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Hong Kong's All Sports Network nabs NHL distribution rights in much of Asia
The NHL may not have the viewership in America as, say, the NFL, but that doesn't mean it can't find fans elsewhere. In a rather unexpected move, Hong Kong-based All Sports Network (ASN) has signed a multi-year deal to posses rights for broadcasting NHL matchups throughout much of Asia (India, South Korea and China included). Over 130 upcoming regular-season games will be televised on ASN's Yes TV along with the All-Star game, playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final. The good news? The broadcast rights include "all forms of television, including HDTV." The bad? Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been excluded from the agreement.[Image courtesy of The Globe & Mail]
CRTC puts the kibosh on two Canadian HD channels
Tough news for Canadians looking forward to tuning into a pair of new OTA HDTV stations in the future -- the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has shot the whole thing down. Reportedly, the entity found that there was no "compelling reason" to grant a license for a "superstation" equivalent that HDTV Networks was proposing. Additionally, it denied a similar request from YES TV after it was "not convinced that the applicant could fulfill its programming commitments, among other things." Of course, we can't say for sure that the CRTC was just looking to just spoil some harmless fun, but stifling the expansion of additional high-def options doesn't sound like a totally beneficial thing to do (from the outside looking in, anyway).[Via Here's How]
CRTC to hear applications for new Canadian OTA HDTV networks
Canadian businessman John Bitove has been trying to his 8-city HDTV OTA station started for a couple of years now, and it appears hearings on the subject will begin in Ottawa today. Along with another network, YES TV, he wants to be the first in the country to form a network without a series of pre-existing stations. Opposition comes in the form of CTV and Global, which aren't looking forward to the increased competition, as they are still in the process of rolling out HDTV OTA nationally. Is it at all surprising who we blame for this state of affairs?
