Sportsnet Radio is the branding used by three sports talk radio stations in Canada owned by Rogers Sports & Media , a division of Rogers Communications .
104-595: The Toronto and Calgary stations (which maintain their former The Fan moniker in their names) were re-branded to increase their synergy with the co-owned Sportsnet television channel, amid indications that TSN would be launching a radio network of their own (which TSN indeed did, beginning with the conversion of CHUM in Toronto to TSN Radio 1050). Rogers also operates the Sportsnet Radio Network (previously known as The Fan Radio Network ), which
208-476: A mobile app . On launch, TSN Go was available exclusively to Bell Satellite TV and Rogers Cable subscribers. It has since been expanded to other providers, such as Shaw . Following the announcement of Bell and Rogers' acquisition of MLSE, concerns were again raised by critics, speculating that Bell Media could attempt to acquire full rights to the NHL after CBC's current contract with the league expires following
312-482: A 12-year deal to become the sole national television rightsholder of the NHL, beginning in the 2014–15 season . Critics considered Rogers' move to be a major blow against Bell and TSN, showing concerns for how the network could sustain itself without what is considered a key property in Canadian sports broadcasting. However, they also acknowledged the network's continuing rights to IIHF hockey tournaments (including
416-822: A 15% interest in December 2010. The deal closed on April 1, 2011, after the CRTC approved the sale on March 7, 2011 – the new company became known as Bell Media . After a longstanding speculation about TSN's interest in launching its own TSN-branded radio network (similarly to its U.S. counterpart ), TSN entered radio broadcasting with the launch of the first TSN Radio station, a relaunch of AM station CHUM in Toronto on April 13, 2011. Bell Media 's Bell Media Radio division already operated several sports radio stations elsewhere in Canada (most of which were branded as The Team ,
520-402: A Molson employee who was a friend of Gordon, a deal was reached between TSN, Molson, and the NHL to allow the network to broadcast games on cable. By December 1987, TSN had reached one million subscribers, but the network's staff sought wider distribution for the channel as part of basic cable service; the CRTC approved the network's request for permission to allow TSN to be carried as part of
624-508: A basic cable lineup. Mike Day, producer of TSN's daily sports news program SportsDesk lamented about the shift to basic cable and the larger audience it would bring, commenting that "one night you're doing a news show that potentially has an audience of one million people, and the next day the potential is five million people." In 1991, TSN acquired rights to the IIHF World Junior Championship , otherwise known as
728-555: A cable provider which primarily serves the province of Quebec , was a notable hold-out for the new feeds. On October 13, a Monday Night Football game was left unavailable in English (due to a rained out MLB playoff game, RDS2 was able to carry the game in French) to Videotron subscribers because TSN5—the only feed it carried—was airing a regional Ottawa Senators/ Florida Panthers NHL game (a game which also attracted infamy for having
832-419: A deal with ESPN (itself only 5 years old) shortly before launch to provide additional programs. Although reaching around 400,000 subscribers, TSN's early years were hindered by its initial status as a premium service, bundled in a high-cost package with movie channels such as First Choice and Superchannel , alongside competition with free-to-air sports broadcasts by CBC Television among others. To improve
936-470: A feed to broadcast additional programming that could not be aired on TSN due to scheduling conflicts or other events. On August 29, 2008, the feed evolved into a new 24-hour channel, similar to ESPN2 , known as TSN2 . Upon its launch, TSN2 was legally considered a west coast timeshift feed of TSN, although soon after TSN2 was launched, the CRTC announced a proposal to remove genre exclusivity protections for "mainstream sports" and "national news" channels in
1040-511: A limited-time free preview. The service, which is comparable but not entirely equivalent to ESPN+ , initially includes Canadian rights to PGA Tour Live (acquired after Warner Bros. Discovery 's GolfTV ceased operations), the NTT IndyCar Series (previously on Sportsnet), the relaunching XFL , as well as various other properties such as La Liga and AEW Rampage which were previously available as bonus streams to subscribers of
1144-619: A maximum of 10% of the TSN schedule—an average of 2.4 hours a day. In 2000, after ESPN blocked two attempts by the Canadian partners to sell NetStar to Canwest , CTV Inc. acquired the Canadian partners' shares. CTV Inc. was acquired by Bell Canada and The Woodbridge Company (publisher of The Globe and Mail newspaper) as part of the joint venture Bell Globemedia in 2001. As a result of its purchase of TSN, CTV would be forced to sell its regional sports network CTV Sportsnet , eventually selling it to minority shareholder Rogers Media . Following
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#17327871111271248-409: A minority stake in TSN became ESPN's alternative plan to get into the Canadian market. The Sports Network launched its website TSN.ca on October 1, 1995. In 1997, the CRTC began permitting TSN to offer an "alternate feed", which could be used to provide a regional opt-out of the main TSN service for programming that must be blacked out in the rest of the country. Alternate programming could make up
1352-517: A name introduced by previous owner CHUM Limited in its own failed attempt at establishing a national sports radio network), it was reported that Bell could theoretically relaunch these other stations under the TSN Radio brand in the future. Also in 2011, TSN acquired broadcast rights to the new Winnipeg Jets . TSN would establish another part-time feed, TSN Jets , to broadcast the games. Additionally, co-owned CFRW would also gain radio rights to
1456-483: A national audience throughout the regular season, and covered first-round playoff series not involving Canadian teams. Its first live sports event was an NHL opening night telecast between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers . The national cable rights to the NHL returned to TSN in 2002, though Sportsnet retained regional broadcast rights for most Canadian NHL teams. When CTV purchased NetStar,
1560-419: A reference to a program airing on "the TSN network" or simply "TSN" without disambiguation, it can normally be assumed that the program will be simulcast on TSN1, 3, 4 and 5. Their launch date was originally announced as September 1, 2014, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of TSN's launch, but was moved up to August 25 in order to accommodate multiple-court coverage throughout the 2014 US Open . Prior to
1664-478: A separate charge to a service provider. For example, until 2013, Rogers Cable customers were required to subscribe to the HD Specialty Pack add-on in order to receive TSN HD (whereas most other HD simulcast channels were provided at no additional charge). On many providers including Rogers, TSN1, 3, 4 and 5 were included in a single package when those feeds launched, but TSN2 was provided only as part of
1768-459: A separate higher-tier package. On May 6, 2014, TSN announced plans to launch three additional multiplex channels, for a total of five 24-hour national channels. The existing "TSN" service was replaced by four regionally-focused channels (referred to as "feeds")—TSN1, 3, 4, and 5—similar to the Sportsnet regional channels. All five channels are available nationally, but on most local providers,
1872-553: A separate licence, as did TSN's other now-defunct sports networks WTSN and the Canadian versions of ESPN Classic and NHL Network . The rights expired before the 2014–15 season, and were acquired by Sportsnet East . TSN re-gained the Canadiens' rights in 2017–18, with the games moving to TSN2. Alongside its live sports broadcasts, TSN also airs a variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary-styled shows. These include: In connection with ESPN's minority ownership in TSN,
1976-459: A simulcast of Sportsnet Ontario, carrying nationally televised events, or separate content from other regional feeds. That feed was launched on September 1, 2003. In 2007, Sportsnet began using a second high-definition feed in order to broadcast selected regional NHL games in HD, beginning in the 2007–08 NHL season , activated only in the regions where a game is set to be televised. On January 26, 2009,
2080-483: A subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television , which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE Inc. and ESPN Inc. (30%), itself a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company . TSN was established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. In 2013, TSN was the largest specialty channel in Canada in terms of gross revenue, with
2184-502: A total of CA$ 400.4 million in revenue. TSN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located at Bell Media Agincourt in the Scarborough neighbourhood of Toronto , Ontario . Stewart Johnston currently serves as president of TSN, a position he has held since 2010. TSN's networks focus on sports-related programming, including live and recorded event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming. Licensed by
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#17327871111272288-563: A traditional sporting event of the holiday season in Canada. Due to CRTC regulations on the foreign ownership of broadcasters, Labatt was forced to sell TSN and RDS upon its acquisition by Interbrew in 1995. Labatt's broadcasting assets were sold to a privately held consortium named NetStar Communications, the investors of which included a number of Canadian firms as well as ESPN Inc. , which held an interest of about 30 percent. The same CRTC regulations prevented ESPN from establishing its own separate Canadian sports network outright, so acquiring
2392-443: A transaction valued at $ 167 million. The acquisition itself closed on October 19, 2012, at which point Score Media's digital assets (including its website and mobile apps ) were spun off into another company, theScore Inc. , in which Rogers Media would retain a 10% interest. Score Media's TV properties were immediately placed into a blind trust , under trustee Peter Viner, pending final CRTC approval. Rogers plans to continue running
2496-461: A whole, and on-air promotions for programs being carried nationally by these four regional feeds often list all four channels separately, or refer to the Sportsnet "regional" (or "main") channels, to avoid any ambiguity. However, standalone mentions of "Sportsnet" in reference to a specific channel can still generally be assumed to be referring to the four regional channels (or the specific regional channel available locally on analogue cable). Sportsnet
2600-481: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media . It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet , a joint venture between CTV , Liberty Media , and Rogers Media . CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN . Rogers then became
2704-524: Is a syndication service distributing, among other programs, Toronto Blue Jays baseball and Tim and Sid . The network formerly distributed Prime Time Sports and the daily short-form feature Grapeline with Don Cherry and Brian Williams , both of which concluded their runs in 2019. CJCL went through a few different Sportsnet brandings: under Telemedia, it was Sports Radio The Fan 590 (originally 1430), then Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590, then Sportsnet 590 The Fan. On April 25, 2017, after having acquired
2808-550: Is shown below. On August 15, 2003, TSN launched a high definition simulcast, branded as TSN HD , airing widescreen and high-definition feeds of programming when available. As virtually TSN's entire schedule is now broadcast in HD, the separate branding was dropped from on-air usage in 2013, and the HD feed is now letterboxed for standard definition viewers. All of the other TSN channels below have had HD simulcasts available since their respective launch dates. The French-language Réseau des sports and related channels operate under
2912-616: Is the exclusive television outlet for the Toronto Blue Jays (which are also owned by Rogers), airing all of its games and other Blue Jays-related programming throughout the season. It also holds Canadian rights to Fox Saturday Baseball , the All-Star Game and the postseason (through Fox, TBS and MLB International ). Sportsnet also carries other MLB games simulcast from U.S. regional sports networks. Sportsnet began airing National Football League games Starting with
3016-516: Is the national cable rightsholder of the National Hockey League , and also holds full regional rights to three (and partial regional rights to one) of the league's Canadian franchises. It is also the national rightsholder of Major League Baseball in Canada (although most of ESPN 's MLB broadcasts are sub-licensed to rival network TSN ), and the exclusive broadcaster of the co-owned Toronto Blue Jays . It splits regional coverage of
3120-592: The 100th Grey Cup , TSN produced its own anthology of documentary films, Engraved on a Nation , focusing on stories related to the Grey Cup and CFL. In 2019, TSN revived the series with a second season, chronicling other major figures in Canadian sports. TSN is a major broadcaster of ice hockey in Canada; it holds rights to Hockey Canada tournaments, which includes the Allan Cup , Centennial Cup , Telus Cup and Esso Cup , as well as IIHF tournaments such as
3224-638: The 2014 FIFA World Cup . On February 8, 2011, Sportsnet announced that it had signed a multi-year deal with Tennis Canada to acquire early round rights to the Rogers Cup . Sportsnet also acquired rights to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and ATP World Tour 500 series events. As per an extension of Rogers' sponsorship rights to the tournament, Sportsnet holds sole rights to the Rogers Cup beginning in 2016. In 2016, Sportsnet lost
Sportsnet Radio - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-450: The 2014 Winter Olympics . CBC will continue this sub-licensing agreement through the 2020 Summer Olympics . Sportsnet televised coverage of the 2015 Pan-American Games , also as part of a sub-license with CBC; it aired coverage of the soccer tournaments, as well as a Men's basketball semi-final game involving Canada. This list includes the all time Sportsnet 360 staff dated to its days as The Score. In 2014, Sportsnet announced
3432-555: The 2019 NBA Finals with Sportsnet, which featured the Toronto Raptors winning their first-ever NBA championship. TSN aired the series-clinching Game 6, which saw an average of 7.7 million viewers as the most-watched NBA telecast in Canadian history. TSN acquired Canadian rights to Major League Soccer in 2011, airing 24 matches during the 2011 season that involved the league's Canadian clubs, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC . Its slate expanded to 30 games in 2012 with
3536-634: The Amway Canadian Championship , an annual competition featuring Canada's five professional soccer teams – Toronto FC , CF Montréal , Vancouver Whitecaps FC , FC Edmonton , and Ottawa Fury FC , until TSN acquired full rights in 2017. In 2006, Sportsnet aired coverage of the FIFA World Cup as part of a consortium with TSN and CTV. From 2011 through 2014, beginning with the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup , CBC sub-licensed cable rights to FIFA tournaments to Sportsnet, including
3640-661: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on April 2, 1984, as the Action Canada Sports Network , the channel was launched by the Labatt Brewing Company on September 1 of the same year as The Sports Network, or TSN. The network was founded under the leadership of Gordon Craig , a former employee of CBC Sports ; alongside coverage of the then co-owned Toronto Blue Jays , TSN also reached
3744-640: The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg , Indianapolis 500 and Honda Indy Toronto , with Bill Adam , Todd Lewis and Rob Faulds . Canadian driver Paul Tracy joined Sportsnet as an analyst. As of the 2019 season, all but the Honda Indy Toronto and Indianapolis 500 moved exclusively to Sportsnet World and Sportsnet Now+. In May 2013, Sportsnet reached a six-year deal for rights to the national championships of U Sports (then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport), including coverage of
3848-690: The Men's and Women's World Championships , the IIHF World Junior Championships (a tournament whose profile was notably raised by TSN), and the IIHF World U18 Championship . In 2020, TSN renewed its contract with Hockey Canada through the 2033–34 season. On July 21, 2021, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced that Bell Media would hold its national media rights package beginning in
3952-456: The NCAA basketball tournament ) with multiple games occurring simultaneously. Although the expansion was discussed by TSN staff as early as 2012, critics considered the loss of NHL rights to Rogers (which had recently launched its seventh Sportsnet-branded television service with its acquisition of The Score, now Sportsnet 360 ) to be a catalyst for the move, as TSN attempts to defend its position as
4056-606: The Ottawa Senators to TSN, who acquired regional rights to the team in English and French under a 12-year deal, beginning in the 2014–15 season. In September 2014, Sportsnet announced its acquisition of regional English-language television rights to the Montreal Canadiens under a 3-year deal, replacing the Senators on Sportsnet East and succeeding TSN as regional rightsholder, until 2016–17. Sportsnet held
4160-683: The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics , as well as the London 2012 Summer Olympics . This was considered a serious coup, as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had consistently won Olympic broadcast rights from the 1996 Summer Olympics through to the 2008 Summer Olympics . CTV and V were the primary broadcasters; Sportsnet, TSN and RDS provided supplementary coverage. Rogers announced in 2011 that it would not bid with CTVglobemedia's predecessor Bell Media for
4264-681: The Vanier Cup championship. The Hardy Cup coverage reverted to Shaw TV in 2014 while the Uteck, Mitchell and Vanier contests moved to Sportsnet, who acquired exclusive rights to CIS tournaments in May 2013. TSN splits rights to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Toronto Raptors with Sportsnet , by virtue of the league's Canadian media rights being managed by Raptors owner MLSE. TSN alternated broadcasting
Sportsnet Radio - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-447: The Vanier Cup . Sportsnet is a major broadcaster of National Hockey League games; the network is the current national cable rightsholder to the league, and regularly airs nationally televised games on Wednesday, Saturday nights as part of Hockey Night in Canada , and Monday nights as part of Rogers Hometown Hockey . Sportsnet is also a major regional broadcaster of the NHL; its four regional feeds carry regional telecasts of five of
4472-478: The "World Juniors", which were previously broadcast by CBC. TSN's coverage, along with the recent " Punch-up in Piestany " incident and a strong performance by Canada at the tournament in the mid-1990s, helped to significantly heighten the profile of the tournament in the country (even more so than in other participating countries), to the point that it is, alongside U.S. college football bowl games , regarded as
4576-588: The 2005 season, splitting late games across the Pacific and West feeds, and the East and Ontario feeds. The games not shown in the opposite regions were carried out regionally by City . It also had rights to Thursday Night Football and the American Thanksgiving games . Sportsnet lost all NFL broadcasting rights for the 2017 season. Sportsnet carried a large amount of soccer programming; it has been
4680-528: The 2008 season, TSN has been the CFL's exclusive broadcaster, airing all of the league's games, including the season-ending Grey Cup . In November 2019, TSN and the CFL signed a six-year media rights extension, which was reported to expire in 2025. The channel also previously held rights to the country's university football playoff tournaments, including the Hardy Trophy , Uteck Bowl , Mitchell Bowl and
4784-751: The 2013–14 season – using their ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the NHL's highest valued franchise, as an impetus for such a coup. Concerns were also raised that such an arrangement could prevent wireless service providers other than Bell and Rogers from accessing its content; the CRTC had ruled in favour of Telus in a decision requiring Bell and other media companies to allow other competing wireless providers access to its content, and not exclusively tie it to their own service (as they had attempted to do with TSN Mobile TV). However, in November 2013, Rogers Communications announced that it had reached
4888-634: The 2021–22 season, with TSN holding rights to 30 regular-season games across the CHL's leagues per-season, as well as coverage of national events such as the Memorial Cup . From 1987 to 1998, and again from 2002 to 2014, TSN held national cable rights to broadcast the NHL in Canada. Under its most recent contract, TSN aired regular season games on weeknights and Sundays, including exclusivity on Wednesday nights, as well as various Stanley Cup playoffs games, as
4992-650: The ATP tours to TSN, but it still maintains exclusive rights to the Rogers Cup, as well as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup . In February 2013, Sportsnet announced that it would become the official Canadian broadcaster of the IndyCar Series beginning in the 2013 season in a five-year deal with the series. The new contract includes broadcasts on Sportsnet's networks and City, and French rights sub-licensed to TVA Sports . That season, Sportsnet also originated coverage from
5096-578: The CRTC rejected the use of a proposed winter sports competition, the Sportsnet Winter Games , for its tangible benefits requirements. On June 4, 2013, Rogers announced that The Score would be rebranded as a Sportsnet channel; the channel changed its name to Sportsnet 360 on July 1, 2013. As of 2014, Sportsnet is available in 8.2 million Canadian homes. On October 2, 2018, Scott Moore, Rogers' head of Sportsnet and NHL properties, stepped down. Similarly to regional sports networks in
5200-609: The Canadian broadcaster of the Premier League since 1998 until 2018/19 season (from 2013/14 to 2018/19 season, Sportsnet jointly held Canadian rights to the Premier League with TSN), and also held rights to the FA Cup , UEFA Champions League and Europa League . Sportsnet lost UEFA coverage to TSN for 2015, but gained rights to Bundesliga matches beginning in the 2015–16 season until 2022–23 season. Sportsnet aired
5304-703: The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and national coverage of the NBA 's Toronto Raptors with TSN; Rogers Communications and TSN's parent company Bell Canada own a joint majority stake in the teams' parent company . The Sportsnet brand has since been extended beyond the original regional channels, now encompassing the national channels Sportsnet 360 , Sportsnet One (and its regional part-time companion channels), and Sportsnet World ; Sportsnet Radio stations in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary; and Sportsnet Magazine . With these brand extensions, Rogers now generally uses "Sportsnet" (by itself) to denote its sports media properties as
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#17327871111275408-525: The Sportsnet Radio branding was intended to increase synergy with its television counterparts, upon rumors that TSN would be launching a sports radio network of its own . In July 2011, Rogers announced that it would be rebranding its premium international sports channel Setanta Sports Canada as " Sportsnet World " on October 3, 2011 – a move that would allow the channel better opportunities for cross-promotion with other Sportsnet services. As part of
5512-598: The Sportsnet brand beyond the original regional networks with the August 14 launch of Rogers Sportsnet One – a national companion channel promising 800 hours of live events per year. The channel was also accompanied by additional part-time feeds to serve as overflow channels for its regional NHL coverage. In January 2011, Rogers' sports radio stations, CJCL Toronto ("The Fan 590") and CFAC Calgary ("The Fan 960"), were rebranded as "Sportsnet Radio Fan 590" and "Sportsnet Radio Fan 960" respectively. Critics speculated that
5616-612: The United States, Sportsnet is operated in four regional feeds. While the feeds carry national programming as well, they primarily broadcast sporting events tailored to the region they serve. The four regional feeds are listed in the table below. All four feeds are available in both standard and high-definition formats. Although cable providers in Canada are permitted to carry only the local Sportsnet feed on analogue cable packages, all four feeds can be carried on digital television services. However, in some instances, programming on
5720-431: The acquisition, TSN would move its operations to CTV's Agincourt complex in the Toronto district of Scarborough . This oddity would become an inside joke between personalities on both networks, who commonly referred to jumping between the two networks as "crossing the parking lot." Following the sale, TSN began to closer align its on-air imaging with that of ESPN; the most prominent effect of these changes came with
5824-585: The acquisition. This led to some peculiarities related to the fact that the two rival sports channels were only separated by a " parking lot ", leading to jokes and references from both networks. On April 30, 2008, Rogers Sportsnet moved its broadcast operations from 9 Channel Nine Court to the Rogers Building , a cluster of buildings in the Mount Pleasant-Jarvis Street area of Downtown Toronto . In 2010, Rogers began to extend
5928-538: The channel location previously occupied by TSN's primary service was filled by the appropriate regional feed. While major sports telecasts are simulcast across TSN1, 3, 4, and 5 to ensure national coverage, alternative studio shows and live events can also be split across the channels. The feeds carry a small amount of programming tailored towards their respective regions, including simulcasts of lunch-hour shows from TSN Radio stations in their relevant region, and regional NHL coverage. When TV listings and promotions make
6032-462: The channel was known as "Sportsnet", CTV was allowed to control programming on both networks, and some cross-affiliation and programs that were going to be tape-delayed on TSN, most notably figure skating , were given to Sportsnet. In 2004, Rogers then bought the remaining 20 percent stake from Fox. While Sportsnet had been based there from the beginning, TSN's operations would move to CTV's suburban Toronto complex, 9 Channel Nine Court , following
6136-444: The competing Sportsnet chain of sports channels) with a 37.5% share each ( Larry Tanenbaum increased his ownership to a quarter of the company as well), in a deal expected to be valued at around $ 1.32 billion in total. The deal was completed in summer 2012, following the approval of Canada's Competition Bureau , the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (with regards to MLSE's television channels), as well as
6240-547: The country. The network launched on October 9, 1998, as CTV Sportsnet , under the ownership of CTV, Rogers, and Liberty; the latter which owned some of the Fox Sports Net operations that Fox ran in the United States after which the channel was named. The new network gained credibility before it went on the air, having acquired national cable rights to the National Hockey League from long-time holder TSN . From 1998–99 until 2001–02 , Sportsnet aired NHL games to
6344-526: The deal, Woodbridge Company Limited, Torstar , and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan would together receive $ 1.3 billion in either cash or equity in BCE, while BCE would also assume $ 1.7 billion in debt (BCE's existing equity interest is $ 200 million, for a total transaction value of $ 3.2 billion). Woodbridge has since simultaneously regained majority control of The Globe and Mail , with Bell retaining
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#17327871111276448-810: The debut of the Montreal Impact in the league. TSN's channels broadcast a package of other regular-season games, the MLS All-Star Game , MLS Cup Playoffs and the MLS Cup . In January 2014, TSN announced that it would take over broadcast rights to Whitecaps games beginning in the 2014 Major League Soccer season , under a separate deal. These rights were renewed in 2017 as TSN reached a 5-year extension to its Major League Soccer broadcasting rights. However, these exclusive rights were not renewed further (TSN Would air non-exclusive rights to select game's beginning in 2023), as all MLS programming moved to
6552-648: The exclusive national rightsholder for the National Hockey League, again displacing TSN, along with CBC , a deal which began in the 2014–15 season. Valued at $ 5.2 billion and covering both television and digital media rights to the league, the value of the contract surpassed the league's most recent U.S. rights deal with NBC . Alongside its existing regional rights, Sportsnet now airs Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey , along with games during Hockey Night in Canada . In early 2005, Rogers Media and CTVglobemedia jointly acquired broadcast rights to
6656-458: The first ever NBA game produced in 4K, and the first live sporting event in 4K in Canadian history—a Toronto Raptors / Orlando Magic game at O2 Arena in London . Sportsnet's first domestic 4K telecast, a Toronto Maple Leafs/Montreal Canadiens game, aired January 23, 2016. The Sports Network The Sports Network ( TSN ) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by The Sports Network Inc.,
6760-419: The former parent company of TSN, in 2000, the CRTC ordered CTV to sell either TSN or its stake in Sportsnet. CTV ultimately chose to retain TSN, and sell its stake in Sportsnet. The other shareholders had first right of refusal; as Rogers was the only interested party, it acquired CTV's stake in the summer of 2001, and soon after renamed it Rogers Sportsnet . During part of the transition period, during which time
6864-415: The introduction of a new logo similar to that of ESPN, and the re-branding of TSN's flagship sports news program SportsDesk as SportsCentre —a Canadian version (in both format and spelling ) of ESPN's SportsCent er . The CRTC, however, objected to plans to rename TSN as "ESPN Canada", citing concerns that it would make it appear that ESPN had de facto majority control, or at the very least that TSN
6968-487: The largest specialty television service in Canada in terms of total revenue. The launch date of these new channels were pushed up to August 25, 2014, in order to allow multi-court coverage of the 2014 US Open tennis tournament , which began the same day. TSN also announced that it would use these new channels to house regional NHL games beginning in the 2014–15 season, featuring the Jets, Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators . At
7072-477: The latter covering the Memorial Cup . From its launch through 2002, Sportsnet was the national cable broadcaster of the NHL in Canada, displacing the rival TSN; it aired a package of Tuesday night games, along with coverage of non-Canadian matchups from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On November 26, 2013, Rogers Communications announced that it had reached a 12-year deal to become
7176-465: The launch of a new TV Everywhere service known as Sportsnet Now , allowing online streaming of the Sportsnet regional channels, Sportsnet One, and Sportsnet 360 for cable subscribers. On March 31, 2016, Rogers announced that Sportsnet Now would be made available as an over-the-top streaming service for cord cutters, initially priced at $ 24.99 per-month, in addition to remaining available at no additional charge to cable subscribers. In October 2018,
7280-515: The launch of the additional feeds, Bell executives stated that the expanded five-channel service would be offered for the same rate as was charged at the time for TSN and TSN2 together. Notwithstanding this claim, some providers, including Shaw Cable , have elected to charge extra for some of the new feeds. Most major Canadian television providers carried the new channels upon their launch, including Bell, Cogeco , Eastlink , MTS , SaskTel , Shaw , Source Cable , Rogers , and Telus . Videotron,
7384-429: The league's secondary rightsholder after CBC Sports. Its most recent contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 NHL season (following the 2014 NHL Draft ); Rogers Communications (owners of Sportsnet ) secured a 12-year contract for sole national rights beginning with the following season . TSN's then-parent company CTVglobemedia attempted to strike a similar exclusive deal in 2006 ($ 1.4 billion over ten years), but
7488-569: The leagues for each of MLSE's main sports franchises. The deal was expected to have a major impact on future broadcast rights for MLSE's teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors , as their ownership of the teams will offer enhanced coverage for the team through new platforms such as mobile television . In March 2014, TSN launched its TV Everywhere service TSN Go, allowing subscribers to TSN on participating service providers to stream TSN networks online or through
7592-499: The loss of national NHL rights, TSN's goal was to remain "THE source for all things hockey" through its analysis programs and regional coverage, and that this was not the first time that TSN had lost its cable rights to the NHL (having lost them to CTV Sportsnet for a period upon its launch in 1998). On May 6, 2014, TSN announced that it would launch three new channels— TSN3 , TSN4 , and TSN5 , in September 2014 to coincide with
7696-412: The lowest attendance of any Panthers game in team history). On October 16, 2014, Videotron president Manon Brouillette responded to complaints by subscribers surrounding the incident, and confirmed that it had reached a deal in September to carry the new feeds; the addition of TSN1 to the lineup was accelerated to October 20, 2014, to ensure the availability of that week's Monday Night Football game, with
7800-415: The magazine's back page columnist. On October 3, 2011, Rogers Sportsnet underwent a major rebranding, introducing a revamped logo and visual appearance designed in conjunction with Troika Design Group , and a new image campaign ("Fuelled By Fans"). Additionally, the network's official name was shortened to just Sportsnet . The new logo does not incorporate the previous "player" emblem that had been used in
7904-538: The national HD feed was replaced by individual HD feeds for each region. On October 5, 2015, Rogers announced that it planned to produce 101 sports telecasts in 4K ultra-high-definition format in 2016, including all Toronto Blue Jays home games, and "marquee" NHL games beginning in January 2016. These broadcasts are offered via a part-time Sportsnet 4K channel on participating television providers. On January 14, 2016, in cooperation with BT Sport , Sportsnet broadcast
8008-596: The near future. As a byproduct of the decision, TSN would be allowed to use streamlined conditions of licence (legally referred to as a Category C license as of September 2011), which state that the service may offer " multiple feeds " consistent with their licensed programming format, without any restrictions on alternate programming. TSN was officially permitted to use these streamlined conditions of licence on February 1, 2010. On September 10, 2010, Bell Canada announced plans to re-acquire 100% of CTVglobemedia's broadcasting arm, including its majority control of TSN. Under
8112-405: The network as a sports news service. The acquisition and Rogers' proposed amendments (which included a reduction in the frequency of sports updates during live events) were approved by the CRTC on April 30, 2013; the same day, The Score also began to air more Sportsnet-produced programming, including a simulcast of CJCL's afternoon show Tim & Sid and Hockey Central Playoff Extra . However,
8216-578: The network has a long-term agreement with ESPN International for the Canadian rights to ESPN original and studio programs, including Pardon the Interruption , Around the Horn , Sunday NFL Countdown , NFL Live , Baseball Tonight , ESPN FC , and ESPN Films documentaries including the 30 for 30 series, among others, though it does not always air these programs simultaneously with their U.S. broadcasts. In 2012, as part of promotion for
8320-456: The network's 30th anniversary. TSN president Stewart Johnston described the expansion as an "important evolution" for the network, as it would allow TSN to make more efficient use of its portfolio of sports properties: the network promoted that these new channels would allow TSN to broadcast a larger amount of ESPN content and live events, particularly including expanded coverage of major events (such as Grand Slam tennis , curling tournaments, and
8424-556: The network's branding since its original launch, as research performed by Rogers indicated that its association with Sportsnet did not resonate well with viewers. The redesign of Sportsnet was overseen by Dean Bender, who served as the network's creative director upon its original launch as CTV Sportsnet. On August 25, 2012, Rogers announced that it would acquire the television assets of Score Media , owners of The Score Television Network (a competing sports network which primarily airs sports news and highlights, alongside event coverage), in
8528-412: The new MLS Season Pass streaming service in 2023. On October 27, 2011, Bell Media and TSN announced that they had secured broadcast rights for FIFA soccer tournaments from 2015 to 2022. The rights include the 2018 FIFA World Cup , 2022 FIFA World Cup , the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup hosted by Canada and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup . In 2021, TSN acquired the rights to La Liga , as part of
8632-665: The new Jets. CFRW, along with Montreal station CKGM , also migrated to the TSN Radio brand on October 5, 2011. Additionally, Bell would also launch TSN Mobile TV, streaming versions of TSN and TSN2 offered through Bell Mobility 's Mobile TV services. On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced that it would sell its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to two major telecommunications companies; Bell Canada (TSN's main parent company) and Rogers Communications (owners of
8736-627: The out-of-market Sportsnet feeds, particularly regional NHL games, are blacked out due to league restrictions on teams' regional broadcast rights. Since the revival of the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, regional Flames and Oilers games on Sportsnet West have also been blacked out in Manitoba, despite it being the "local" Sportsnet feed for that province. [REDACTED] Sportsnet is the main television outlet for Major League Baseball in Canada: it
8840-526: The plan structures were changed; a $ 24.99 tier was reintroduced which adds WWE Network , while Now+ was replaced with Sportsnet Now Premium, which is priced at $ 34.99 per-month and includes WWE Network and out-of-market NHL games beginning the 2022–23 season (replacing NHL Live). The service was quietly renamed Sportsnet+ ahead of the 2023–24 NHL season . Sportsnet operates four high-definition feeds, one for each regional channel. Originally, Sportsnet operated one national feed that consisted primarily of
8944-591: The popular World Junior Hockey Championships ), the Canadian Football League (who renewed their contract with TSN without allowing any outside bidders in 2019 and whose current contract lasts through 2025), and TSN's growing regional NHL rights portfolio, including the Maple Leafs—which would, beginning in the same season, air 26 games on TSN per season. In a series of Twitter posts by TSN personality Bob McKenzie , he explained that even with
9048-428: The price was dropped to $ 19.99, annual subscription options were added, and an additional tier known as Sportsnet Now+ was introduced, adding additional international soccer and rugby events, and out-of-market streaming of regional NHL games for Canadian teams whose rights are owned by Sportsnet. NHL Live, the NHL's digital out-of-market sports package , was later added to Sportsnet Now+ in January 2021. In April 2022,
9152-471: The prominence of the network, TSN sought to obtain the national cable rights to the National Hockey League —rights that, according to the league, were not sold under the current arrangement with CBC. However, the task was complicated by claims by CBC that it owned the cable rights to the NHL, along with the involvement of competing beer company Molson in Canadian NHL rights at the time. With the help of
9256-668: The radio rights to the Vancouver Canucks , Rogers Media announced its intent to acquire CISL in Vancouver from Newcap Radio and convert it to the third Sportsnet-branded radio station as "Sportsnet 650". CISL is the third radio station part of the Sportsnet Radio Network and the third sports radio station in the Metro Vancouver market. This article about radio broadcasting in Canada
9360-447: The regular TSN service. As is permitted for all Category C sports services, the TSN licence is permitted to have multiple channels, and currently encompasses all of the channels listed in the table below. However, unlike premium services like Crave , subscribers receiving one TSN channel are not necessarily automatically entitled to receive all additional channels, and in many cases they are (or previously were) only available by paying
9464-519: The remainder added on October 29, 2014. On November 27, 2016, a one-time overflow channel was used to broadcast a regional Ottawa Senators game due to conflicts with the 104th Grey Cup (which featured the Ottawa RedBlacks , and was being simulcast across all TSN regional feeds). The current TSN feeds, and any programming unique to each feed as per TSN's current TV schedules (subject to pre-emption by either ESPN or TSN due to live events),
9568-565: The rights to the Canadian Hockey League under a 12-year deal renewed in the 2014–15 season. Its coverage included a package of national broadcasts from the CHL's member leagues, coverage of the CHL Canada/Russia Series and the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game , along with coverage of the season-ending Memorial Cup tournament. In the 2021–22 season, Sportsnet lost the rights to CBC Sports and TSN , with
9672-466: The rights to the 2014 and 2016 games, citing scheduling and financial issues. While Bell Media did attempt to partner with the CBC in 2011 to bid for coverage, CBC reached a deal of its own in August 2012, winning the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Games. On February 7, 2013, CBC announced that it had reached deals with Sportsnet and TSN for both networks to become their official cable partners, beginning at
9776-512: The same time, Dave Krikst created BarDown , a segment on TSN's YouTube page focused on attracting a younger audience. Made up of TSN producers Jesse Pollock, Corwin McCallum, Daniel Zakrzewski, Luca Celebre, and others, they post hockey-focused quizzes and beer league content. On January 13, 2016, TSN announced that it would present its first telecast in 4K ultra high-definition —a Toronto Raptors basketball game—on January 20, 2016. It
9880-463: The seven Canadian franchises, including the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sportsnet Ontario (split with TSN4 beginning in 2014–15; Rogers and Bell Canada own a joint, majority stake in the team's parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment ), the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet West, and the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific. In January 2014, Sportsnet lost
9984-442: The sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox . The Sportsnet license comprises four 24-hour programming services; Sportsnet was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a category A service , operating as a group of regional sports networks offering programming tailored to each feed's region (in contrast to TSN, which
10088-611: The teams' designated home markets. TSN has also occasionally broadcast the American Hockey League 's Toronto Marlies games, which are simulcast from Leafs Nation Network ; as with the Maple Leafs, the Marlies are owned by MLSE. TSN was credited for breaking reports surrounding Hockey Canada's settlement of a 2018 sexual assault case . TSN has broadcast Canadian Football League games since 1987. Since
10192-411: The transition, Setanta Sports sold its minority ownership interest in the channel to MLM Management. On September 29, 2011, Rogers published the first issue of Sportsnet Magazine , a bi-weekly sports magazine positioned "for Canadian sports fans", covering professional sports from a Canadian perspective. Sports writer Stephen Brunt left his position at The Globe and Mail newspaper to become
10296-562: Was ESPN's Canadian affiliate. TSN also launched a number of digital specialty channels in 2001; including a local version of ESPN Classic , the NHL Network — a network devoted to ice hockey and the National Hockey League , and WTSN —a channel dedicated to women's sports On August 15, 2003, TSN became one of the first two specialty television services in Canada (the other being fellow Bell property Discovery Channel ) to be available in high definition . TSN's first live HD broadcast
10400-447: Was approved by the CRTC in September 1996 under the tentative name S3 , with Baton Broadcasting Inc. (later renamed to CTV Inc.) holding a 40% controlling interest in the network, and 20% minority stakes held by Rogers Media and Liberty Media (in turn a spin-off of TCI , an American cable-television group). The network proposed a structure with an emphasis on regional programming, operating four feeds to serve different areas of
10504-401: Was followed by a slate of regional NHL games and other Raptors games in the format. On June 7, 2018, TSN announced that it would offer its channels as part of an over-the-top subscription service branded as "TSN Direct". By late 2022, the "Direct" branding was dropped. On January 12, 2023, TSN announced a separate direct-to-consumer service called "TSN+", which launched the same day with
10608-686: Was licensed at the time to operate as a national sports service, and could only offer limited regional opt-outs). Since 2011, the service has operated under deregulated category C licensing, which allows Sportsnet to operate multiple feeds with no restrictions on alternate programming. In each region, only the local Sportsnet channel is available on analogue cable, but all four channels are available nationally via digital cable (subject to blackouts for some out-of-market teams). The four Sportsnet feeds air some common programming and simulcast major, national events, but are capable of airing programming autonomously—most prominently regional programming. Sportsnet
10712-560: Was not successful. CTV acquired the rights to The Hockey Theme , which has been the theme song of Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years, after the CBC decided not to renew its rights to the theme song in June 2008 amid a legal dispute with its composer, Dolores Claman . A reorchestrated version of the tune has been used for hockey broadcasts on TSN and RDS since fall 2008. TSN continues to hold four regional, English-language rights contracts: These games are subject to blackout outside
10816-498: Was of a Canadian Football League game between the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats —it was to occur on the same day, but was delayed to August 16 due to a major electrical power failure that occurred the day prior. Beginning in 2006, the CRTC officially allowed TSN to operate national secondary digital feeds with limited amounts of alternative programming. Following this development, TSN began to use such
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