CBC Loses HNIC Theme Song to CTV, Calls On Canadians to Create New Hockey Anthem

CBC Hockey Night In Canada Challenge

In what practically amounts to a crime against humanity, the CBC has walked away from the famous Hockey Night In Canada theme song it used for 40 years in a dispute over royalty payments with the composer. In order to fill the gaping void, the public broadcaster has begun accepting submissions on its website for a replacement anthem to accompany the iconic Saturday night hockey broadcast.

TORONTO (Reuters) – If you can string together a few catchy musical notes, write them down and send them to Canada’s national broadcaster, you could earn C$100,000 ($99,000) and a lifetime of bragging rights.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which recently lost the rights to its hugely popular “Hockey Night in Canada” theme song, said on Thursday it will hold a contest to find a replacement for the jingle.

CBC, which had used the theme to open its top-rated “Hockey Night” broadcasts since 1968, lost the rights to the song about two weeks ago when rival CTV network struck a deal with the song’s author.[Reuters/Yahoo! News]