TORONTO – This Sunday’s Grey Cup game will be available to football fans all around the world, the league said Thursday, reaching television viewers across the U.S., Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and many other countries.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be seen on Europe’s NASN (the North America Sports Network), which was acquired by ESPN earlier this year. Countries served by NASN include the United Kingdom, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and Ukraine, plus Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland.
Also continuing their tradition of CFL coverage will be Fox Sports International (with coverage in Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) and the U.S. Armed Forces Network (which has outlets in more than 172 countries around the globe – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe). Both of these networks televised the Grey Cup in 2005 and 2006.
CFL Grey Cup coverage in Mexico is provided by TVC Deportes, the cable sports channels owned and operated by cable television groups across the country.
"The continued coverage by NASN (ESPN in Europe) and Fox Sports International underscores the global appeal of the CFL, which includes more passing, a faster game clock and only three downs. As a result, the Grey Cup has become Canada’s sports ambassador to the world," said Richard Stone, president of Trajectory Sports and Media Group, which has had the marketing responsibility for Canadian football broadcasts in the United States and internationally since partnering with the CFL in 2004, in the press release.
In the United States, the 2007 Grey Cup will be available to 62 million homes in standard definition television and to DISH Network’s 12 million customers in high definition on VOOM HD Networks’ World Sport HD channel (available in the New York City metropolitan area on Cablevision).
The following networks have carried CFL games weekly throughout the 2007 season and will also telecast the 95th Grey Cup: SNY (Comcast SportsNet New York); NESN (New England Sports Network); Comcast SportsNet outlets in Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic region, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon; Altitude Sports & Entertainment, Denver; Comcast Seattle (video on demand); Comcast Utah; CSS in Atlanta; Catch 47 – Tampa Bay Sports Television; Cox Sports Television South (Louisiana); Time Warner Sports 26 (Syracuse, New York); Time Warner Rochester; K.C. Metro Sports in Kansas City; Columbus Sports Network, Ohio; KHON CW Honolulu, and the America One Television Network – which serves more than 100 terrestrial broadcast stations and acts as the leagues master control operator for entire season.
Satellite TV subscribers can access the game live as well on DIRECTV channels 623 and 644, and on DISH Network channels 410 and 434.
Rounding out the unprecedented 2007 Grey Cup exposure will be live game coverage on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, which has carried CFL audio play-by-play action throughout this year. The Grey Cup will be available to nearly eight million subscribers.
