The Seahawks have gone to great lengths in recent years to strengthen their connection to a growing Canadian fanbase. Their relative proximity to Vancouver -- the two cities are 141 miles apart -- has made the city a Seahawks stronghold for years. But now the team is working to expand its footprint across a greater portion of Western Canada. As part of the franchise’s latest effort, its Canadian regional office is currently in negotiations with TSN for the net to air its “Seahawks All-Access” magazine show in Canada, specifically in B.C. and Alberta. NFL Int’l Commercial Dir Marc Reeves said that while the league almost always maintains exclusive control over international media rights, it has allowed the Seahawks to work out a one-year deal with TSN on a “test basis.” There is a precedent for exceptions to this rule, as the league has permitted the Seahawks and Bills to distribute their own radio rights in specific portions of Canada, and at least three other teams -- the Cowboys, Steelers and Texans -- do so in Mexico. Reeves noted the 75-mile marketing and media radius that teams are granted does not apply across int'l borders. Seahawks Canadian Regional Office Managing Dir Omar Mawjee said that the league’s condition for granting the team the right to air the “All-Access” show in Canada was that it partner with a Bell Media-owned outlet, such as TSN. Bell is the league’s Canadian television partner.
RING MY BELL: Bell affiliation aside, Mawjee said that TSN is a natural suitor for the program. TSN recently expanded to five national feeds to accommodate Canada’s large geographic footprint, and this upcoming NHL season will mark its first without national broadcast rights for the league. Mawjee: “They used to have the NHL rights. They’ve lost those to Rogers. So the NFL has become a really big priority for them. It’s a natural fit now that they have these extra channels.” Mawjee said that the franchise is also working to expand its Canadian radio
broadcast footprint into cities in Alberta like Calgary and Edmonton by
the middle of the ’14 season. He noted that this would also require
authorization from the league and suggested the team would seek out
Bell-owned partners in each city. The addition of Alberta would be the
latest step in the team’s expansion of its radio rights; its Victoria,
B.C.-based affiliate began broadcast games during last season, while it
has recently agreed to air games in Kamloops, B.C. beginning this
season. CKST-AM, the team's Vancouver-based radio affiliate, estimated its broadcast audience for Seahawks games has increased 65% since '12.
NATIONAL PRIDE: "Seahawks All-Access," which is produced in-house by Assistant Dir of Broadcasting Brian O’Connell, airs weekly in Seattle on Root Sports. Pro Football HOFer and Seahawks broadcaster Warren Moon, who played six seasons in the CFL and is a member of the Canadian Football HOF, hosts the program, another reason Mawjee believes the show would be successful with a Canadian audience. The Patriots previously aired preseason games and TV shows through
Rogers Sportsnet East, but do not currently have any Canadian
distribution in place. Vikings Exec Dir of Communications Jeff Anderson
in an e-mail wrote the team has “discussed exploring … direct media
partnerships given the large Vikings fan base that exists in Canada,”
but there are “no definitive plans” at this point. The Lions and Packers
did not return requests for comment.
