Report: CHL games moving to TSN

Are Canadian Hockey League games making their way to TSN?

According to the well connected and often accurate Toronto Sports Media website, the CHL will soon announce its leaving the Rogers-owned Sportsnet for the Bell-owned TSN.

Sources tell me today that in the days ahead the Canadian Hockey League will announce a new TV deal with @TSN_Sports ..leaving Rogers

— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) April 14, 2021

So by all accounts Rogers divested out of the CHL tv deal. Had term left but bought out the term. More details to come as I learn more .. told @TSN_Sports will announce a three year pact with the CHL but not sure for what exactly ...

— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) April 14, 2021

Junior hockey fans have debated for decades that a move to TSN would be beneficial for the CHL. While it's hard to say if the quantity of nationally broadcasted games will increase, the CHL could certainly use the hype machine that has turned the World Junior Hockey Championship into such a marque event.

TSN has the broadcast rights to all IIHF and Hockey Canada events. It's main junior attraction has always been the world juniors but in recent years has started to amp up its coverage of the under-18s and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Having CHL games air on the same station as those events seems like a natural fit.

It may not be related, but TSN used the tag line "the future of hockey lives here" during this year's world junior.

The CHL signed a 12-year-deal with the Rogers-owned Sportsnet in 2014. Interestingly, there have been well sourced rumours that the CHL's 12-year deal with french-language TVA Sports, also inked in 2014, will soon end, shifting games back over to the Bell-owned RDS.

Sportsnet/Rogers wanting to get out of its CHL contract would not come as a huge surprise given the amount of financial cuts the network has made in recent years. Its $5.2 billion NHL rights deal has yet to deliver the expected return.

Fans had hoped that Sportsnet owning both the NHL and CHL national rights would benefit junior hockey broadcasts but it never seemed to materialize. The game broadcasts were always solid - Jeff Marek, RJ Broadhead, Sam Cosentino and Rob Faulds are all excellent - but between broadcasts the network gave little air time or attention to the CHL.

Sportsnet has been broadcasting CHL games since 1998.

There are plenty or other questions surrounding all of this - assuming this report is accurate. Will this have any impact on local Rogers TV stations airing games? Will this have any impact on the future of CHL TV? Will this be a financial win for the CHL during these difficult times? We'll see what happens.