While it may be under the radar here in America, watching the cable sports wars in Canada has been in many ways more entertaining than the one going on down here. Sportsnet and TSN continue to acquire properties and then react to those acquisitions by making other acquisitions. The battle will rage on until the end of televisions, which is either very soon or never, depending on who you ask.
The next move TSN is set to make is a fascinating one, especially in the wake of Rogers’ acquisition of the National Hockey League, a move they made by promising the NHL the ability to televise games across at least a half-dozen networks. TSN has responded by adding enough networks to give them nearly a half-dozen.
That’s right, TSN (which already has TSN2) will be launching TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 this fall. Despite the loss of the NHL, the expansion appears totally necessary, if you look at the list of properties they plan to spread across the networks. You have to remember that not just one, but two countries’ worth of sports programming can be placed on TSN, of which Disney owns a decent share.
As far as live sports go, properties like the NBA (and especially the NBA Playoffs), the NCAA Tournament and MLS, as well as the ability to air multiple EPL matches, multiple courts of Grand Slam tennis tournaments and major golf tournaments appear to be the main reasoning for this growth. They also expect expanded coverage of the FIFA World Cup, Grey Cup and World Junior Hockey Championships. Now, Canada can have a presentation similar to NBC’s ‘Premier League Extra Time’ package on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. ET, with up to five games running at once.
TSN can also use the networks to air SportsCentre across multiple time zones, regional hockey packages in Ontario, radio simulcasts, and extra ESPN programming. TSN also promises that more programming will be acquired in the future. So, even after losing the NHL, the network appears primed for growth in the coming year.
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