TORONTO – TSN announced today that it has locked up most of the major Canadian curling rights until 2014.
The Bell Globemedia-owned sports channel and the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) today announced a six-year broadcast and multimedia deal, providing TSN with exclusive broadcast and online Canadian rights to Season of Champions events each year, "making TSN the one and only home of curling in Canada," says the release.
The deal shuts out CBC beginning in 2008, which has been the home of the final rounds of bonspiels like the Brier and the Tournament of Hearts, well, forever.
(The move is another blow to CBC Sports, which lost the Olympics in 2010 and 2012 to a consortium of CTV/TSN and Rogers Sportsnet. It’s expected that CTV/TSN will go hard after the Saturday night NHL rights package CBC has held since the NHL began being shown on television. Should The Sports Network also make a push to carry the CFL too, one wonders what might be left for CBC Sports in 24 months.)
Under terms of the deal, TSN will carry exclusive coverage of all eight Season of Champions events, including the semis and finals. In addition, along with afternoons and evenings, viewers will be treated to the return of the morning draws. Fans can turn to TSN for complete coverage of the Tim Hortons Brier, Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Ford World Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships, as well as timely coverage of the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials leading into the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. The opportunity also exists to carry select matches on sister broadcaster CTV.
"TSN has always been a staunch supporter of curling in Canada, and this deal further establishes curling as a cornerstone of the network’s programming leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games and beyond," said Phil King, president of TSN in a release. "TSN’s commitment to the sport for the past two decades has been paramount in making curling the TV-friendly broadcast it is today and helped put curling on the map in Canada."
"Unprecedented coverage and the return of morning draws will be embraced by our fans and viewers across the country and around the world," said Dave Parkes, CEO, Canadian Curling Association. "This agreement and a strengthened relationship with TSN ensures a positive, exciting and long-term future for our sport."
The deal includes a comprehensive suite of multimedia rights (how about those morning draws on your Blackberry?), including broadband, mobile, video on demand, interactive television, podcasts and even rights for radio broadcasts. "TSN intends to fully leverage these rights to continue in its efforts to build and grow Canada’s curling audiences, reaching out for the first time to new and existing fans on multi-platforms. For the first time ever, Canadians will be able to watch Canada’s national curling championships outside the country on the broadband platform," says the release.
TSN has confirmed that its popular curling broadcast team of Vic Rauter, Linda Moore and Ray Turnbull will continue to call the action for all of the network’s curling coverage. Over the years, the trio has created a broad and supportive fan base and their names have become synonymous with curling in Canada.
"The World Curling Federation recognizes the value of securing long-term predictability in a broadcast partner and is very pleased that the CCA’s agreement with TSN will span two Winter Olympic Games," said Les Harrison, president, World Curling Federation.
"When a major national broadcaster like TSN commits to a 50% increase in the amount of live curling coverage, it’s clear that the players are extremely happy," said Paul Boutilier, president, World Curling Players Association.
"Ford of Canada is proud to have been a sponsor of Canadian curling for the past 12 years and we look forward to our joint partnership with TSN, continuing to build the sport of curling in Canada and encouraging participation from coast to coast," added David Greenberg, vice-president, general marketing, Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited.
"We applaud the CCA for this proactive move and look forward to working with the CCA and TSN over the term of this agreement," said John McClelland, corporate vice-president, consumer business, Scott Paper.
