It’s official: George Stroumboulopoulos will be exiting CBC to become the new anchor for Rogers-owned Hockey Night in Canada.
This confirms a report from TSN reporter Bob McKenzie, who on Sunday tweeted that George Stroumboulopoulos will take a seat in the broadcast booth next season when Hockey Night in Canada moves from CBC to Rogers, which ponied up more than $5 billion for NHL broadcast rights in November 2013.
This was followed by CBC’s announcement this morning that George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, the late-night talk show Strombo has hosted since 2005, will be ending its 10-year run at the end of this season.
Shortly thereafter, Rogers put out a press release announcing its new HNiC team, with a press conference to be held this afternoon at 2 p.m. EST in Toronto. The release also indicates that Ron MacLean and Don Cherry will remain part of the broadcast, quashing rumours that 80-year-old Cherry’s contract would not be renewed.
“Hockey is one of my deep-seated passions and I’m thrilled to be going full circle, returning to my roots in sports broadcasting,”; Stroumboulopoulos said in the release.
“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, notes the release, will host HNiC“s Coach’s Corner segmen, and will be “front and centre”; during broadcasts of Sunday night games, said Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL properties for Rogers.
Under the terms of the $5.2-billion deal, Hockey Night in Canada will continue to air on CBC on Saturday nights via a sub-licensing deal, with Rogers assuming editorial control of the broadcast. In addition, Rogers will also air NHL games on its various broadcast properties, which include Citytv and Sportsnet.
Do you think Strombo is the right choice to become the new face of Hockey Night in Canada?
