CBC signs Skate Canada deal

The pubcaster's adding figure skating to its winter sports programming.

CBC Sports has signed a four-year multimedia rights deal with Skate Canada, starting with the 2007-08 season. The deal includes the BMO Canadian Championships and the HomeSense Skate Canada International.

The season begins in Quebec City with the HomeSense Skate Canada International on November 3-4. The pubcaster will unveil a detailed schedule in the coming weeks. CBC Country Canada will also file reports. CBCSports.ca will stream all events live, along with on-demand special features and reports.

The 2007 BMO Canadian Championships, broadcast by CTV and TSN in January, attracted sizable audiences. The January 20 evening broadcast reached a total viewership of 713,000. The afternoon broadcast that day attracted 265,000 viewers. About 315,000 viewers tuned in for the January 19 primetime broadcast on TSN. The free dance competition on Sunday, January 21 recorded 444,000 viewers.