{"id":21263,"date":"2019-02-21T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T16:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonsoccer.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=21263"},"modified":"2019-02-20T21:37:18","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T02:37:18","slug":"deal-made-forcpl-media-broadcast-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2019\/02\/21\/deal-made-forcpl-media-broadcast-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Deal Made for Canadian Premier League Media Broadcast Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Toronto, Canada (February 20, 2019) \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>The Canadian Premier League teased a &#8220;landmark announcement&#8221; under the Canadian Soccer Business header late Tuesday, sparking speculation that fans might finally get a schedule, a broadcast \u2014 or both.<\/p>\n<p>What fans got was mostly just confusing.<\/p>\n<h1><b>Deal made for Canadian\u00a0Premier League Media Broadcast Rights<\/b><\/h1>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tune in with us at 5:30 PM EST for a landmark announcement <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CanPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CanPL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UZlZaVUMRf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UZlZaVUMRf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CPLsoccer\/status\/1098345809064677376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Around 5 p.m. ET, Canadian Soccer Business announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/canpl.ca\/article\/mediapro-to-usher-in-new-era-of-unprecedented-access-to-canadian-soccer\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ten-year official Media Partnership<\/a> with MEDIAPRO. This partnership will give Canadians &#8220;unprecedented access to to their league and national teams.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Part of this package will be &#8220;an OTT soccer streaming channel, complemented by unique soccer shoulder programming including magazine shows, documentaries and other Canadian soccer programming.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSoccer is our cornerstone,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/canpl.ca\/article\/mediapro-to-usher-in-new-era-of-unprecedented-access-to-canadian-soccer\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Lopez, CEO of MEDIAPRO Canada, said.<\/a> \u201cFor us, it\u2019s part of our DNA. We breathe soccer. And, this is special, because this is a 10-year project. Usually in Europe, the period that you can have the rights is three years. It\u2019s not enough time to develop a product or a story. But here, it\u2019s 10 years, and for us, this fits perfectly with our philosophy and our ideas.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>MEDIAPRO&#8217;s Broadcasting Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>MEDIAPRO is a multi-billion dollar company based out of Barcelona with divisions and subsidiaries throughout the world. Lopez, the company&#8217;s new CEO, spoke at the event about the 15 leagues they help produce content for.<\/p>\n<p>The most notable of is Spanish league, La Liga.<\/p>\n<p>Canada Soccer Business and Forge FC CEO Scott Mitchell said in the CPL&#8217;s release: &#8220;Getting a new technology and media company interested in the project wasn&#8217;t difficult, but landing a deal with a globally-respected company who wants to invest this seriously in soccer in Canada is certainly a first of its kind for Canadian soccer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Vancouver Courier claims that MEDIAPRO is investing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vancourier.com\/canadian-premier-league-joins-forces-with-spain-based-media-partner-1.23640212\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$200 million into Canadian soccer over the lifetime of the deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the first media release, the CPL&#8217;s streaming deal will be a dedicated service of some kind. Early reaction to this announcement is mixed. Some are saying the move is a step backwards, as new fans aren&#8217;t likely to run across CPL content anywhere but traditional TV channel. Meanwhile, others suggest that this move protects the CPL&#8217;s longevity and stability, thanks to the long-term deal.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The value of the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CanPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CanPL<\/a> rights agreement won\u2019t be announced publicly, but it\u2019s understood to be \u201cjaw-dropping\u201d for a startup. The survival threshold of a new league is around 10 years, so this deal almost ensures long term survival &amp; growth. Congrats to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ticatmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ticatmitchell<\/a> &amp; co!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Peter Schaad (@PeteSchaad) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeteSchaad\/status\/1098345196545134594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Landmark Event with Hristo Stoichkov<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This media event had a lot of the same stylings and trappings of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsoccer.com\/2019\/01\/29\/for-canadians-by-canadians-with-some-help-from-volkswagen\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Volkswagen announcement<\/a>. The live stream kicked off with CPL.ca managing editor Kurt Larson saying a few thank-you&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Canada Soccer Business CEO Scott Mitchell formally announced the 10-year deal, all leading up to a bit of soccer theatre, which included Hristo Stoichkov praising the work of MEDIAPRO in the best English he can muster. The Bulgaria and Barcelona legend&#8217;s presence definitely shows what kind of pull MEDIAPRO has.<\/p>\n<p>Next, Lopez took the stage to provide even more background on the company. He showed an in-depth video about MEDIAPRO&#8217;s world-wide lead-up to El Cl\u00e1sico and the sort of behind-the-scenes coverage the company has become known for.<\/p>\n<p>You can watch back the live video<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPLsoccer\/videos\/2787288607962787\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Last Word: The Elephant in the Room<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>After all of this song and dance in the announcement, there&#8217;s still no idea how fans are going to access CPL content. There&#8217;s no firm information about what a streaming or television service will look like, what it will cost or how it will be implemented.<\/p>\n<p>This understandably frustrated many fans, but that news will come. What was announced today will help create a foundation for the CPL&#8217;s media presence going forward. However, fans did get to hear that the inaugural schedule should be released next week.<\/p>\n<p>As first kick approaches, the news will start coming thick and fast. With MEDIAPRO and the CPL working together, expect future announcements and content to have a certain amount of flair and production value \u2014 a welcome addition to a new property.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"MknfKckoRytMJpPpwCCejA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1052963082\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'MknfKckoRytMJpPpwCCejA',sig:'90yp6fty9lFKsIm6ojnQ6A9Nnpv4Ld_Bsfvagbexr94=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1052963082',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new CPL media deal is a landmark for Canadian Soccer and the league, but fans are no closer to knowing how fans can watch games week-to-week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2964,"featured_media":21277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2782,2783],"tags":[871,2785,2842,2840,2841],"class_list":["post-21263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cpl","category-hamilton-forge-fc","tag-canada-soccer","tag-cpl","tag-hristo-stoichkov","tag-mediapro","tag-oscar-lopez"],"modified_by":"Rachael Kriger, Senior Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2964"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}