TORONTO – With the announcement Wednesday of TSN’s 2008-09 National Basketball Association package (including 48 Toronto Raptor games), the sports network likely hopes to apply additional pressure on Hogtown’s largest BDU, Rogers Cable, by placing 24 of those games on TSN2. Basketball fans will be calling the Rogers CSRs wondering why they can’t see Chris Bosh and his ‘mates.
Rogers is the final holdout among English Canadian distributors when it comes to carrying the second TSN, which was once just the TSN Alternate feed. That feed was free and only active every once in a while when the main network had a scheduling conflict.
TSN2, however, as profiled by Cartt.ca, is something else altogether and despite now having to pay a fee where once there was none, most Canadian BDUs have signed up for the channel as it has rounded out its programming. Rivals believe TSN2 is operating contrary to its conditions of license, however.
Rogers, however, has held firm, refusing to pay for the channel, even as it adds live NHL hockey and now NBA basketball games to its schedule.
TSN/TSN2 will broadcast 30 other NBA regular season games besides the Raptors, along with the NBA All-Star Game. During the NBA Playoffs, TSN/TSN2 will have a minimum of 17 games including Raptors games throughout the post-season and exclusive Canadian coverage of the NBA Finals. All games are available in high definition.
“We are thrilled that TSN and TSN2 are on board to bring fans more games than ever before,” said Phil King, president of TSN, in a press release. “With more big Raptors games and more live NBA games, TSN2 is a must-have for die-hard hoops fans across the country.”
Miami at Toronto on Sunday, November 16th is the first TSN2 Raptors game. Other games on the schedule of “le deux” include five marquee games with the Boston Celtics, five including the L.A. Lakers and a dozen featuring the Phoenix Suns, home of Canadian point guard and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
As announced earlier this week, TSN2 is now available in 3.2 million Canadian homes.
The Score also announced its NBA schedule Wednesday, featuring 20 Raptors games, 40 NBA games, and 25 NBA play-off games.
