 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bell Media Agincourt,Scarborough,Toronto, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (HD feed downgraded toletterboxed480i forSDTVs) 4K (UHDTV)(part-time, selected broadcasts) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | CTV Specialty Television |
| Parent | The Sports Network Inc. |
| Sister channels | TSN2 TSN3 TSN4 TSN5 TSN on CTV RDS RDS2 RDS Info |
| History | |
| Launched | September 1, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-09-01) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| TSN Direct | www |
The Sports Network (TSN) is aCanadianEnglish languagediscretionarysportsspecialty channel owned by the Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary ofCTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture ofBell Media (70%), also owned byBCE Inc. andESPN Inc. (30%), itself a subsidiary ofthe Walt Disney Company. TSN was established by theLabatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels.[1] In 2013, TSN was the largest specialty channel in Canada in terms of gross revenue, with a total ofCA$400.4 million in revenue.[2][needs update]
TSN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located atBell Media Agincourt in theScarborough neighbourhood ofToronto, 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.
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Licensed by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on April 2, 1984, as theAction Canada Sports Network,[3] 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 ofGordon Craig, a former employee ofCBC Sports; alongside coverage of the then co-owned[3]Toronto Blue Jays, TSN also reached 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 apremium service, bundled in a high-cost package with movie channels such asFirst Choice andSuperchannel, alongside competition with free-to-air sports broadcasts byCBC Television among others.[4]
To improve the prominence of the network, TSN sought to obtain the national cable rights to theNational 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 companyMolson in Canadian NHL rights at the time. With the help of 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.[4]
By December 1987, TSN had reached one million subscribers, but the network's staff sought wider distribution for the channel as part ofbasic cable service; the CRTC approved the network's request for permission to allow TSN to be carried as part of a basic cable lineup. Mike Day, producer of TSN's daily sports news programSportsDesk 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."[4][5] In 1991, TSN acquired rights to theIIHF World Junior Championship, otherwise known as 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 byCanada 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 footballbowl games, regarded as a traditional sporting event of the holiday season in Canada.[6]
Due to CRTC regulations on the foreign ownership of broadcasters, Labatt was forced to sell TSN and RDS upon its acquisition byInterbrew 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 asESPN 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 a minority stake in TSN became ESPN's alternative plan to get into the Canadian market. The Sports Network launched its websiteTSN.ca on October 1, 1995.[7]
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 beblacked out in the rest of the country. Alternate programming could make up a maximum of 10% of the TSN schedule—an average of 2.4 hours a day.[8]
In 2000, after ESPN blocked two attempts by the Canadian partners to sell NetStar toCanwest,CTV Inc. acquired the Canadian partners' shares. CTV Inc. was acquired byBell Canada andThe Woodbridge Company (publisher ofThe 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 itsregional sports networkCTV Sportsnet, eventually selling it to minority shareholderRogers Media. Following the acquisition, TSN would move its operations to CTV'sAgincourt complex in theToronto district ofScarborough.[9] This oddity would become aninside joke between personalities on both networks, who commonly referred to jumping between the two networks as "crossing the parking lot."[10]
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 the introduction of a new logo similar to that of ESPN, and the re-branding of TSN's flagship sports news programSportsDesk asSportsCentre—a Canadian version (in both format andspelling) of ESPN'sSportsCenter.[4] The CRTC, however, objected to plans to rename TSN as "ESPN Canada", citing concerns that it would make it appear that ESPN hadde facto majority control, or at the very least that TSN was ESPN's Canadian affiliate.[11]
TSN also launched a number of digital specialty channels in 2001; including a local version ofESPN Classic, theNHL Network— a network devoted toice hockey and theNational Hockey League, andWTSN—a channel dedicated towomen's sports[12] On August 15, 2003, TSN became one of the first two specialty television services in Canada (the other being fellow Bell property Discovery Channel, nowUSA Network) to be available inhigh definition.[13] TSN's first live HD broadcast was of aCanadian Football League game between theMontreal Alouettes andHamilton Tiger-Cats—it was to occur on the same day, but was delayed to August 16 due to amajor electrical power failure that occurred the day prior.[4]
Beginning in 2006, the CRTC officially allowed TSN to operate national secondary digital feeds with limited amounts of alternative programming.[14] Following this development, TSN began to use such 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 toESPN2, known asTSN2.[15] Upon its launch, TSN2 was legally considered a west coasttimeshift feed of TSN,[16] although soon after TSN2 was launched, the CRTC announced a proposal to remove genre exclusivity protections for "mainstream sports" and "national news" channels in the near future. As a byproduct of the decision, TSN would be allowed to use streamlined conditions of licence (legally referred to as aCategory C license as of September 2011),[17] which state that the service may offer "multiple feeds" consistent with their licensed programming format, without any restrictions on alternate programming.[18] TSN was officially permitted to use these streamlined conditions of licence on February 1, 2010.[19]
On September 10, 2010,Bell Canada announced plans to re-acquire 100% of CTVglobemedia's broadcasting arm, including its majority control of TSN. Under the deal, Woodbridge Company Limited,Torstar, and theOntario 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 ofThe Globe and Mail, with Bell retaining 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 asBell Media.[20]
After a longstanding speculation about TSN's interest in launching its own TSN-branded radio network (similarly to itsU.S. counterpart), TSN entered radio broadcasting with the launch of the firstTSN Radio station, a relaunch of AM stationCHUM inToronto on April 13, 2011.[21]Bell Media'sBell Media Radio division already operated severalsports radio stations elsewhere in Canada (most of which were branded asThe Team, a name introduced by previous ownerCHUM 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.[22]
Also in 2011, TSN acquired broadcast rights to the newWinnipeg Jets. TSN would establish another part-time feed,TSN Jets, to broadcast the games. Additionally, co-ownedCFRW would also gain radio rights to the new Jets.[23] CFRW, along with Montreal stationCKGM, also migrated to the TSN Radio brand on October 5, 2011.[24] Additionally, Bell would also launch TSN Mobile TV, streaming versions of TSN and TSN2 offered throughBell Mobility'sMobile TV services.[25]
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced that it would sell its majority stake inMaple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to two major telecommunications companies;Bell Canada (TSN's main parent company) andRogers Communications (owners of the competingSportsnet 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.[26] The deal was completed in summer 2012, following the approval of Canada'sCompetition Bureau, theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (with regards to MLSE's television channels), as well as 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 theToronto Maple Leafs andToronto Raptors, as their ownership of the teams will offer enhanced coverage for the team through new platforms such asmobile television.[25]
In March 2014, TSN launched itsTV Everywhere service TSN Go, allowing subscribers to TSN on participating service providers to stream TSN networks online or through amobile app. On launch, TSN Go was available exclusively toBell Satellite TV andRogers Cable subscribers.[27] It has since been expanded to other providers, such asShaw.[28]
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 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 ofTelus 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).[25] However, in November 2013, Rogers Communications announced that it had reached a 12-year deal to become the sole national television rightsholder of the NHL, beginning in the2014–15 season.[29]
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 toIIHF hockey tournaments (including the popularWorld Junior Hockey Championships), theCanadian 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.[30] In a series ofTwitter posts by TSN personalityBob McKenzie, he explained that even with 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 toCTV Sportsnet for a period upon its launch in 1998).[29][31][32]
On May 6, 2014, TSN announced that it would launch three new channels—TSN3,TSN4, andTSN5, in September 2014 to coincide with the network's 30th anniversary. TSN presidentStewart 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 asGrand Slam tennis, curling tournaments, and theNCAA 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, nowSportsnet 360) to be a catalyst for the move, as TSN attempts to defend its position as the largest specialty television service in Canada in terms of total revenue.[2][33] The launch date of these new channels were pushed up to August 25, 2014, in order to allow multi-court coverage of the2014 US Open tennis tournament, which began the same day.[34] 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, andOttawa Senators.[30] At the same time, Dave Krikst createdBarDown, a segment on TSN'sYouTube 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 andbeer league content.[35]
On January 13, 2016, TSN announced that it would present its first telecast in4Kultra high-definition—aToronto Raptors basketball game—on January 20, 2016. It was followed by a slate of regional NHL games and other Raptors games in the format.[36]
On June 7, 2018, TSN announced that it would offer its channels as part of anover-the-top subscription service branded as "TSN Direct".[37] By late 2022, the "Direct" branding was dropped.[citation needed]
On January 12, 2023, TSN announced a separate direct-to-consumer service called "TSN+", which launched the same day with a limited-time free preview. The service, which is comparable but not entirely equivalent toESPN+, initially includes Canadian rights toPGA Tour Live (acquired afterWarner Bros. Discovery'sGolfTV ceased operations), theNTT IndyCar Series (previously on Sportsnet), the relaunchingXFL, as well as various other properties such asLa Liga andAEW Rampage which were previously available as bonus streams to subscribers of the regular TSN service.[38]
As is permitted for allCategory 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 likeCrave, 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 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 a separate higher-tier package.[39]
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 fourregionally-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, 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.[2][40] The feeds carry a small amount of programming tailored towards their respective regions, including simulcasts of lunch-hour shows fromTSN Radio stations in their relevant region, and regional NHL coverage.[2][40][41] When TV listings and promotions make 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.[42]
Their launch date was originally announced as September 1, 2014, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of TSN's launch,[2][40] but was moved up to August 25 in order to accommodate multiple-court coverage throughout the2014 US Open.[34] Prior to 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.[33] Notwithstanding this claim, some providers, includingShaw Cable, have elected to charge extra for some of the new feeds.[43] Most major Canadian television providers carried the new channels upon their launch, including Bell,Cogeco,Eastlink,MTS,SaskTel,Shaw,Source Cable,Rogers, andTelus.[34][44]
Videotron, a cable provider which primarily serves the province ofQuebec, was a notable hold-out for the new feeds. On October 13, aMonday 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 the lowest attendance of any Panthers game in team history).[45] 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'sMonday Night Football game, with the remainder added on October 29, 2014.[46] On November 27, 2016, a one-time overflow channel was used to broadcast a regionalOttawa Senators game due to conflicts with the104th Grey Cup (which featured theOttawa RedBlacks, and was being simulcast across all TSN regional feeds).[47]
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), is shown below.
| Channel | Launch date | Description and programming |
|---|---|---|
| TSN1 | September 1, 1984 August 15, 2003 (HD)[13] | Originally established as the primary, nationalTSN service since its launch, on August 25, 2014, this feed was renamed TSN1 and became the primary TSN feed for viewers inBritish Columbia,Alberta andYukon.[40] On August 15, 2003, TSN launched ahigh definition simulcast, branded asTSN 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 nowletterboxed for standard definition viewers. All of the other TSN channels below have had HD simulcasts available since their respective launch dates.
|
| TSN2 | August 29, 2008 | Replaced a part-time "alternate feed" in operation since 1997. For the most part, it has served as an overflow channel for TSN's various sports rights, particularly when all four "regional" feeds are jointly carrying another major event.
|
| TSN3 | August 25, 2014 | The primary TSN feed for viewers inManitoba,Saskatchewan, theNorthwest Territories,Nunavut andnorthwestern Ontario.[44]
|
| TSN4 | The primary TSN feed for viewers in most of Ontario.
| |
| TSN5 | The primary TSN feed for viewers ineastern Ontario,Quebec, andAtlantic Canada.
| |
| TSN 4K | January 20, 2016 | A part-time feed for telecasts presented in4KUHDTV, including selectedToronto Raptors,Toronto Maple Leafs,Ottawa Senators, andCanadian Football League games. Depending on provider, events may be available either on a dedicated "TSN 4K" channel, or on shared 4K events channels also carrying programs from competitors includingSportsnet.[49] |
The French-languageRéseau des sports and related channels operate under a separate licence, as did TSN's other now-defunct sports networksWTSN and the Canadian versions ofESPN Classic andNHL Network.
In January 2025, TSN will begin to useUSA Network (formerly Discovery) as an additional overflow channel for some of its sports rights, withNASCAR Xfinity Series races andAEW Collision moving to the newly-relaunched channel.[50][51]
| Channel | First air date | Last air date | Description and programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadiens on TSN (TSN Habs) | October 25, 2010 | April 10, 2014[52][53] | A part-time feed which carried English-language regional broadcasts ofMontreal Canadiens games from 2010 to 2014, in the eastern Canadian territory shared by Montreal and theOttawa Senators. It was provided at no additional charge to customers in this region who subscribed to TSN throughBell Satellite TV,Bell Fibe TV,Bell AliantFibreOP, andShaw Direct.[54][55] The rights expired before the 2014–15 season, and were acquired bySportsnet East.[56] TSN re-gained the Canadiens' rights in 2017–18, with the games moving to TSN2.[57][48] |
| Jets on TSN (TSN Jets) | September 20, 2011[58] | April 11, 2014[59] | A premium channel which carried regional broadcasts ofWinnipeg Jets games from 2011 to 2014, restricted to the Jets' NHL home territory ofManitoba,Saskatchewan,Nunavut, theNorthwest Territories, and parts ofnorthwestern Ontario.[23] The channel cost $9.95 per month for the duration of the NHL season; afree preview was offered for the first few months of the Jets' inaugural season.[60] Jets games moved to TSN3 for the 2014–15 season.[41] |
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, the network has a long-term agreement withESPN International for the Canadian rights to ESPN original and studio programs, includingPardon the Interruption,Around the Horn,Sunday NFL Countdown,NFL Live,Baseball Tonight,ESPN FC, andESPN Films documentaries including the30 for 30 series, among others, though it does not always air these programs simultaneously with their U.S. broadcasts.[61]
In 2012, as part of promotion for the100th 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.[62]
TSN is a major broadcaster ofice hockey in Canada; it holds rights toHockey Canada tournaments, which includes theAllan Cup,Centennial Cup,Telus Cup andEsso Cup, as well asIIHF tournaments such as theMen's andWomen's World Championships, theIIHF World Junior Championships (a tournament whose profile was notably raised by TSN),[63] and theIIHF World U18 Championship. In 2020, TSN renewed its contract with Hockey Canada through the 2033–34 season.[64][65]
On July 21, 2021, theCanadian Hockey League (CHL) announced that Bell Media would hold its national media rights package beginning in 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 theMemorial Cup.[66]
From 1987 to 1998, and again from 2002 to 2014, TSN heldnational cable rights to broadcast theNHL in Canada. Under its most recent contract, TSN aired regular season games on weeknights and Sundays, including exclusivity on Wednesday nights, as well as variousStanley Cup playoffs games, as the league's secondary rightsholder after CBC Sports. Its most recent contract expired at the end of the2013–14 NHL season (following the2014 NHL Draft);Rogers Communications (owners ofSportsnet) secured a 12-year contract for sole national rights beginning with thefollowing season.[29][67][68] TSN's then-parent company CTVglobemedia attempted to strike a similar exclusive deal in 2006 ($1.4 billion over ten years), but was not successful.[69][70]
CTV acquired the rights toThe Hockey Theme, which has been thetheme song ofHockey 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.[71]
TSN continues to hold four regional, English-language rights contracts:
These games are subject toblackout outside the teams' designated home markets.[30]
TSN has also occasionally broadcast theAmerican Hockey League'sToronto Marlies games, which are simulcast fromLeafs Nation Network; as with the Maple Leafs, the Marlies are owned by MLSE.[76][77]
TSN was credited for breaking reports surrounding Hockey Canada's settlement of a2018 sexual assault case.[63]
TSN has broadcastCanadian Football League games since 1987.[78] Since the 2008 season, TSN has been the CFL's exclusive broadcaster, airing all of the league's games, including the season-endingGrey Cup.[79] In November 2019, TSN and the CFL signed a six-year media rights extension, which was reported to expire in 2025.[80][81]
The channel also previously held rights to the country'suniversity football playoff tournaments, including theHardy Trophy,Uteck Bowl,Mitchell Bowl and theVanier Cup championship.[82] The Hardy Cup coverage reverted toShaw TV in 2014 while the Uteck, Mitchell and Vanier contests moved to Sportsnet, who acquired exclusive rights to CIS tournaments in May 2013.[83]
TSN splits rights to theNational Basketball Association (NBA) andToronto Raptors withSportsnet, by virtue of the league's Canadian media rights being managed by Raptors owner MLSE.[84]
TSN alternated broadcasting the2019 NBA Finals with Sportsnet, which featured theToronto 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.[85]
TSN acquired Canadian rights toMajor League Soccer in 2011, airing 24 matches during the 2011 season that involved the league's Canadian clubs,Toronto FC andVancouver Whitecaps FC. Its slate expanded to 30 games in 2012 with the debut of theMontreal Impact in the league. TSN's channels broadcast a package of other regular-season games, theMLS All-Star Game,MLS Cup Playoffs and theMLS Cup.[86] In January 2014, TSN announced that it would take over broadcast rights to Whitecaps games beginning in the2014 Major League Soccer season, under a separate deal.[87] These rights were renewed in 2017 as TSN reached a 5-year extension to its Major League Soccer broadcasting rights.[88] 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 the newMLS Season Pass streaming service in 2023.
On October 27, 2011, Bell Media and TSN announced that they had secured broadcast rights forFIFA soccer tournaments from 2015 to 2022. The rights include the2018 FIFA World Cup,2022 FIFA World Cup, the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup hosted by Canada and the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[89]
In 2021, TSN acquired the rights toLa Liga, as part of a sub-licensing agreement with ESPN.[90]
TSN holds exclusive rights toCurling Canada'sSeason of Champions series through 2029, which includes Canada's women's and men's national championships, theScotties Tournament of Hearts andMontana's Brier, along with theWorld Curling Championships.[91] It also organizes thePinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game, an annualskins curling tournament.
TSN has hosted much of Canada's supplementary Olympic coverage, being the first pay television channel in the world to ever broadcast the Olympics with the1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and having been part of the CBC's coverage from 1998 to 2008. In 2010, TSN began to participate in CTV and Rogers'joint broadcast rights to the Olympic Games for 2010 and 2012. TSN continued to be a part of CBC's coverage of the2014 Winter Olympics, but also in conjunction with Sportsnet (who participated in the CTV/Rogers coverage).[92]
TSN has also historically been a broadcaster forMajor League Baseball in Canada, as its former parent company, Labatt, was also the owner of theToronto Blue Jays. Under Rogers ownership, TSN continued to sub-license a package 25 of Blue Jays games per-season, with the rest of the games televised by the co-owned Sportsnet, who is also the primary rightsholder of Major League Baseball in Canada. In 2010, TSN traded its Blue Jays games to Sportsnet for rights toESPN Sunday Night Baseball.[93] In 2014, TSN reached a deal directly with MLB International for Canadian rights to all ofESPN's MLB coverage, addingMonday Night Baseball andWednesday Night Baseball beginning in the2014 season.[94][95][96]
Along with its coverage of Canadian events, TSN also airs coverage of international sporting events (primarily American), oftensimulcast from other broadcasters.
TSN also currently airsFormula One,NASCAR Cup Series, andNASCAR Xfinity Series events (as of the 2016 season, coverage of F1 events is supplied fromSky Sports).[97]
As of the 2017 season, TSN serves as the exclusive cable rightsholder of theNational Football League in Canada, alongside terrestrial rightsholderCTV, carrying all national game packages (includingSunday Night Football,Monday Night Football, andThursday Night Football), as well as Sunday afternoon games.[98][99] In 2022, the NFL renewed its contract with Bell under a multi-year deal, gaining exclusive Canadian rights toThursday Night Football (as part of its move toPrime Video), and the expandedMonday Night Football schedule (including ESPN'sNFL International Series game).[100] TSN also carries ESPN's NFL studio programs, includingNFL Live,Sunday NFL Countdown, andMonday Night Countdown, whileNFL RedZone is carried on TSN's streaming platforms.[100]
TSN is the exclusive rightsholder in Canada for all four TennisGrand Slams; in 2012, the channel signed multi-year extensions for theAustralian Open,[101]French Open[102] andWimbledon.,[103] followed by theUS Open the following year.[104] In 2016, TSN also re-gained rights to non-domesticATP World Tour Masters 1000 andATP World Tour 500 series events.[105] In 2020, TSN also acquired rights toWTA TourPremier 5 and Premier Mandatory events.[106] Both exclude theNational Bank Cup due to exclusive media and sponsorship rights held by Rogers Media and Sportsnet, sold separately from other events.
TSN is also the rights holder for all four of golf's major championships –The Masters (first two rounds, and late-round coverage on CTV beginning 2016),[107][108]US Open,British Open (late-round coverage in simulcast with NBC and CTV since 2016) andPGA Championship. In addition, it carries theRyder Cup andPresidents Cup and simulcasts theRBC Canadian Open.[109]
On December 22, 2014, it was also announced that Bell Media had acquired Canadian rights toUFCmixed martial arts, beginning in 2015. TSN's networks air all major events, including PPV preliminaries, domesticUFC Fight Night events, andThe Ultimate Fighter. TSN also sub-licensed portions of its rights to fighting sports-oriented specialty channelFight Network, which aired internationalFight Night events and preliminaries for non-PPV events. The contract also includes French-language rights for RDS.[110][111] The contract with Bell was renewed in December 2018; the Fight Network sub-licensing agreement was dropped, giving TSN rights to non-PPV preliminaries, and also addingDana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series. The renewal coincided with the assumption of U.S. rights to the UFC by minority partner ESPN.[112]
Through minority owner ESPN, TSN and RDS also hold exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to several other events which ESPN either owns outright, such as theX Games, or for which it owns the worldwide broadcast rights, such as theCollege Football Playoff, theNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship (sublicensed fromESPN International since 2011),[113] theWorld Series of Poker,[61] and itsboxing coverage.[114][115]
On December 19, 2014, Bell Media announced that it had acquired rights to theUEFA Champions League andEuropa League for TSN and RDS beginning in 2015, with portions sub-licensed tobeIN Sports.[116] TSN lost Champions League and Europa League rights toDAZN after the 2017–18 season.[117]
In the 2014–15 season, TSN began to broadcast a package ofNCAA Division I college hockey games including regular season games (mainly simulcast fromregional sports networks) and theNCAA tournament and Frozen Four (whose rights are owned by ESPN).[118]
TSN previously airedWWE's flagship show,Raw, for over a decade. Though broadcastlive, the show occasionally had been censored live for extremely violent scenes (such as when female wrestlers or characters were assaulted by male wrestlers) to meet Canadian broadcast standards, withrepeat broadcasts often more heavily edited.[119][120][failed verification] The final episode ofRaw on TSN aired on July 31, 2006, after which, rival network The Score (now known asSportsnet 360) picked up the rights.[citation needed]
In 2019, TSN acquired broadcast rights toAll Elite Wrestling's flagship show,Dynamite, marking the return of professional wrestling to the network. The show is broadcast in simulcast withTNT in the United States (subject to pre-emption in the event of conflicts with other programming).[121] On August 9, 2021, PWInsider reported that TSN will streamAEW Rampage online in simulcast with the U.S. through its website and TSN Direct.[122]
According to The Canadian Press, Bell chief executive George Cope told shareholders the new channels would not cost consumers more money: "The only impact for them is … you'll now have all five channels available for what you used to be paying for the two."
Note: Broadcasting on "TSN" means TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)TSN has made many improvements to its CFL coverage since it began broadcasting some of the games back in 1987.
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