New Addition: TSN Gets Approval For Second Broadcast Feed

TSN’s application for a second broadcast feed has been approved by Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission “despite opposition from the CBC and CanWest Global,” according to the William Houston of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. While the second feed is “limited to digital television, this is a big win for TSN.” The additional channel “will give the network a large amount of flexibility in program scheduling.” It “could conceivably bid for the rights to [MLB’s] Sunday night telecasts without concern about a conflict with its [NFL] Sunday night telecasts.” In the past, TSN was able to use a second channel to air regional content blacked out in other markets. The new ruling “will allow TSN to distribute multiple national feeds, although it’s unlikely it would use more than two.” TSN will be “allowed to use only 10[%] of its total quarterly broadcasting schedule for the second feed,” but that would be 2.4 hours of programming a day, “enough to air a separate hockey game every night of the week.” Rogers Sportsnet approved the license amendment “on the condition that TSN would not sell regional advertising on its second feed” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 11/10).