Let Montreal Canadiens fans make up their minds: The Royal Bank of Canada crest will remain on Sainte-Flanelle’s shirt, France-Marguerite Bellanger confirmed Wednesday to Canadian club Montreal.
“Other times, other traditions,” Groupe CH’s head of sports and entertainment called out in an effort to shut down a debate that has infuriated many supporters since last Monday’s announcement.
During a conference delivered to an audience of businessmen as well as fellow CH employees, Mr.I Bellanger reiterated that the 100-plus-year-old organization is determined to incorporate advertising into its legendary red uniform. “Some of us are too young to remember it, but there was clearly a time when there weren’t even announcers on tapes in the yards,” she recalls. “Champions are evolving and evolving.”
She didn’t fail to point out that the National Basketball Association took that path in 2016 and that Major League Baseball will follow suit next season. She says it’s a “big trend” in professional sports in North America.
Regarding the criticism that rains down on the organization every time it has to make a controversial decision, she believes this is perfectly normal, because “Canadians are part of the fibers of our Montreal, it’s our identity. It’s part of our culture and our history in Quebec, Canada.”
Sources of income
Although we do not know the financial details of the agreement with RBC, it is not due to a lack of economic dynamism that the Canadian made the decision to add advertisements to his shirt.
According to the data of the abbreviated 2021 season, 1.1 million viewers watch CH matches on TV. A number that jumped to 4.4 million during the team’s long playoff tour, Ms.I Belanger. To this must be added 184 million views of the videos produced by the organization and broadcast on various Internet platforms. The team has 4.6 million subscribers on its online platforms and ranks first in the National Hockey League for the number of articles read.
In addition, the club will be able to take advantage of another new source of income this season by imposing its own advertising on the ribbons of competing teams in Canada. This means that thanks to the “digitally enhanced tapes” technology, the team will be able to replace the local broadcasters of other Canadian teams with its match broadcast partners.
“Our advertisers will not only be present at the Bell Center, but when Canadians travel abroad in Canada, whether we are in Vancouver or Calgary, we will still be able to see our advertisers by watching the game on TV,” he said.
Sports fans are already familiar with this technology, as digital ads can appear in large windows or on ice while watching broadcasts of matches on TV or online.