CBC TV axes 40-year-old hockey theme song

TORONTO, June 5 (UPI) -- The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. announced Thursday it is dropping its theme song for "Hockey Night in Canada" TV broadcasts after 40 years.

The song's composer, Dolores Clamant, said in a statement the network used the piece for the last time on Wednesday night's broadcast of the final game between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

The driving melody has long been referred to as Canada's second national anthem, but the CBC said it wasn't going to renew the licensing agreement and wanted to move in a "new direction," the Canwest News Service reported.

Under the licensing agreement that expired at the end of the 2007-2008 season, the CBC paid Clamant $500 every time it aired, the report said.