The Stanley Cup Final Leaves Free TV in Canada, and a Lobby Group Wants a Law

Next year, for the first time in decades, Canadians won't be able to watch the NHL Stanley Cup final for free on television. A lobby organization wants the government to pass a law to prevent that from happening, CBC reports. The request is notable for what it isn't: not a call to change how fans pay, but a demand that the free-to-air final be protected by statute. Pass such a law and free access stops being a byproduct of how broadcast rights are sold and becomes an obligation - a heavier guarantee, and one with sharper edges, since someone then has to decide what counts as free, and for whom.