FanHouse

How would you feel if all of a sudden, the theme from ESPN's Monday Night Football started to be played over the intro to NBC's Sunday Night Football?

At first, I'm sure that it would seem a little odd. After all, that music had literally meant Monday Night Football since 1971, the second year that the program was on the air. You'd probably listen, and you probably couldn't help but think about all those great Monday night games from the past. Eventually, you'd probably also start absorbing one of the essential messages of Monday Night Football -- that the game you were watching was a much bigger deal than all the others that were played the day before.

Something tells me that if NBC had the opportunity to hijack the MNF theme, they'd do it in a heartbeat. And I'm sure that if you asked the folks at ABC/ESPN, they'd tell you that there was absolutely no way they would ever let NBC get hold of a integral element of Monday Night Football's brand identity.

But in Canada, that's exactly what just happened. Last week, the report hit the wires that Canada's national broadcaster, the CBC, had come to an impasse with the rights holder to the theme from Hockey Night in Canada, the network's, and the nation's, signature television program.

But now, CTV, the parent company to Canada's TSN and RDS sports networks, has stepped in and swiped that theme right out from under the CBC. As a result, CTV will now be using that theme music over its telecasts of the NHL beginning this Fall, and as part of its hockey coverage during the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver.

My guess is that the CBC will come to rue the day they made this penny wise and pound foolish decision. Hockey Night in Canada will never be the same.