name | The Sports Network (TSN) |
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logofile | TSN Logo.svg |
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logocaption | TSN logo |
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logosize | 180px |
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launch | September 1, 1984 |
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picture format | 1080i (HDTV)(2003-present)480i (SDTV)(1984-present) |
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owner | CTV Specialty Television (Bell Media 80%/ESPN 20%) ''(The Sports Network Inc.)'' |
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slogan | Canada's Sports Leader |
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country | Canada |
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broadcast area | National |
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headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
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sister names | TSN2, RDS, RIS |
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web | www.tsn.ca |
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sat serv 1 | Bell TV |
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sat chan 1 | Channel 400 (SD) Channel 1400 (HD) |
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sat serv 2 | Shaw Direct |
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sat chan 2 | Channel 400 (SD) Channel 280 (HD) |
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cable serv 1 | Available on most Canadian cable systems |
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cable chan 1 | Check local listings, channels may vary |
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iptv serv 1 | Bell Aliant TV |
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iptv chan 1 | Channel 100 (SD)Channel 470 (HD) |
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iptv serv 2 | Bell Fibe TV |
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iptv chan 2 | Channel 400 (SD)Channel 1400 (HD) |
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iptv serv 3 | MTS |
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iptv chan 3 | Channel 22 (SD)Channel 475 (HD) |
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iptv serv 4 | Optik TV |
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iptv chan 4 | Channel 110 (SD)Channel 660 (HD) |
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iptv serv 5 | SaskTel |
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iptv chan 5 | Channel 110 (SD)Channel 410 (HD)
}} |
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The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as
TSN, is a
Canadian English language cable television specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports
TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. TSN is owned by CTV Specialty Television, a joint venture of
Bell Media (80%) and
ESPN (20%).
History
Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on April 2, 1984 as ''Action Canada Sports Network'', the channel was launched by the Labatt Brewing Company on September 1st of the same year as "The Sports Network", or "TSN". TSN was formed partly to promote Labatt's flagship products, but also to act as a vehicle for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team (which was also owned by Labatt at the time). Due to CRTC regulations on the foreign ownership of broadcasters, Labatt was forced to sell TSN upon its acquisition by Interbrew in 1995. Labatt's broadcasting assets were sold to a privately held consortium named NetStar Communications, the investors of which included a number of Canadian firms as well as ESPN, which held about 30%.
In 2000, after ESPN blocked two attempts by the Canadian partners to sell NetStar to CanWest Global, CTV Inc. acquired the Canadian partners' shares thanks in part to ESPN's disapproval of CanWest Global. CTV Inc. was acquired by Bell Canada and The Woodbridge Company (owners of The Globe and Mail newspaper) as part of the joint venture Bell Globemedia in 2001 (which then became CTVglobemedia after Bell sold off some of its interest in the company to others in 2007, and then Bell Media in 2011 when Bell Canada re-acquired it entirely, and sold back its majority stake in The Globe and Mail). As a result, CTV would also sell its regional sports network CTV Sportsnet to Rogers Media, who re-christened it Rogers Sportsnet. Incidentally, while TSN would move its operations to CTV's Agincourt complex after the acquisition, Rogers Sportsnet would not immediately move from Agincourt, effectively having the two competing networks sharing the same headquarters. This oddity would be referenced on-air by personalities on both networks, with many referring to moving between TSN and Sportsnet as "crossing the parking lot." Rogers Sportsnet would move from Agincourt to a new studio at the Rogers Building in Downtown Toronto in 2008.
Plans were made to re-launch TSN as ESPN Canada in 2001. However, due to the name recognition and value of the brand, the TSN name was maintained. However, TSN would begin incorporating elements of ESPN's branding into their own throughout the year, including a new logo using a similar design to ESPN's, and the re-naming of its sports news program ''SportsDesk'' to ''SportsCentre'' (a variation of ESPN's SportsCenter, rendered using Canadian English).
Acquisition of Hockey Rights
''
The Globe and Mail'' reported that
CTVglobemedia bid $1.4 billion (CDN) over 10 years for full Canadian broadcasting rights to the
National Hockey League, which would include cable and over-the-air rights in both English and French, i.e., coverage on
CTV, TSN and
RDS. However in March 2007, CBC Television retained the rights to Saturday night games and the Stanley Cup Finals in a new contract with the NHL. TSN renewed its national cable rights with expanded Canadian team coverage.
Alternate feeds and affiliated channels
TSN initially established an alternate feed in 1997 to allow the service to carry some programming regionally, in place of the regular TSN service on analog cable, if required due to blackout restrictions. On August 29, 2008, this feed was relaunched as a 24-hour channel known as
TSN2. The channel, which is now available only on
digital cable or
satellite TV, carries over 800 hours a year of live coverage not carried by TSN, selected studio programming from
ESPN not carried by the main channel, and other timeshifted programming aired earlier on TSN.
In October 2010, TSN announced the launch of a third channel, in this case a part-time feed to carry regional broadcasts of Montreal Canadiens games, in the eastern Canadian territory shared by Montreal and the Ottawa Senators. This feed (referred to on the Canadiens' website as "TSN Habs") is currently carried as a standalone channel by Bell TV and Bell Aliant TV. TSN says it is working to widen the channel's distribution, but thus far, no service provider without a corporate affiliation to TSN has agreed to carry the channel.
TSN's sister French language sports service is ''Réseau des sports'' (RDS), which in turn has its own secondary digital channel, ''Réseau Info Sports''. TSN also owns ESPN Classic Canada and is the managing partner in NHL Network Canada.
For a time, sports news segments on CTV owned-and-operated stations and on both CTV News Channel and Toronto's CablePulse 24 were co-branded with TSN. CTV News Channel no longer carries regular sports segments, while local CTV stations and CP24 have largely phased out the co-branding.
TSN Radio
After a longstanding speculation about TSN's interest in launching its own TSN-branded radio network, TSN entered radio broadcasting with the launch of the first
TSN Radio station,
TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto on April 13, 2011.
Bell Media's
Bell Media Radio division already operates several
sports radio stations elsewhere in Canada most of which currently branded under
The Team moniker, and it is expected that (if the launch of TSN Radio 1050 was a success) they will eventually adopt the TSN Radio branding as well, forming a sports
radio network.
Programming
TSN's flagship programme is a highlights and sports news show that airs several times a day. Before fall 2001, the show was called ''Sportsdesk''. As part of the channel's corporate restructuring in 2001, minority owner ESPN got TSN to drop the ''Sportsdesk'' name and replace it with their ''
SportsCenter'' brand (Canadianised to ''
SportsCentre'') and their ''SC'' logo. The studio was also redesigned to look like ESPN's, and even promo commercials were recorded that resembled
those used by ESPN to promote its ''SportsCenter''. In 2006, TSN built a new studio to support high-definition broadcasts and on September 25, ''SportsCentre'' became the first daily newscast in Canada to be broadcast in
High Definition.
TSN also airs ESPN original programming, including ''Sunday NFL Countdown'', ''Monday Night Football'', and ''Pardon the Interruption'', as well as a number of events for which ESPN owns the worldwide or North American rights.
The major U.S.-based leagues sell Canadian broadcasting rights separately, hence ESPN-branded coverage is sometimes found on Sportsnet (baseball) or The Score (college sports).
The network covers and broadcasts most major national and international sports, such as National Hockey League (NHL), National Football League (NFL), UEFA Champions League, and Canadian Football League (CFL) games, and Formula One auto racing.
TSN also hosts much of Canada's supplementary Olympic coverage, being the first pay-TV station in the world to ever broadcast the Olympics with the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, and having been part of the CBC's coverage from 1998 to 2008. The station will be part of CTV's coverage from 2010 to 2012.
TSN is the master rights-holder for the CFL, but sub-licensed the English-language rights to selected games, including the playoffs, to CBC through 2007. On December 20, 2006, the rights to all CFL games were transferred to TSN and French sister station RDS as of the 2008 season, playoff and Grey Cup games included.
In addition to ''Monday Night Football'' and the CFL, TSN broadcasts ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' and the NFL Network's package. Beginning in 2007, it produces a Sunday afternoon telecast for CTV, although the feed is taken from CBS or FOX.
It also shares the Canadian broadcast rights to the PGA Tour with The Golf Channel, as well as NASCAR, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the National Basketball Association with Sportsnet and/or The Score. TSN's NBA coverage mostly features the Toronto Raptors, but it does hold exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to the NBA Finals, using the ABC feed.
As noted elsewhere, much of TSN's coverage, especially for the NFL, NBA games not involving the Raptors, UEFA Champions League, Grand Slams, Indy Racing League, and NASCAR, is simulcast with ESPN or ABC. Any U.S. programming available in high definition (regardless of network) is also broadcast on TSN's HD feed.
TSN often picks up American feeds of NHL games involving American teams if NBC or Versus is televising the game in the U.S. so they can save production costs and sim-sub on Bell TV. In almost a reverse fashion, TSN's coverage of the first round of the NHL Entry Draft is simulcast on Versus, although ESPN picked up TSN's coverage of previous drafts; this is because TSN offers coverage similar to what ESPN does for the NFL Draft and NBA Draft.
Hockey
TSN bills itself as the 'home for Hockey' in Canada. TSN holds the national rights to broadcast the
NHL in Canada except for Saturday nights (those rights belong to
CBC for their ''
Hockey Night in Canada'' programme). On Wednesday nights, they enjoy "exclusive" rights, meaning no regional NHL broadcast in Canada may compete with TSN's. Their broadcasts on this night are branded
''Wednesday Night Hockey''. Their entire NHL package is branded the
''NHL on TSN''.
Beginning in 2008-09, the NHL had change the determination of playoff television rights in Canada. TSN will now have the third, fifth, and seventh choices of the first-round playoff series, regardless of the teams involved. This means that, for the first time ever, Canadian-based teams may have their playoff games appear on cable, instead of over-the-air.
Hockey Canada and TSN are in the middle of a 7-year contract that gives TSN the rights to broadcast the IIHF World Junior Championships, Men's and Women's World Hockey Championship, Men's Under-18 World Championships, Allan Cup, Royal Bank Cup, Spengler Cup, Telus Cup and ESSO Women's Nationals.
TSN's parent, CTV Inc., acquired the rights to ''The Hockey Theme'' after the CBC decided not to renew its rights to the theme song in June 2008 amid a legal dispute with its composer, Dolores Claman. A re-orchestrated version of the tune, which has been the theme song of ''Hockey Night in Canada'' for 40 years, has been used for hockey broadcasts on TSN and RDS since fall 2008.
TSN has aired Montreal Canadiens games in the Canadiens viewing region since October 25, 2010. TSN will also start airing Winnipeg Jets games in the Jets viewing region starting in Fall 2011.
Canadian content
TSN has frequently produced its own coverage of events based in Canada, including NHL, CFL, Blue Jays, and
curling events. The
TSN Skins Game is an invitational curling tournament sponsored and operated by the network. For major national and international events, including the Tim Hortons Brier, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Ford World Championships, it has historically had a curling broadcast deal where the round-robin and page-playoff quarter-finals have aired on the network, while the semi-final and final rounds air on
CBC.
On June 15, 2006, the Canadian Curling Association announced that TSN/CTV would obtain exclusive rights to curling broadcasts in Canada as of the 2008-09 season, shutting CBC Television out of the championship weekend for the first time in 40-plus years.
Canadian University sports events are also sometimes featured, as well as coverage of women's international hockey.
Wrestling
TSN featured live
professional wrestling in the form of
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s flagship show, ''
RAW'' for over a decade. However, the ''WWE Raw'' program, which aired
live, occasionally had been censored live for extremely violent scenes, or when female wrestlers or
characters were assaulted by male wrestlers. These actions are supposed to be in order to meet Canadian broadcast standards, with
repeat broadcasts often more heavily edited.
This has disappointed many wrestling fans over the years, and is unusual since the violence of wrestling scenes are not significantly different from other television programs aired on regular Canadian networks. It was expected that in fall 2006, when TSN started airing the ESPN iteration of ''Monday Night Football'' (as well as the ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' games), that ''WWE RAW'' was expected to air on tape delay during the NFL season. However, the WWE decided to move the program to rival sports network The Score rather than air on tape delay, although ''RAW'' continues to air on tape delay on The Score by 15 minutes, for editing purposes in addition to limits on the amount of live programming the Score can air in a week.
In 2004, both TSN and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Wrestling, (known then as NWA-TNA), erroneously announced that ''Impact!'' would air on the network, although that deal was never completed and the article on the TSN Wrestling page was taken down shortly after. However, TSN's French-language sister network RDS airs the program.
In past years, TSN also aired shows from the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Stampede Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) ''Monday Night Nitro'', as well as producing a one-hour show called ''Pro Wrestling Plus'', which featured highlights from various promotions and was hosted by Stampede announcer Ed Whalen; that program was the Canadian equivalent of the syndicated American program ''Pro Wrestling This Week''.
The final episode of ''WWE RAW'', aired July 31, 2006, although it did not end the relationship between TSN and WWE as the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony was aired on the network. As well, Off The Record with Michael Landsberg continues to occasionally feature professional wrestlers in unscripted interviews, which it has throughout its run.
Other sports
From August 2009, TSN and TSN2 have commenced screening live and delayed coverage of
Australian Rules Football. Selected games from the
Australian Football League (or AFL as the competition is also known) Premiership Season and Finals Series including the
AFL Grand Final are broadcast live or on delay every weekend.
Personalities
Current
Russ Anber – ''In This Corner'' analyst
Jack Armstrong - Basketball analyst
Kate Beirness - ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Rod Black – Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors, and ''CFL on TSN'' play-by-play announcer
Shawn Churchill – Winnipeg reporter
Jock Climie – ''CFL on TSN'' studio analyst
Chris Cuthbert – ''CFL on TSN'' and ''NHL on TSN'' play-by-play announcer
James Cybulski – Toronto reporter
Darren Dreger – ''NHL on TSN'' Insider
Darren Dutchyshen – ''SportsCentre'' anchor / ''In This Corner'' host
Matt Dunigan – ''CFL on TSN'' studio and colour analyst
James Duthie – ''NHL on TSN'' studio host
Claude Feig - Toronto reporter
Ray Ferraro - ''NHL on TSN'' colour analyst
Duane Forde – ''CFL on TSN'' colour analyst
Sheri Forde – Toronto reporter
Jermain Franklin – Calgary reporter
Jennifer Hedger – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Leah Hextall – ''SportsCentre'' host (substitute)
Dave Hodge – ''The Reporters'' host
Paul Hollingsworth – Halifax/Atlantic Canada reporter
Holly Horton – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Russ Howard – Curling on TSN colour analyst
Lee Jones – Regina reporter
Steve Kouleas – ''That's Hockey 2Nite'' host
Michael Landsberg – ''Off The Record'' host
Farhan Lalji – Vancouver reporter
John Lu – Montreal reporter
Maggie the Macaque – ''NHL on TSN'' playoff prognosticator
Bob McKenzie – ''NHL on TSN'' Insider, hockey analyst
Gord Miller – play-by-play announcer for the ''NHL on TSN'', World Junior Hockey Championships and occasionally''CFL on TSN''
Linda Moore- Curling on TSN colour analyst
Bryan Mudryk – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Dave Naylor - Football analyst
Sara Orlesky – Toronto reporter
Jay Onrait – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Dan O'Toole – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Jesse Palmer – ''NFL on TSN'' analyst – Monday Morning Quarterback
Darren Pang – ''NHL on TSN'' studio analyst
Blake Price - Vancouver reporter
Dave Randorf – ''CFL on TSN'' studio host, ''NHL on TSN'' reporter, play-by-play announcer for Canadian women's hockey..
Vic Rauter – Formula One studio host / Curling on TSN play-by-play announcer
Gino Reda – ''That's Hockey'' host
Ryan Rishaug – Edmonton reporter
Darcy Seaton – Edmonton reporter
Dan Shulman – March Madness on TSN studio analyst. Also featured in Sportscentre segments. (Former Toronto Blue Jays, ''NHL on TSN'' and ''NBA on TSN'' play-by-play; now play-by-play for ESPN, although TSN may simulcast games he calls)
Chris Schultz – ''CFL on TSN'' studio analyst
Rod Smith – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Milt Stegall – ''CFL on TSN'' studio analyst (substitute)
Glen Suitor – ''CFL on TSN'' colour analyst
Pat Tabler – Toronto Blue Jays colour analyst
Brent Wallace – Ottawa reporter
Bob Weeks – [Score Golf Television] host and golf analyst
Michael Whalen – Montreal reporter
Luke Wileman - Toronto FC play-by-play
Brian Williams – Olympic games host and ''CFL on TSN'' on site host
Cory Woron – ''SportsCentre'' anchor
Various reporters and analysts from ESPN (such as Chris Berman , Barry Melrose and Steve Phillips) may also be featured in certain segments.
Former
Thea Andrews (later a correspondent/Sub. Host/Weekend edition co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' from 2006 to 2009)
David Amber (now works at the NHL Network)
Dale Barnes (former soccer announcer)
Lisa Bowes (former Winnipeg and Calgary reporter; now a reporter at CTV Calgary)
Mark Bunting (former Winnipeg and Toronto reporter; now with BNN)
Peter Burwash (former Tennis analyst)
Ken Chilibeck (former Edmonton reporter)
Brendan Connor (now a sports anchor at Al-Jazeera English)
Gary Green (former ''NHL on TSN'' colour analyst; now an analyst at the NHL Network)
Lisa Hillary (now an anchor and reporter at Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia)
Jim Hughson (former ''NHL on TSN'' and Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play; now ''Hockey Night in Canada'' play-by-play on CBC)
Teresa Kruze (former ''Sportsdesk'' anchor; now an anchor and reporter at CTVglobemedia's 24-hour news channel based in Toronto, CP24)
Robyn Matsumoto (former TSN Maritimes reporter)
Pierre McGuire – (former colour analyst / studio analyst for the ''NHL on TSN'' and World Junior Hockey Championships; now a hockey analyst for NBC Sports and Versus)
Wray Morrison (former Regina reporter; now at CKOM)
Leif Pettersen (former ''CFL on TSN'' colour analyst; deceased)
Paul Romanuk (former ''NHL on TSN'' play-by-play; now a freelance sportscaster in London, England)
Chris Sedens (former ''Sportsdesk'' anchor, now with KNX (AM))
Mike Toth (former ''Sportsdesk'' anchor and ''Baseball Tonight'' host)
Ray Turnbull (Former Curling on TSN colour analyst)
Jim Van Horne (former ''Sportsdesk'' anchor and ''NHL on TSN'' studio host; now an anchor at the NHL Network)
Alex J. Walling (former TSN Halifax/Atlantic Canada reporter)
John Wells (former ''CFL on TSN'' play-by-play, ''NHL on TSN'' studio host; now retired)
Original programmes
''CFL on TSN'' – Live coverage of CFL games with Dave Randorf in studio and a panel joining him to analyze the games – Jock Climie, Matt Dunigan and Chris Schultz. Friday broadcasts are known as ''Friday Night Football''
''Curling on TSN'' - Live coverage of the Canadian Curling Association, Continental Cup of Curling, the TSN Skins Game, the World Curling Championships, and Olympic Curling.
''In this Corner'' – The latest news and reports from world of Boxing with Darren Dutchyshen and Russ Anber
''
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series'' - Live coverage of select NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races
''NHL on TSN'' – Live coverage of NHL games
''Off The Record'' - talk show featuring various personalities discussing the latest sports headlines with host Michael Landsberg
''SportsCentre'' – Flagship news show on the network
''TSN Profile'' – Biographical portrait of various sports personalities
''TSN The Reporters'' – Sunday roundtable debate that examines the issues making headlines with Dave Hodge and featuring top Canadian Sports journalists
''That's Hockey'' – All the latest news and reports from the National Hockey League with Gino Reda
''TSN Skins Game'' – Annual curling bonspiel
Toronto Raptors Basketball – About 20 games a year. Produced by NBA TV Canada
Former programmes
Vancouver Grizzlies Basketball (1995–2001)
Montreal Expos Baseball (1985–1999, 2001)
Toronto Blue Jays Baseball (1984–2009)
TSN HD
150px|rightTSN HD is a
high definition simulcast of TSN that launched on August 15, 2003. TSN HD airs widescreen and high-definition feeds of sporting events when available. On September 25, 2006, SportsCentre transitioned to HD, airing high definition highlights of sporting events when possible, adding even more high definition content to the channel.
TSN.ca
The Sports Network launched their website
TSN.ca on October 1, 1995.
International distribution
Jamaica – distributed on
Flow Cable systems.
Bahamas – distributed on
Cable Bahamas systems.
References
12.AFL and ESPN(TSN)in U.S./Canada TV Rights Deal.
13.TV coverage returns to TSN and ESPN.
External links
TSN
TSN HD
Category:Bell Media
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1984
Category:CTV Sports
Category:Joint ventures
Category:Toronto Raptors broadcasters
fr:The Sports Network
ko:스포츠 네트워크
it:TSN (rete televisiva)
ja:The Sports Network
simple:The Sports Network
fi:The Sports Network