Canadian sports media insider Adam Seaborn reported the news Wednesday. TSN will, however, cover every game of each league final along with the Memorial Cup which, as Seaborn notes, could end up equaling a similar amount of games.
Here's the scoop
— Adam Seaborn (@AHBSeaborn) September 27, 2023
CHL regular season will NOT be on TSN. Last year was a struggle to pull ratings on Friday nights
TSN will be covering EVERY league final game right from game 1 through to the Memorial Cup
Similar amount of games, just focused on playoffs and not regular season https://t.co/x6xNKy6kFo
TSN began airing CHL games in 2021-22, which included the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John. The network took over from long-time rights holder Sportsnet.
There were high hopes for TSN's coverage given how much they put into covering the World Junior Hockey Championship. But the number of games broadcast was similar to what Sportsnet had done in the recent past — and the selection of matchups wasn't great. The coverage was fine (even when done remotely), but not on the same level as the world juniors. The network is also missing that real, extremely connected CHL insider that Sam Cosentino is on Sportsnet.
In 2021-22, the CHL had regular season games air nationally on TSN and CBC. This year there will be none. But — and I've asked this question on here before — does it even matter anymore? TV just doesn't have the impact or reach that it used to — and, unless they are diehard junior hockey fans, most people aren't going to spend their Friday night watching a random junior game when there are a million other things on.
The CHL is probably better off putting its focus into making CHL TV a better product — not just quality wise, but entertainment wise as well. OneSoccer, for example, which broadcasts the Canadian Premier League and Canada Soccer matches, has studio analysts and other programming.
But even if CHL TV becomes the best hockey streaming service on the planet, will people watch? That seems to be the bigger challenge here. If people were watching, TSN would still be airing regular season games.
It feels like we're reaching a point (or some would argue we reached it some time ago) where the CHL needs to look at some big ideas to increase its audience. Flex-scheduling to put big matchups into prime time, inter-league play, in-season tournaments, regional Memorial Cup tournament qualifiers, a completely new Memorial Cup format... hopefully the CHL is putting every possible option on the table.
It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next five years or so. There will likely be a seismic shift in Canadian sports media when the NHL's deal with Sportsnet/Rogers ends in 2025-26. And we're starting to see some teams and leagues in the United States shift back to old school local TV stations, believing that reach is more valuable than a few extra tickets sold.
Somewhat related to all of this, it looks like the CHL has lost Kia as a partner. Dow, which owns the naming rights to the Saginaw Spirit's home arena, will be the presenting sponsor of the 2024 Memorial Cup.
Kia had held the naming rights to the tournament since 2019 in Halifax.
No comments:
Post a Comment