CFL considering testing ‘direct-to-consumer’ streaming in US market

this “considering testing” thing seems weird given the season is less than 2 months away. streaming games isn’t a novelty, USports have been doing it for ages. i feel like someone at Genius suggested the CFL stream games to the US so they made an announcement about thinking about it.

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Exactly how the NFL wants it to be.

True to a considerable extent. Part of the problem with the CFL has lousy leadership. Some genius commissioner thought the league could make more money by selling its own advertising and dropped the CBC agreement which sent the league spiraling downward. If they could publish and sell a monthly, they could have tried twice monthly or weekly because they already had subscribers. Buying the games on the internet was not inexpensive but it was great for the big games. We were never offered any kind of package like the ECHL and AHL do. I would have signed up. A fan since1962, I have attended at least 20 games over the years, including 2 Grey Cups. Age and illness in my family as well as friends makes it unlikely I will ever get back. Living 6 hours from Toronto and Hamilton is also a more difficult drive at my age, too. Fortunately I am stubborn and I hope to return at least one more time. Thank you for your remarks.

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I’m a longtime US viewer with an ESPN+ subscription. It has been really nice to be able to watch all CFL games here in the States the last few years (a far cry from my childhood when we only got a handful of regular season games and the Grey Cup on ESPN!)

I guess I’m a little confused about the DTC option. I thought the latest deal the league signed with ESPN a year or two ago vaguely referenced a “multi-year” partnership. I took this as the ESPN networks and ESPN+ continuing to carry the full slate of games, but maybe this was too big an assumption on my part. Does anyone know yet if all games will be carried on the ESPN networks and ESPN+ this year, with a DTC deal maybe a year or two away?

Apologies if I’ve overlooked any information that might have already been released.

Thanks,
Chris

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Only 20 games televised on the ESPN networks but all games streamed on ESPN+

" In the United States, fans can watch every CFL game live on the ESPN networks and ESPN+. A minimum of 20 games will air on the ESPN networks, including one of the two Division Finals and the Grey Cup, while the remaining games will stream via ESPN+.

Congratulations to whoever got the deal for CBS broadcasting of CFL. It is beyond huge!!

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Not good for me at all. Been able to watch all of the games on ESPN+ for several years. Now, I am screwed. Will cost a lot more for me to add CBS sports to my package for considerably less games. The league might have received more money for the deal but I can tell you this that CBS sports channel will not give the league more exposure in the state. It will considerably less. CBS sports network’s most lucrative football deal is with the Mountain West and other mid-major conference games. Very disappointed.

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It’s only one part of the deal. ESPN family might still be part of the package. Just keep paying attention to the news.

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Okay. Thank you for your message of hope. I will get off the roof of my house and not jump after all. Ha Ha.

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I am not familiar with CBS sports in the states. Is it any better or worse than Espn?
Now if they announced that games would be on the main CBS channel, that would seem to be a cause for celebration. Doesn’t the XFL get the odd ABC game and USFL get the odd FOX game?

Better to ask @Paolo_X this question about households and the difference between ESPN and CBS Sports.

You are correct with the XFL getting ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/FX family. USFL is owned by FOX so they get FOX/FS1 and have a deal with NBC/USA/Peacock to show games.

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The USFL has about 30 of its 43 games on NBC or Fox. CBSSN is not a Nielsen rated station, so viewership numbers will never be released unfortunately. The AAF, arena league, and starting this year, IFL indoor football championship are all being shown on CBSSN

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I am familiar with CBS sports network. Compared to what the CFL has had on ESPN+, this is a step backwards in my opinion although the money the CFL is receiving is more supposedly. The Arena League is currently not playing and is supposed to start up again in 2024. The IFL has been a very steady league for a number of years. They currently have all their games live on Youtube. As I said in a previous post, CBS sports network’s primary contract is with the Mountain West football conference. They will also broadcast Army, Navy and Air Force. For the most part, CBS sports network has been more of a college basketball station. They have the Mountain West for that of course and will show other games that are not from the power 5 conferences.

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Yes, and the open question remains, “What is the rest of the picture in our streaming world?” I don’t doubt there is more to this deal, with all parties with much more vested interest, than merely cable TV screens.

I’ve written extensively about Paramount+ in the streaming thread and its vastly larger subscriber base, including me with a positive experience after the first year free.

Paramount+ has already been used successfully for most other sports on the CBS networks as well as many CBS shows plus its exclusives, so it would be quite easy and beneficial to use for the CFL as well.

As the NBA and MLS have experienced amongst others, younger audiences are watching far more streaming than ever any more as well.

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Yes there will be less eyeballs in the US but the important thing for the league was getting the $1 million contract.
Haven’t heard what they are going to do about streaming, ESPN+ had all the games and so far I have only heard about the 34 televised games on CBSSN

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I just read the article from 3 Down Nation about the US tv deal. It looks like for the price of measly $100,000 per team, the league is pushing itself to obscurity for American viewers. Looks like a return to the late 90s in which it was nearly impossible to watch the CFL live for Americans. To get CBS sports network, I have to purchase an entire sports package that I do not want to watch 1/3 of the games. Someone mentioned that there might…might be a streaming package because the brilliant commissioner of the CFL threw out the “direct to consumer streaming” term that he probably does not even understand. After decades of supporting the CFL with my money, making the extra effort to see games live (I personally was at the smallest attended game CFL history: Las Vegas v. Winnipeg in 1994 and was at the 2003 Grey Cup in Regina), it looks like it is time for me to focus upon other things. Hopefully, there will be a saving grace but it looks like my relationship with the CFL is coming to an end.

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You can stream CBSSN on firestick, Roku etc for $6.99 with adds or $9.99 without, but the question is will they stream all CFL games?
If they are only going to stream the 34 CFL televised games, then it’s a huge step backwards from ESPN+ that streamed all games

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Again, you are overlooking how CBS does business that is not the same as ABC and ESPN.

CBS by default simulcasts most sports content that is on either CBS or CBS Sports Network onto Paramount+. It’s usually not one or the other.

We have to wait though to confirm if that will be the reality also for the CFL much as for all other team sports including even the NFL. The Paramount+ site has had all that information since it was launched a few years ago.

Simulcasting is far more often not the model of Disney/ESPN/ESPN+ or of Comcast/NBCU/Peacock, though Disney has moved a bit more live content onto ABC since so many are cutting the cord and ESPN has sucked for a very long time.

I am far more optimistic on dealing now with CBS than our experience with ESPN, which has only made it more difficult at times to find games.

This is the modern model and not the antiquated cable TV model of 2018 or so still used by ESPN as well as Comcast’s networks to some degree for some of their live sports, and Comcast also has the lousiest app in Peacock so we can be thankful that the CFL avoided that platform as well.

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I’m in the same situation as you, except where I live I can’t the premium package that includes ESPNEWS for ANY price. In addition, I have ESPN+ even though I NEVER watch anything on it except CFL. I’m currently trying to find out if I can even get CBS Sports, but as of now I don’t know if I can.

If such is the case my only access will be through CJOB radio online.

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Well, we will find out if a streaming simulcast of the CBS games will be on ESPN+ or on Paramount+.

Either way we’ll be okay with the way the winds are blowing, including especially given the investment by the CFL into viewing technologies and recent remarks by Cui only days before the announcement.

We have been covering those developments in the Genius Sports thread as well and linked also in the CBS thread.

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