George Stroumboulopoulos to host Hockey Night in Canada next season

[Goober]

George Stroumboulopoulos to host Hockey Night in Canada next season - Arts & Entertainment - CBC News

Canadians, get ready for Foster Hewitt-meets-Fugazi on Saturday night — Hockey Night in Canada is about to be Strombo-fied.

Rogers Communications has announced George Stroumboulopoulos will become the new host of Hockey Night in Canada next season when the company takes control of Canada's NHL broadcasting rights.

Stroumboulopoulos, the multiple Gemini award-winning talk show host of CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, will join Hockey Night's Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, along with Sportsnet's Daren Millard and Jeff Marek as the "cornerstones" of the new hockey coverage, Rogers said in a release.

CBC partners with Rogers in landmark NHL rights deal

The hiring of the fast-talking, punk-rock-styled Stroumboulopoulos as the new face of Hockey Night is the first major personnel change made by Rogers after acquiring the NHL Canadian broadcasting rights in a blockbuster 12-year, $5.2-billion deal in November.

"Hockey is one of my deep-seated passions and I'm thrilled to be going full circle, returning to my roots in sports broadcasting," said Stroumboulopoulos, who started his career in sports radio before moving to MuchMusic and then CBC.

"It's a dream for me to work with Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, as well as my old friend Jeff Marek, who I started my career with. I'm also looking forward to working with Daren Millard and the entire team at Rogers."

MacLean, Hockey Night's longtime host at CBC, will host the Coach's Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, and will be "front and centre" on Sunday coverage, said Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL properties for Rogers.

In the release, MacLean said he was "thrilled" about the way Rogers and Hockey Night in Canada intend to recognize the hockey broadcasting community in the new deal.

"Thirty-five million voices will play a part, and I’m simply honoured to be a part of the team," he said. "As for Grapes and me, year 29 is coming up. For 28 years, Don's been wired, but now he's wireless. What a break."

The outspoken and iconic Cherry, who has been featured on Hockey Night in Canada since 1980, will continue the tradition of Coach's Corner with MacLean as the duo jostle for elbow room — as well as the last word.

“I knew that Rogers would never mess with the greatest segment on television," Cherry said.

Millard, the host of Sportsnet's existing mid-week NHL broadcasts and daytime radio coverage, will host Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportsnet starting in the fall and continue hosting the radio show Hockey Central @ Noon, Moore said.

Marek, who left Hockey Night in Canada to join Sportsnet in 2007, will host Thursday Night Hockey on Sportsnet 360, as well as weekend afternoon NHL pre-game shows on Sportsnet starting this fall.
CBC to continue airing Saturday night games

Hockey Night in Canada will continue to air Saturday nights on CBC through a sub-licensing agreement Rogers made with the public broadcaster in November, although Rogers will retain editorial control.

Earlier, CBC announced that Stroumboulopoulos's talk show, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, will not be returning after this season, bringing an end to the Gemini-award winning show following its 10th season.

Jennifer Dettman, the CBC's executive director of studio and unscripted content, said in a statement Monday that Stroumboulopoulos Tonight "has had an incredible run, racking up awards and accolades through the years."

"Thank you to the team for creating a show each and every night that makes us proud," Dettman wrote. "Anyone who has done daily television knows how challenging it can be, but you set the bar for how it should be done."

During its run, Stroumboulopoulos Tonight attracted guests from all walks of life, including world leaders, musical legends, sports figures, acclaimed writers and the who’s who of Hollywood.

Shot in front of a live studio audience, the show won four Gemini awards for best talk series in Canada and a Gracie for outstanding talk show. Stroumboulopoulos himself won a six consecutive Geminis for best host or interviewer in a talk series.

The show premiered in 2005, under the name The Hour. The name was changed to George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight in 2010 and shortened from an hour to a half hour.


UPDATED
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014...o-remain-cornerstones-of-nhl-coverage-rogers/

A former reporter at Sportsnet 590 The Fan, the all-sports Toronto radio station owned by Rogers, Stroumboulopoulos will take over in October. Ron MacLean, the long-time host, will remain with show, co-hosting Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry on Saturday nights, along with other duties.

“I would have nothing but the best things to say about George’s ability to do whatever they ask him to do,” former Hockey Night in Canada host Dave Hodge said on Monday. “It’s not like you’re watching the torch passed to someone you think is going to fall flat on his face, because George won’t, to say the least.”

Hodge, who hosts the Sunday morning show “The Reporters” on TSN, was a host before MacLean took the chair at the CBC. Hodge left the show in 1987.

 

[Locutus]

but he's a gemini award winner.

 

[BornRuff]

I kind of thought that his career was on the decline when CBC cut his show in half and then dedicated half of the remaining time to a panel of comedians, but I guess not. Good for him I guess.

He is a Habs fan though, so that is a problem.

but he's a gemini award winner.

Correction, he is a six time Gemini award winner.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

It'll certainly go over better than Dennis Miller as an NFL commentator did.

 

[Liberalman]

Will George bring his retro couch to the games?

 

[Said1]

I like him, should be interesting ..... different?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Wait. . . what exactly does it mean that Strombo will "host" Hockey Night in Canada? Will he be bringing the teams and the fans into his studio for a charming, low-pressure, friendly interview?

 

[darkbeaver]

George S will make a fine addition to the whatever, he brings years of something to the coverage and depth. I look forward to his opening night thing.

 

[Said1]

He's a cute little punk, tho.

 

[Goober]

Wait. . . what exactly does it mean that Strombo will "host" Hockey Night in Canada? Will he be bringing the teams and the fans into his studio for a charming, low-pressure, friendly interview?

Well we are polite up here. To ffn polite I say.

 

[mentalfloss]

22 Minutes: Strombo's Hockey Night In Canada - YouTube

 

[shadowshiv]

I must admit that I find his show to be on the boring side. I certainly hope that his hosting job for Hockey Night In Canada is a little more entertaining.

 

[tay]

The Swift Decline of Hockey Night in Canada




The excitement is gone, the authenticity which we so loved is non-existent and Hockey Night has become just another Sportsnet broadcast.
The wounds are self-inflicted. Rogers has done this to themselves.
It’s as if Rogers wanted to take everything that made Hockey Night distinctive, pry apart all the tradition built up over 50 years and start over. But for what reason?
Rogers’ $5.2 billion deal with the NHL stretches out over 12 years.
With their inaugural season finally coming to an end, you’ve got to wonder how long hockey fans will be willing to tolerate the new brand of Hockey Night.
11 years is a long time.




It’s been less than a year — eight months, if you’re only counting the actual NHL season — since Rogers Communications Inc. took over Hockey Night in Canada from CBC, but that’s all the time in the world Rogers needed to take one of the country’s greatest pasttimes and shatter the reputation it had held for over 50 brilliant years.


And maybe it didn’t even take this long for the program to be slaughtered. Maybe the handcuffs were clamped on to the wrists of faithful Canadian hockey fans months ago, before the season ever started and before Rogers was actually able to go on air.


Decisions made as the franchise switched over to Rogers were seemingly what affected the well-being, popularity and previous admiration so many people had for Hockey Night before. Because, as Rogers senior vice president of NHL production Gord Cutler explains, they knew they wanted to distance themselves from the program Hockey Night once was.


At the time, that was an absurd decision, and now, it feels more along the lines of ludicrous.


As Rogers continued their attempt to distance themselves from the success Hockey Night had seen on CBC, they couldn’t help but kick to the curb one of the features that made Saturday nights so exciting and entertaining.


Seeking to further remodel the program, Rogers introduced a new host in George Stroumboulopoulos. The former star of The Hour on CBC, Stroumboulopoulos was to replace Ron MacLean who had served as host of Hockey Night since 1987.


Stroumboulopoulos was younger than MacLean (13 years, to be exact), more trendy and had proven to be a fine host on his own talk show. So with that, the decision was made for MacLean to be forced to step down and take a less involved role. He was to only be seen alongside Don Cherry in Coach’s Corner and to help host the Sunday Hometown Hockey broadcast that had him travelling all over Canada.


But why?


Change can be refreshing in some circumstances, but when it’s clearly pushed onto a good thing, it seems entirely unnecessary.


Was MacLean unhappy with being the host of Canada’s most popular program? Very doubtful. Was he failing to reach the goals of Hockey Night’s overseers as a suitable host? Probably not. Has he made any poor choices on air that could be reason for his diminished role? Nope.


So then MacLean’s removal is, in its bare essence, an effort to be more “hip” and cater to a younger crowd.


Except the younger crowd grew up on a heavy dose of MacLean.


And also of Cherry. Who, and this might come to shock you, has also had his presence reduced.


Yes, the man who once had almost an entire intermission dedicated to his controversial opinions and butchering of players’ last names has been cut down a fair bit. In early November on Coach’s Corner, Cherry voiced his aggravation with his lack of air time when he yelled, “Why are we tight?” multiple times halfway through the segment.


Understandably, it’s probably a bit irritating for Cherry to be told they are tight for time at the three-minute mark of his show.




The Swift Decline of Hockey Night in Canada

 

[Locutus]

we told you so.

 

[Blackleaf]

Anyone managing to pronounce that fellow's name correctly should be awarded a medal.

 

[Walter]

Haven't watched in decades and this won't get me back to it. HNIC had the best theme song of any show any time and they got rid of it; idiots.