After the Maroons folded in 1938, Smith and Ferguson hosted Canadiens games in English.
Montreal Maroons broadcasts were hosted by Doug Smith and Elmer Ferguson in English, and Rene Lecavalier called Montreal Canadiens games in French. It featured the Maple Leafs and was hosted by Gordon Calder, with play-by-play announcer Hewitt and colour commentator Percy Lesueur, in much of Ontario and points west. The program acquired its present title (coined by Foster Hewitt) around that time. The games began to be broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the CRBC's successor, in 1936. Eastern Time, around the start of the second period of play. Imperial Oil took over sponsorship from General Motors the following year, and the broadcast became known as the Imperial Esso Hockey Broadcast. The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) broadcast Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Maroons games on its Quebec stations in 1933. The show was sponsored by General Motors Products of Canada and produced by MacLaren Advertising, which had acquired exclusive radio-broadcasting rights for Maple Leaf Gardens from Conn Smythe in 1931 and produced the TV broadcast that became Hockey Night in Canada from 1952 until 1988. The more-powerful CFRB replaced CFCA as the program's Toronto flagship station in 1932. The program began broadcasting Saturday-night Toronto Maple Leafs games on Novemover the Canadian National Railway radio network, of which CFCA was an affiliate. Foster Hewitt took over announcing duties within a month and, after several years of sporadic coverage that began to include National Hockey League games, the broadcasts went national in 1931 as the General Motors Hockey Broadcast. Hockey broadcasting originated with play-by-play radio broadcasts from Toronto's Arena Gardens, which began on February 8, 1923, on Toronto station CFCA when Norman Albert announced the third period of play of an intermediate men's Ontario Hockey Association game. This sub-license agreement runs through the end of the Rogers deal with the NHL. Rogers had secured exclusive national multimedia rights to NHL games beginning in 2014–15, and sublicensed Saturday night and playoff games to the CBC. Beginning in the 2014–15 season, the brand is being licensed to Rogers Communications for Sportsnet-produced Saturday NHL broadcasts airing on CBC Television as well as the Rogers-owned Citytv and Sportsnet networks. The Hockey Night in Canada brand is owned by the CBC and was exclusively used by CBC Sports through the end of the 2013–14 NHL season. It also shows the hosts' opinions on news and issues occurring in the league. The broadcast features various segments during the intermissions and between games, as well as pre- and post-game coverage of the night's games, and player interviews. Since 1998, the games begin at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm (ET). Initially games were aired once a week, but doubleheader games had debuted in 1995 at 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm (ET) start times. Saturday NHL broadcasts began in 1931 on the CNR Radio network, and debuted on television in 1952. CBC Television (1952–present) (Saturday games)ĬBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the Hockey Night in Canada (often abbreviated Hockey Night or HNiC) brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its history in various platforms.