TORONTO – Sportsnet and APTN are teaming up on the NHL’s first ever broadcast in Plains Cree next weekend.
The historic broadcast is scheduled for Sunday, March 24, when the Montreal Canadiens meet the Carolina Hurricanes on Rogers Hometown Hockey in Cree on APTN at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT. Sportsnet will handle the production, while APTN will air the matchup with exclusive Cree-language commentary and analysis. Broadcaster Clarence Iron, recognized within the Indigenous hockey community as one of the “Cree Voices of Hockey”, will handle the play-by-play call for APTN, while Juno Award-winning musician Earl Wood will host the studio show alongside game analyst and NHL alum John Chabot.
“This brand-new venture will allow us to pursue our goal of presenting premier hockey programming to APTN audiences in Plains Cree,” said APTN CEO Jean La Rose, in Thursday’s news release. “This initiative also coincides with UNESCO’s declaration of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Supporting that declaration is incredibly important to us as we continue to serve Indigenous Peoples and work towards reconciliation.”
APTN’s broadcast will complement that weekend’s Rogers Hometown Hockey stop in Enoch Cree Nation, AB, where Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean and Tara Slone will host a live broadcast of the same game on Sportsnet. Enoch Cree Nation is a First Nation situated in Treaty No. 6 Territory in central Alberta, bordering the west side of Edmonton.
“We are thrilled to partner with APTN on such a unique and momentous broadcast,” added Rob Corte, Sportsnet & NHL Productions VP. “Committed to uniting Canadians through the sports they love, we at Sportsnet know that there is no stronger common thread than the country’s passion for hockey. We are truly honoured to have the opportunity to work with APTN to celebrate Canada’s Indigenous communities and the shared passion for hockey that unites us all.”
