TORONTO – “Dunt-da-dunt-da-dunt…” is now part of the CTVglobemedia empire.
It was a battle that has raged for the better part of a week and when CBC couldn’t come to an agreement to continue to license the Hockey Night In Canada theme song, CTVglobemedia crashed the net hard yesterday and scored, buying it outright.
CBC, to the surprise of many, didn’t actually own the iconic theme music to the program and had simply been paying a license fee to composer Dolores Claman ($500 a game) for the past four decades.
However, she had a pending lawsuit against the CBC for selling the song as a cell ring tone and using it in other ways. She and her representatives, Copyright Music & Visuals, didn’t believe the licensing agreement with the CBC allowed CBC to use the tune beyond the broadcast. The deadline to sign a new agreement came and went last week with CBC saying it would launch a $100,000 contest to come up with new theme music.
While Monday morning the CBC said it had hired sports lawyer Gord Kirke to make one last stab at mediating the dispute, CTV announced Monday afternoon it bought “all rights to ‘The Hockey Theme’ in perpetuity.”
‘The Hockey Theme’ song will now live on CTV Inc. properties TSN, RDS and across Canada on CTV during coverage of the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
The deal between CTV and Copyright Music & Visuals was agreed to in principle after the CBC publicly announced last Friday at 5 p.m. ET that a deal could not be reached with the rights holders. Due diligence was completed earlier today.
The price CTV paid for the tune wasn’t released.
The song, which was created by Vancouver’s Dolores Claman in 1968, will now be used in NHL broadcasts on TSN and RDS beginning this Fall. In addition, CTV will utilize the song as part of its hockey coverage during the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
"The song has a long and storied history in Canadian sports and has become ingrained in the hearts and minds of hockey fans across the country. It is an iconic tune, embraced by Canadians everywhere, and we felt it was imperative to save it. We know we will be in hockey forever, so there’s no doubt this acquisition will create value for us," said Rick Brace, president, revenue, business planning and sports, CTV Inc. "It’s an honour and a privilege to own such a cherished piece of Canadiana."
"I am very moved by how so many Canadians have taken the hockey theme to heart. We are so pleased the song has found a new home," said Claman, in the same press release. "Throughout our negotiations, CTV displayed a tremendous amount of respect for my family and the song. ‘The Hockey Theme’ means so much to Canadians, and we know it’s in good hands with CTV."
The announcement complements TSN’s new six-year multi-platform NHL deal, featuring more coverage of Canadian teams than ever before with at least one Canadian team in every game. Earlier this year, RDS extended its exclusive rights agreement with the Montreal Canadiens through the 2011-12 season.
