As some of you may know, the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup starts next week,
and I thought I would take a look at the TV schedule to start planning out the
next three weeks of my life. Hmm, nothing showed up on the digital box. So I
went to a couple of soccer TV websites and nothing came up their
either. What gives? Finally I went to the source, the CBC, which has the rights
to broadcast all FIFA events in Canada until 2014. There I discovered to my
horror that they will only be broadcasting nine of the
thirty-two games, plus another three
on their digital channel. The rest will be shown on the web, which is fine if you don't mind watching pixellated players following a ball that blurs in and out of existence on a 5-inch screen. Contrast this to the last two Women's World
Cups, where every single game was broadcast in Canada on the sports networks. (And yes, I watched them all!)
Keep in mind that the CBC is taxpayer-supported. You would think that if commercial networks can make money airing women's soccer, it should be a no-brainer for the CBC . But no, apparently women's soccer isn't good enough for the CBC. It's a disgrace for a supposedly egalitarian society. Shame on you, CBC.
