I had just finished barbecuing and had a cold beer in hand when I turned on the television to watch some CFL pre-season action. As I flipped through the channels I started to realize that maybe the game wouldn’t be aired. The CFL pre-season game with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers versus the Toronto Argonauts was nowhere to be found on TSN.
I kept hope and searched all the channels for that chance to learn more about the team and the additions the Winnipeg Blue Bombers brought in. Alas, four channels of Women’s FIFA World Cup Soccer, two channels of NBA Finals and one channel showing old CFL highlights. What a disappointment for a fan wanting to know more about the teams.
CFL preseason football started on Monday with Ottawa and Hamilton facing off. The first televised game will be on tonight on TSN2, where the BC Lions will face last year’s Grey Cup Champions, the Calgary Stampeders. Only three of the nine preseason games will be shown this year.
Bell Media (TSN and RDS) has the exclusive media rights to all CFL games, pre-season, regular or playoff. The latest deal, which runs through until 2018, was put in place to help bring more attention to the league, especially to Toronto, who was one of the leagues revenue losing teams.
I understand that there was a saturation of big name events that night. I understand that a preseason game at Varsity Stadium will not be a huge advertising draw. But the fact of the matter is the CFL is supposed to be growing the viewership. How best to draw in fans but to show the growth of the team in the offseason?
TSN could have made an event of it. Strap Go-Pro Cameras to the referees, interview the fans, cover signings with the rookies, find stories of the veterans’ past exploits, even arrange a skills competition. These are the types of things that draw people in. Make it special and the fans will tell their friends, family and co-workers, “it was cool!”
The CFL and TSN need to keep the media pressure on the fans as well. They can’t let up and allow a potential fan to slip through the cracks. There was little to no hype for the Rookie Draft this year and there doesn’t seem to be much build-up towards the regular season either. Maybe I’m asking too much with the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NBA Championship on, but once those series are complete, I’d love to see TSN really push the CFL into the spotlight.
This is not to criticize the coverage and quality of broadcast during the games that are aired. TSN does an outstanding job with game coverage and panel content. The CFL on TSN’s studio panel is excellent, they bring the right amount of experience and class to the show to make it interesting every game. Schultzy, Climie, Smith, Stegall, Brown and Dunigan are a wealth of knowledge. Paul LaPolice’s Coach’s Playbook is a great in-depth look at the game changing plays that gives the fan some insight into the team’s intentions. The sideline reporting from Sara Orlesky is straight to the point and covers the facts. Even the game commentary is great with pairings for each game (Cuthbert and Suitor, Black and Forde, Miller and Dunigan). In short, the work that TSN puts in when they show a game is top notch and is not a point of contention. They just need to show the games.
If you fancied, you could catch the game on the radio. The radio! That’s right, your thousand-dollar, high definition radio. What a crock. As for myself I will look forward to Week 1 when I can finally see what the new and improved Blue and Gold look like.
