| NHL on Global | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Stanley Cup '87 Stanley Cup '88 NHL Friday |
| Genre | Sports |
| Created by | Global Television Network Carling O'Keefe |
| Directed by | Henry Pasila |
| Starring | Dave Hodge John Davidson Dan Kelly Jim Robson Jim Tatti |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Doug Bonar |
| Producer | John Shannon[1] |
| Running time | 150 minutes or until the game ends |
| Original release | |
| Network | Global |
| Release | April 24, 1987 (1987-04-24) – May 20, 1988 (1988-05-20) |
| Related | |
| NHL on CTV | |
NHL on Global was thede facto name of atelevision program that broadcastNational Hockey League games on theGlobal Television Network. The program aired during the1987 and1988 Stanley Cup playoffs under the titlesStanley Cup '87 andStanley Cup '88 respectively.
For the1984–85 and1985–86 seasons,CTV aired regular season games on Friday nights (and some Sunday afternoons) as well as partial coverage of the playoffs andStanley Cup Finals. WhileMolson continued to presentHockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights onCBC, rival breweryCarling O'Keefe began airingFriday Night Hockey on CTV. This marked the first time since1974–75 that CBC was not the loneover-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 nightHockey Night in Canada telecasts.
The deal with CTV was arranged by theQuebec 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 fromQuebec City or theUnited 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 poorratings.[9][10][11][12] on the venture.[13]
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 theMontréal-Québec second-round playoff series opened without Molson being allowed to broadcast fromQuebec 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 theGlobal Television Network. The deal between Carling O'Keefe and theCanwest/Global consortium (with a fewCBC 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 until1997. During the 1980s, Global consisted of asingle 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 theCanadian Football Network, which would also begin in 1987. These NHL broadcasts were aired under the namesStanley Cup '87 andStanley Cup '88, before a merger between Carling O'Keefe andMolson (the presenters ofHockey Night in Canada onCBC as previously mentioned) put an end to the competition.
In 1987, coverage also included all five games of theCampbell Conference Final[19] between theEdmonton Oilers andDetroit Red Wings,[20] and Games 3–5[21][22][23] of the1987 Stanley Cup Finals between the Oilers andPhiladelphia 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, theSmythe Division Final between theEdmonton Oilers andCalgary Flames (which Global carried nationally, except for the Edmonton and Calgary markets, where the CBC retained exclusive rights),[25] Game 5 of theNorris Division Final between theDetroit Red Wings andSt. Louis Blues,[26][27][28] the Campbell Conference Final between the Oilers and Red Wings, and the first two[29] games of theFinals between the Oilers andBoston 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 of1984–85 and1985–86, 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.