CFL reaches new agreement with ESPN

[Mr. Perfect]

From CFL.ca

 

 

Every Canadian Football League game this season will be available live to fans in the United States thanks to a new multi-year agreement with ESPN, which was announced today.

"We are thrilled for our fans in the United States that the ESPN networks will be the exclusive home of our league there," said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the CFL.

"This is a powerful showcase for our talented athletes, our exciting brand of football, and the CFL itself, a league with a proud history but, more importantly, a bright future."

A minimum of 17 regular season games and the Eastern and Western Finals will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNEWS.  The 102nd Grey Cup will be televised live exclusively on ESPN2. All other CFL games will be available to fans live on ESPN3 across computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices.

"Since the early days of ESPN, CFL games have been a valued part of our programming lineup," said Burke Magnus, Senior Vice President, Programming Acquisitions. "I'm proud to see our relationship continue as we strive to serve football fans 365 days a year."

The 2014 CFL season kicked off last night as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Toronto Argonauts 45-21. It continues on Saturday, June 28, as the Montreal Alouettes visit the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. The game features the CFL regular season debut for Chad Johnson of the Alouettes and will be televised live on ESPN2.  

The 2014 CFL season concludes with the 102nd Grey Cup championship game on Sunday, November 30 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Collaborating with a worldwide leader in sports content like ESPN is great news for our fans, our players and our teams," said Cohon. "It speaks to the strength of our product and the passion of fans in the U.S. for our game."

In Canada, TSN is the exclusive English language broadcaster for the CFL and Grey Cup, and RDS is the exclusive French language broadcaster.

[iso_55]

Does the CFL get any revenue from ESPN for showing the games?

[Mr. Perfect]

Yes. Not likely a high number, and certainly nothing near what they are getting from TSN but they would get some sort of cash flow.

[ubbullrun]

The Mid American Conference is in the later stages of redoing their contract with ESPN. I know that one stickign point between the two is the value of games on ESPN3 and the compensation provided.

[gbill2004]

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

[voodoochylde]

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

Compounds the victory for the owners at any rate .. revenues that weren't accounted for during negotiations ..  this is great for the league and hopefully draws a wider audience to our brand of football.

[Jacquie]

The American broadcast situation is usually announced at this time of the season iirc.

[Jaxon]

 

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

Compounds the victory for the owners at any rate .. revenues that weren't accounted for during negotiations .. at any rate .. this is great for the league and hopefully draws a wider audience to our brand of football.

 

It's a renewal, so it's not all new revenue.  It would only be significant if it involved a large increase.

[voodoochylde]

 

 

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

Compounds the victory for the owners at any rate .. revenues that weren't accounted for during negotiations .. at any rate .. this is great for the league and hopefully draws a wider audience to our brand of football.

 

It's a renewal, so it's not all new revenue.  It would only be significant if it involved a large increase.

 

 

 

Expanded coverage this season (and seasons going forward) .. so the monetary value of the deal goes north .. regardless .. more people get exposed to our game .. see it as a viable league ..

[ubbullrun]

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

It's likely ESPN would not sign a deal until the CFL had it's house in order. This spring the MAC forced UMass to either join the conference for all sports or get out (UMass was a football only member). Not too long after that I heard that the long stalled ESPN/MAC talks were moving along nicely.

 

ESPN likes to know/control the properteis they deal in.

[johnzo]

It's nice to have this settled but ESPN3 is pretty crappy; it's an online service like TSNGo and you can only get it if you've got the right cable TV subscription.

Ah well, I suppose I'm signing up for cable TV this year...after a decade of being a cord cutter.

[Mr Dee]

It's nice to have this settled but ESPN3 is pretty crappy; it's an online service like TSNGo and you can only get it if you've got the right cable TV subscription.

Ah well, I suppose I'm signing up for cable TV this year...after a decade of being a cord cutter.

That's sounding Saskatchewanie-like to me.

And if you're getting electrical from electric tape…well that seals it for me.

[Floyd]

Dear CFL, In your next negotiations, maybe ask ESPN to actually talk about the CFL... or even football during the half-time show.  Just a thought.

[Rids]

 

 

 

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

Compounds the victory for the owners at any rate .. revenues that weren't accounted for during negotiations .. at any rate .. this is great for the league and hopefully draws a wider audience to our brand of football.

 

It's a renewal, so it's not all new revenue.  It would only be significant if it involved a large increase.

 

 

 

Expanded coverage this season (and seasons going forward) .. so the monetary value of the deal goes north .. regardless .. more people get exposed to our game .. see it as a viable league ..

 

It's basically the same coverage as last year just all on one network instead of having NBC Sports broadcast the other games.

 

The biggest positive is that no playoff game will be tape delayed which happened last year. That was a pain and likely a reason why NBC Sports was left behind. 

[voodoochylde]

 

 

 

 

Coincidence or not that this was announced after the CBA was agreed to?

 

Compounds the victory for the owners at any rate .. revenues that weren't accounted for during negotiations .. at any rate .. this is great for the league and hopefully draws a wider audience to our brand of football.

 

It's a renewal, so it's not all new revenue.  It would only be significant if it involved a large increase.

 

 

 

Expanded coverage this season (and seasons going forward) .. so the monetary value of the deal goes north .. regardless .. more people get exposed to our game .. see it as a viable league ..

 

It's basically the same coverage as last year just all on one network instead of having NBC Sports broadcast the other games.

 

The biggest positive is that no playoff game will be tape delayed which happened last year. That was a pain and likely a reason why NBC Sports was left behind. 

 

 

Stand corrected then!  Reading the article made it sound like improved coverage .. 

[Rids]

Yeah they are tricky with how they've rolled this out. Currently it's 17 games shown live during the season but there seems to be phrasing there to suggest that ESPN has the option to put more on their cable networks if they'd like. At least the one week archive on ESPN3 has remained.