International streaming delivers CFL football to the world

Toronto Argonauts - Argos for tonights Toronto-Hamilton game 7:30 pm

We have been over this several times. Indirectly the CFL did but did not address foreign rights adequately given that TSN’s minority partner is ESPN because they were at least negligent in such regards in my view.

As party to a negotiation, you can indeed address matters associated with the other party’s minority partner(s). Whether you do so or not is a different matter, but it is not something you cannot do.

The matters of foreign and streaming rights can be addressed and will be at the next turn like with any media negotiations by any league.

The idea that the CFL has no control in such matters is either their lack of desire or negligence and not because they could not have and cannot address the matter of streaming and foreign rights.

Makes the ESPN deal look even worse than it is then. TSN must surely benefit from the rebroadcast of their production.

My response was to the poster that asked that the CFL improve streaming in Canada.

I will be interested to hear from others here in the US on how the ESPN+ streams go for you.

The first game for the Elks at 10PM ET next Saturday at BC will be another one of those late ones, but I will be able to catch it along with probably the second half of the first game in Regina.

I am just not one to sit through an entire double-header any more.

It's too bad I can't catch games during slow-time at work any more like Friday nights like tonight would be, so we shall see how things are on the pirate seas. Sometimes I get the direct TSN feed with the Canadian commercials, and sometimes it's the BT Sport feed with the British commercials as are the most entertaining.

With only a year left on the TSN deal with minority partner ESPN already taking on a partial competitor next year let alone plenty of chatter about their business troubles and plans for their parent Disney to just ditch them via a "spin-off," well so much the better for new foreign rights for broadcasts or streaming in the US.

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This article was copied in the XFL thread, separately @Stickweld21 copied an article from Seeking Alpha about Disney considering a spin-off of ESPN.

With all the facts on the ground now, it is not reasonable, let alone any longer rational, to believe that some continuation of games via ESPN in current arrangement or format for the broadcast and streaming rights in the US is viable.

Some of us down here knew this before these articles were published though given the subpar viewing experience for the CFL in the US akin to just as ESPN has treated many of the other minor sports it covers.

Unless it's SEC football or the NBA and now to some degree the NHL, they don't care on ESPN and are to be ditched and flushed one way or the other.

TSN should be told just that in the upcoming discussions so they can BUTT OUT of the discussion for foreign rights if not inclined to help the CFL without ESPN involved.

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Wonder where this leaves NHL hockey on ESPN. I see rocky roads ahead for big league sports, at least big ticket TV rights.

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I do not get the conspiracy theory saying TSN has any direct or indirect influence over broadcast rights internationally.

In the US, is ESPN is making tons of money off the CFL because they pay only a token amount in right fees? No way because numbers show viewership in the US is sparse.

Is ESPN short-changing American viewers by not airing all the games? No. In fact, there might not be any other network willing to air every game.

IS ESPN's presentation of CFL game worse than what is shown on TSN? No, because they just rebroadcast what is on TSN.

Is TSN is not letting the CFL talk to any other network in the US? Well, the CFL talked about moving up their season a few years ago because they were in negotiations with the NFL Network.

Is TSN stopping the CFL from taking deals in other countries? Why would they bother since they only exist in Canada.

Call me crazy, but my feeling is that the CFL is just not popular enough to be able to demand a big money deal in the US and around the world.

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That’s why the CFL has to expand into the US. Just three or four teams in major markets like Chicago, New York and Seattle. not nine or ten teams in California, Texas and Florida. Keep the CFL in northern states close to Canada

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Well, I mean, “incredible” literally means “not credible.”
:laughing:

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Totally agree with you that for the CFL to get a USA TV deal they need USA based teams - I can’t imagine that there are large groups of Americans that want to watch a 9 team Canadian based league where teams like the Argos and Ticats play 4 maybe 5 times a season. Americans like their football teams to play once - maybe twice with a third matchup in the playoffs if it happens - Ticats Argos means something in Ontario but to the 350 million people on the other side of the border those two teams playing 4 times in a season is not going to be something they sign up for -

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Heck, to the people in the US even one game between the Argos and Ticats is meaningless. A league featuring Canadian rules and Canadian teams will never draw interest

I agree with you that there seems to be a market re-calibration for broadcast rights fees for these larger sports leagues - I think that the first domino to fall is going to be the MLS - And I really wonder if ESPN has overextended and overplayed their hand in paying what they have for the broadcast rights to the SEC and other properties as they are losing viewers - and as cord cutting becomes much more of a thing -

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All kinds of Americans who want to watch the players they went to college and university with. Name recognition is the key as once you know the players you can then know if they are good or not.

Watching a game when you don’t know any names lowers the interest imo.

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And half the CFL is Canadian U Sports players who Americans have never heard of -

Never say never. It already draws some interest. With the new CBA came the May start clause. Getting away from USA college and NFL seasons might help. If the CFL expands to the Atlantic area in 2023, Quebec City by 2028, Victoria by 2033, I don’t see the harm in trying one American city by 2038. It just depends on how single game betting goes over the next twenty years and perhaps one day with climate change the CFL starts it’s season in February.

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CBC had wonderful coverage for the times. Chris Walby was great. But it's well in to the 21st century. We need updated coverage, with 4K cameras across the league, producers who don't switch cameras just as something is happening after a play, or focusing the camera only on players or coaches during disputes on the field so you forget where the ball is. Watching the USFL shows that TSN has failed to keep up with the times.
s

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No to the drones. it’s noisy and distracting to the player and annoying watching it through drones

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Respectfully disagree.

The now-defunct America One Television Network (A1) aired every CFL game. Granted, not all of us were able to watch every game because most areas of the US did not have an A1 affiliate station or a regional sports network that aired CFL games via A1.

The only other option I see for the CFL is to go with For The Fans, an ad-supported stream owned by Next Level Sports (formerly Eleven Sports USA), that is available on OTT services The Roku Channel and Xumo.

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There Americans won’t get it…
They bitch about 3 downs and how big field is
Plus how going to find stadiums that hold a CFL Field.
They want NFL Style ball in the USA…

Here's more for what has had to pass for streaming of the CFL, NHL, MLS, et cetera (the NFL and NBA do not use this app and won't ever in its current form I do not think) in the US.

All has not been well at all, and this is not the road forward with the minority partner of TSN who needs to be OUT of future conversations on expanded media rights too.