The CFL heads into the '12 season, which begins tomorrow, hoping to secure a "long-term television deal that will pad revenues and provide a foundation for the next five years,” according Steve Ladurantaye of the GLOBE & MAIL. The league has two years left on its deal with TSN, and both sides “would like to see something new in place before it expires.” TSN has “used its exclusive rights to develop a strong national franchise, and the league has seen the number of people watching its games skyrocket" since TSN took over for the CBC in '06. While execs at the CBC and Rogers have “hinted they are interested in broadcasting football games, TSN president Stewart Johnson doesn’t sound willing to risk having the league’s games on another network after relentlessly promoting the game for five years.” CFL games last year drew “an average 700,000 viewers on the Bell Media-owned sports network, up from 397,000 in its first exclusive year with the league.” The CFL has “also enjoyed strong attendance, with an average 28,000 fans taking in each of the league’s 77 games last year.” The existing contract between TSN and the CFL is worth an estimated C$16M a year, but the league “would like to see an increase in its next deal.” CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon said, “I obviously don’t want to negotiate through the media, but my take is that we are only second to the NHL in this country in terms of ratings so we’re well positioned to take advantage of an interested marketplace. When you look at PVR-proof programming, that’s what this is and we are definitely a strong asset” (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/26).
CENTURY CLUB: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Daniel Kaplan reports the CFL and its sponsors will spend more than $10M this season "touting the 100th Grey Cup, making it the largest promotional effort in the league’s history.” Cohon said, “This is the biggest undertaking the league has ever done.” He pointed to the “league’s marketing campaign, broadcaster TSN’s plans, sponsor activation, new licensed products and the Grey Cup festival in Toronto as hallmarks of what will be the largest media blitz in CFL history” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/25 issue).
