NEW DEAL SIGNED FOR LOCAL LEAFS BROADCASTS
By Adnews Staff
A different radio station and an additional television station will be broadcasting local and regional broadcasts of Maple Leaf games next hockey season. Westcom Radio Group's FM rock station Q107 in Toronto will be taking over from The Fan, an AM sports station belonging to Telemedia. And CHCH in Hamilton, Ont., a television station belonging to WIC Western International Communications, will be broadcasting 10 games throughout Ontario. These were subcontracted by CanWest Global Communications Corp. whose Global Television Network was previously the only broadcaster doing regional and local broadcasts. Global was carrying 25 games a year. Under a new deal this has been expanded to 35 games and Global could not fit the additional games into its schedule. The changes have been made in a new agreement for local broadcast and promotional rights signed between Molson Breweries and the Leafs. The four-year pact replaces a 15-year agreement that ended with the 1995 season. Molson has local broadcast rights for six National Hockey League teams and national broadcast rights for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.