When the Grey Cup is aired on Canadian television in November, it will, for the first time, be televised on a cable channel, TSN, rather than a traditional broadcast network.
That change is raising questions among some in the CFL who feel the November classic is getting short shrift. Cable, they say, falls short of the distribution appropriate for an event that is a big part of the country's history and culture.
The CFL's new television agreement clearly stipulates TSN will carry the Grey Cup. However, the NFL's Super Bowl was televised on CTV, the parent network of TSN, so CFL sources are asking: Why not the Grey Cup?
"CTV gave the Super Bowl massive promotion and programming opportunities on several platforms," a source said. "CFL people feel the NFL is getting major-league treatment, while the Grey Cup is relegated to the minors."
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TSN president Phil King was in Calgary this week, where he addressed the CFL's annual congress. According to sources, he was asked by a club official about the Grey Cup.
In an interview yesterday, King said the CFL's television agreement is solely with TSN and the Grey Cup telecast cannot be transferred to CTV.
TSN and CTV are not interchangeable because TSN is not wholly owned by CTV. ESPN in the United States owns 30 per cent.
According to sources, the possibility of the Grey Cup airing on CTV came up when the league was negotiating its new deal with TSN. TSN was adamant about wanting to keep the championship game.
Outgoing CFL commissioner Tom Wright announced the five-year television deal, which kicks in this year, in late 2006. TSN agreed to air every regular-season game and the playoffs as well as the Grey Cup. The incumbent rights holder, the CBC, was eliminated entirely.
B.C. Lions owner David Braley, an influential league governor, wouldn't comment on the TV situation, but indicated he learned about the TSN-CFL agreement after the fact.
"I didn't negotiate the contract," Braley said. "Mr. Tom Wright entered into an initial letter of intent [with TSN]. We heard about some of the things after."
TSN is a powerful sports brand, but a cable channel does not, as a rule, have the same cachet as a broadcast network.
TSN is distributed to more than eight million households, compared with the 12-million-plus homes where CTV and the CBC are available.
The CBC's telecast of the 2007 Grey Cup, a small-market Winnipeg Blue Bombers-Saskatchewan Roughriders matchup, drew 3.3 million.
King said he was confident carriage on TSN will not cause the audience to decline.
"We can get three million or 3.5 million viewers," he said. "We've done that four or five times already for world junior hockey games. If we have the product, we can get an audience as good or better than conventional networks."
He added the Grey Cup will be heavily promoted on TSN and CTV.
Audiences for the Super Bowl and Grey Cup are about equal, depending on the matchup and quality of the game.
The powerhouse New England Patriots-New York Giants Super Bowl on CTV pulled in 4.2 million. In the past, the Grey Cup has produced a larger audience than the Super Bowl.
Regulations and the economics pretty much require that the Super Bowl air on a broadcast network. Broadcasters, such as CTV, are allowed to simulcast. Cable channels, such as TSN, are not. TSN, if it aired the Super Bowl, would lose half its audience to the U.S. network televising the game.
On another issue, TSN will encounter some conflicts when it airs every CFL regular season game in 2008. On Sunday, Sept. 21, for example, the Ryder Cup is scheduled for the full day. However, at 1 p.m. EST, the Edmonton Eskimos will play the Montreal Alouettes.
It's unlikely CTV will be able to take the CFL game, because of its commitment to the NFL. That leaves TSN's alternate digital channel, which has limited distribution, to carry the game.
Another change that's possible, perhaps likely, is some of the CFL's playoff games being scheduled for a Saturday rather than Sunday.
NHL audiences
TSN's NHL doubleheader on Wednesday drew large audiences: 764,000 viewers for Toronto Maple Leafs-Florida Panthers, TSN's fourth largest NHL audience of the season; and Colorado Avalanche-Vancouver Canucks, 718,000.
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