs Hour. 60 minutes to discuss what's happening in Leafland and the final 60 minutes to talk about the other 31 teams.

For local non Leafs stories I don't waste my time with national media broadcasts. I watch locally produced podcasts which are available for viewing on the internet. God bless the internet.

 

[thefutures]

Welcome to media

 

[Stoneburg]

Media plays to their audience. It is as simple as that, but it is getting much worse than it was.

 

[Johniac]

It is not just in Canada though. Recently, NHL.com ran a story every day discussing that Auston Matthews would not be in the lineup. The first day, he is injured and out, I get that -- it is newsworthy. The second game, still out, maybe of interest as it could be longer term. Game 7 missed?? So what -- it happens! Just note when he is back to playing. This is from the WHOLE league's own website and there were plenty of other more newsworthy stories to report on.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Yes the coverage is biased, and the media members in the East are biased as f*** as well.. just look at the awards every year it's broken.

We're you alive during the Jim Hughson era? I didn't think so.

 

[Heldig]

I know I did not say anything new to Canadian hockey fans...just venting a bit.

No issues the Jets being the 43rd or 4th or??? fiddle in hockey coverage. Used to it. It is just sad when, as I said, the 2 best teams in the league play - one being a Canadian team - and it is almost an afterthought in our national sports channel.

 

[GordonGraham]

TSN/Sportnet will always take more about the leafs/habs than jets /senators

Like ESPN will always talk more bout the yankess and lakers than the Brewers and Pelicans

 

[gritdash60]

Anyone remember when Sutter called out Iginla and said "he needs to start scoring, that's what he is getting paid for"?

Imagine if today a coach would say something like that of a star player? The moral police would jump on it and call for the coach to be fired and cancelled, fans would be outraged too. Back then Iginla said "yep hes right" and scored a hattrick the next game.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Pretty sad coverage on the so-called Canada's sports networks, TSN and Sportsnet.

Looking at both sites this am and one would have no idea the 2 best teams in the league played last night to a 5-4 OT thriller.

No need to lecture on the market size - I get that.

@Remparts666 do you disagree that the coverage is bad?

No it was talked about a lot on HNIC, pre game show, and talked about it during intermissions, or during the actual game on HNIC Guess you weren’t watching it. Missed a good one.

But ya they are biased towards the leafs. It was even a joke on the pre game show about. Bieksa to Draitsitl. What do you think about starting 2 hours earlier than normal. Draisitl, says whatever you can do to help the leafs.

And by biased check out ESPN.

 

[Chainshot]

Does it suck? Yes absolutely but we all know that, TSN and Sportsnet are heavily bias. That’s like asking will the sun rise tomorrow.

I mean, the parent companies have OWNed part of the Leafs. Of course it is part of their slant.

 

[kaiser matias]

You do realize that TSN stands for Toronto Sports Network?

People joke thats what it means, but the real name is "The Sports Network".

 

[WaW]

Why do Americans care so much about this, it's f***ing weird.

I'm a Canadian dan of an American team and don't even give a shit about this.

 

[njdevils1982]

They essentially do in the playoffs. The media bends over backwards to pander to whatever shitty Canadian team is left, and when it's all American teams remaining you can tell the wind is out of their sails

yep. its sickening how low they go to talk on canada this or that.....and that goddamn bedard guy they wont stfu about.

while we're at it don't get me started about the "bring the cup home to canada" crowd

People joke thats what it means, but the real name is "The Sports Network".

i thought it stood for 'The Sidney Network'

 

[HockeyVirus]

Wait you mean two Canadian teams on HNIC got more coverage than an American team vs Jets in Canada??

 

[TMLeafer]

It was the second or third headline on TSN.ca late last night when I checked..

 

[JPeeper]

Pretty sad coverage on the so-called Canada's sports networks, TSN and Sportsnet.

Looking at both sites this am and one would have no idea the 2 best teams in the league played last night to a 5-4 OT thriller.

No need to lecture on the market size - I get that.

@Remparts666 do you disagree that the coverage is bad?

Making this thread clearly means you in fact do not get that.

 

[Leafidelity]

Sports networks are here to make money, not stoke your ego

 

[muddywaters]

I pay attention to my team by going to the sources that focus on the Flames.. their content on Sportsnet and the little they have on TSN I seek out pretty much only Flame specific content... after a win I will check into these networks sometimes to catch the Flame highlights ... in this day and age their is plenty of team specific sources... websites, podcasts., local radio... I also mute the broadcasts and rarely watch intermissions unless I know it's going to be Flames content... filtering out the stuff I do not care about has become common place in my Flame Fandom... I'd bet there is a lot of sport fans who do the same .. all good.

 

[castle]

You do realize that TSN stands for Toronto Sports Network?

I can't tell if this is meant to be sarcasm or if you believe this is what it really is.

 

[Heldig]

Making this thread clearly means you in fact do not get that.

No it does not. That is you assuming too much.

I stated it was sad that it is the way it is. I did not say I expected different.

 

[kevsh]

The only thing that bothers me about NHL coverage in Canada is that when there's only one Canadian team left in the playoffs - and that usually happens pretty quickly - the networks desperately try to rally fans (read: viewers) around the new "Canada's team".

Let me explain something to anyone here who has any association to any Canadian sports network or just doesn't know Canadians: By far most true north fans could care less what other Canadian team is still alive once their team is eliminated.

In fact, some of us (definitely me) will go so far as to actively cheer (but not watch) for the American team as the thought of any Canadian team winning the cup but our own would simply be a horror beyond compare.

Which is why I was positively ecstatic when the Panthers first put the Oilers in a deep hole last spring 3-0 only to cruelly give them hope that they could come back by dropping the next 3, then trample on the Oiler faithful dreams of a McDavid Dynasty in the most brutal way possible by stopping them cold in game 7. (And please note, I hate the Tkachuks and the Panthers with a passion. Still cheered for them)

And I think evidence of the intra-hatred that exists among Canadian fans for each other, at least as it pertains to NHL hockey (... just hockey right?), is this existence of this thread itself and all the versions of this same theme we've seen over the years.