Hockey Night in Canada celebrates 50 years on television.

Hockey had already been broadcast on radio since 1931, but television gave it new life and a new perspective. 

"Hockey Night In Canada enhanced the game," says Dick Irvin, a member of the Hockey Night in Canada crew for the past 36 years. "It brought it into our homes, gave it a face."

Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts an NHL game every Saturday night on CBC, Canada's public broadcaster. The show means a lot to Canadians because hockey is our national winter sport.

The appeal

Irvin says part of Hockey Night in Canada's appeal is that "it's Canadian, it's our game, our telecast, and CBC does it best. I think Canadians appreciate that and are proud of it."

Lionel Lumb describes the appeal of Hockey Night in Canada

Since its inception, Hockey Night in Canada has been the sports show of choice. 

"It's colourful, there's a lot of sound, there's a lot of good audio," says Lionel Lumb, a former producer for CBC and CTV who teaches broadcast journalism at Carleton University.

Lumb says viewers are likely to cheer or curse at the screen.

"People aren't just watching it, they are interacting with it in a most vibrant way."

High ratings

Hockey Night in Canada has consistently been CBC's most-watched program. At times, the show has commanded audiences of over three million people. 

The original focus was on Toronto and Montreal games, but expanded along with the NHL. The CBC began covering other Canadian teams as they joined the league, beginning with the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.

To celebrate the anniversary, Hockey Night in Canada opened its season with a one-hour special commemorating the milestone on Oct. 7. Throughout the season, the show will also broadcast short features highlighting memorable moments from Hockey Night in Canada's past 50 years.

The early broadcasts were simple compared to today. For example, Hockey Night in Canada originally used only three overhead camera angles to capture the action. But, the show pioneered the use of ice-level cameras around the net and 'almost instant' replay technology in the 1950s.

Hockey Night in Canada also developed stylistically. Beginning in the 1960s, it used dramatic scripted openings, teasers and microphones to catch the sound of thundering body-checks and slap shots at ice-level. The show was becoming a sports entertainment experience.

Familiar faces

The coverage techniques may have evolved, but many of the on-air faces remained constant.

Joel Darling, executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada, says the longevity of the show's personalities is a factor in its success.

"It's familiar, comfortable," Darling says. "You know who the personalities are. It's a little like a teddy bear, you feel it's part of your own."

But not everyone is fond of the show's hosts. Marc André Joanisse, sports columnist for Le Droit, a French-language newspaper in Ottawa, says Don Cherry, a former NHL coach, often goes too far. 

Cherry co-hosts Coach's Corner, a segment during the broadcast in which Cherry gives highly-opinionated personal commentary. He joined the show in 1980.

"I wouldn't go so far to say he is a disgrace, but I don't think he should knock down players the way he does," Joanisse says.

Cherry's comments often criticize a player's culture, not his hockey skills, he adds. Cherry sometimes crosses the line when commenting on European players, but Joanisse says he realizes Cherry is there to be candid and create a buzz.

"Hockey is an international sport. (Cherry) must be there, but he needs to be a little more tolerant." 

Despite some controversy, the show holds a special place in the hearts of Canadian hockey fans.

Lumb says another reason for Hockey Night in Canada's popularity is that it highlights Canada's celebrities.

"People like (Wayne) Gretzky are our stars and so there's a celebrity cache as well, for hockey which is what has made it so very popular," he says.

For the love of hockey

Mary-Lou and Gerry Warner have watched Hockey Night in Canada for almost 50 years.

Of course, Hockey Night in Canada would not have succeeded without its fans.

Mary-Lou Warner, 69, says she began watching the show in 1954 after getting her first television. 

"It was Saturday night entertainment. Everybody sat down and watched Hockey Night In Canada. It was the thing to do."

Warner says she tuned in for the love of hockey. 

"It was Canada's game," she says.

Her husband Gerry, 73, says the show brought Canadians together.

"It was certainly a unifier, a national unifier."  

Mary-Lou Warner explains the Saturday night tradition of Hockey Night in Canada

The Warners say they've continued watching through the years. 

"We certainly wouldn't have missed it," Gerry says.

Hockey Night in Canada is a part of the Canadian psyche because hockey is part of our identity.

To see why Hockey Night in Canada has been so successful, "you have to go back to the beginning; to the game of hockey," Irvin says.

Darling agrees. He says Hockey Night in Canada is where Canadian hockey fans watch the game they love. 

"'Hockey Night In Canada', I think those four words sort of say it all," Darling says. 

"It's become sort of a tradition unlike anything we've seen."

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