Christopher Cwynar, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, Communications, Trent University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The sudden end of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC television after nearly 75 years on the air came as a shock to many Canadians.

But the end of Canada’s longest running and most cherished television program is an opportunity for the CBC to embrace the sort of transformative change that will help to ensure its future.

Sports broadcast rights

The end of an NHL-based Hockey Night has been a long time coming with the increasing value of live sports broadcast rights in a digital media environment characterized by audience fragmentation.

However, the CBC has retained the Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) trademark. The broadcaster’s executive director of sports said the CBC intends to use the HNIC brand in “some fresh new ways,” noting that CBC still has “a hockey strategy that already includes PWHL, USports, Olympic and Paralympic hockey, with the potential for more to come.”

A program focused around a range of hockey coverage would serve the CBC’s mandate while offering a striking contrast to the gambling-filled NHL broadcasts that have so irritated many Canadian viewers in recent years.

The CBC should think big and act boldly as it revamps its most iconic program. But CBC must also seize this moment to show Canadians that the public broadcaster has a compelling plan for how it will serve the country in a distinctive manner in the age of smartphones, digital platforms and artificial intelligence.

Prioritizing Canadian digital spaces

The unceremonious end of the NHL on the CBC suggests the organization was reacting to an undesired change brought by another, more powerful party. This has too often been the case as the CBC’s outdated mandate and limited resources have relegated it to a position where it can only react and respond to changes driven by other institutions.

The CBC needs to break that cycle and articulate a values-based vision. It could become a commercial-free, digital-first presenter of Canadian news and information, protector of the country’s cultural sovereignty and creator of online spaces for Canadians.

This would go beyond the broadcasting-based visions set out in previous plans. It might also shape ongoing discussions around a new mandate for the CBC and provide the basis for it to secure more consistent funding from the federal government.

There is also historical precedent for such a move. As communications scholar David Skinner points out, the CBC set the foundations for its 1968 mandate through its early 1960s re-envisioning its purpose for the television age.

Local reporting to counter news deserts

The good news is that the CBC retains strong support among Canadians and the current federal government.

Plus, such an effort would not start from scratch. Government reports over the years have provided numerous recommendations. The shift towards amateur sports satisfies one longstanding recommendation, but the CBC might also renew its focus on arts and cultural programming, and dispense with advertising entirely.

A June 2026 Senate report highlighted the need for the CBC to provide more local reporting to counter the news deserts in various smaller Canadian communities.

Draw on existing innovation, production

The CBC’s stellar work to date can provide both inspiration and guidance. For example, the CBC has long been a leader in Canada in digital content production in news and information, sports and arts and culture areas.

But many Canadians likely aren’t aware of innovative initiatives focused on aims like amplifying digital creation in Canada, serving younger generations digital news content produced with journalistic rigour and collaborating with local libraries.

Digital platform expansions

The CBC must draw on these strengths to chart a new course based on its core digital services with an emphasis on local and regional content and selected new initiatives. It should also continue to experiment in areas like social media and artificial intelligence.

Most importantly, the CBC must develop a purposeful, values-based approach to guide its engagement with external platforms — something that would also help shape the development of new public service digital platforms.

The CBC has had a number of notable digital successes. CBC.ca is the most popular online source of local and national news in Canada. My research has demonstrated how the CBC Radio 3 site and podcast used digital media to attract an elusive younger demographic.

CBC Kids and Kids News have helped the public broadcaster reach a vital and under-served demographic. But these sites face the prospect of reduced usage and relevance as users continue to gravitate to for-profit platforms.

The CBC has been obliged to follow users onto those platforms. The CBC’s YouTube channels exemplify the organization’s success at reaching Canadians through foreign social media and streaming platforms.

The rebooted teen-targeted Street Cents content brand provides a window into a possible future for the public broadcaster. Like most public media organizations, the CBC must decide whether it’s prepared to embrace a future as a content provider for external platforms.

At the same time, the CBC is now a key partner in the Public Spaces Incubator, a collaborative effort from various public broadcasters to develop new public-service alternatives to for-profit online spaces.

A plan that sets values-based criteria for serving content on external platforms while emphasizing the development of not-for-profit digital forums would represent a compelling vision for the future.

Canada’s comparatively low investment

Such a plan could help to shape the development of a long overdue new mandate. It could also help the CBC make the case for increased financial support. The CBC cannot undertake the monumental task of developing a plan for its future alone.

As noted by a 2025 report from the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, Canada has funded its public media service for decades at a much lower level than most of its international counterparts. In 2022, Canada ranked 17th out of 20 western countries in terms of per capita public funding for public broadcasting.

For a robust future, the CBC will need more funding that is delivered in five-to-10 year blocks that facilitate planning for the future.

Urgency of the task

The urgency of the task is readily apparent given the changing media environment including AI deepfakes and misinformation and the Conservative Party pledge to defund the English service in the 2025 election.

The loss of NHL hockey is a tremendous blow to both Canadian viewers and the CBC. However, it’s also a chance for our cherished national broadcaster to take control of its own future by charting a new course that is responsive to today and prepared to help shape our future.

The CBC must take this opportunity to show Canadians, and legislators, that it’s ready to meet the challenges of the moment through a renewed conception of Canadian public service media.

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Christopher Cwynar, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, Communications, Trent University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.