Appeared on J-Source.ca, Dec. 6, 2011
CBC benched Hockey Night in Canada’s Punjabi edition in October, but vehement support from the Punjabi community have put the broadcast back in the game.
Beginning Dec. 10, Hockey Night in Canada will be broadcast in Punjabi on digital cable and online every Saturday for the remainder of the season with continuous coverage during the playoff season.
“We’re thrilled to bring back our Punjabi broadcasts,” says CBC’s spokesperson Julie Bristow in a press release today. “Hockey is such a large part of our country’s culture and we’re very happy to continue to offer our national sport to even more of Canada’s diverse population on its biggest stage each week.”
The broadcast originally began as an experiment during the 2008 playoffs and is returning with official sponsorship support from Chevrolet Canada.
But broadcasters and sponsors aren’t the only ones supporting the lively Punjabi-language commentary.
When news of the show’s cancellation broke in October, it prompted an immediate response from the Punjabi community, according to host Harnarayan Singh.
“People didn’t ask why it got cancelled,” the CBC broadcaster says. “The questions right away were: How do we get this back?”
And this proactive support is nothing new for the Punjabi-language broadcast.
Ishani Nath 