The Sports Network

• 1. The Labatt Launch

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  On the 1st of September 1984, The Sports Network began broadcasting from a small studio in Toronto. Labatt Brewing Company owned the new channel and hired Gordon Craig to lead operations. Craig had previously worked for CBC Sports before taking this role. The network launched as Action Canada Sports Network before changing its name shortly after. It started with roughly 400,000 subscribers who paid extra for premium cable packages. These early viewers bundled TSN with movie channels like First Choice and Superchannel. High costs limited growth during those first few years. Free-to-air broadcasts by CBC Television competed directly against the new service. Critics noted that the network struggled to find an audience beyond wealthy suburban households.

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• 2. Ownership Shifts And ESPN Entry

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  Labatt sold its broadcasting assets to NetStar Communications in 1995 following an acquisition by Interbrew. ESPN Inc. held about 30 percent of the new consortium while Canadian firms took up the rest. CRTC regulations prevented ESPN from launching its own separate Canadian sports network at that time. This minority stake became their alternative plan to enter the market. In 2000, CTV Inc. acquired the remaining shares after blocking attempts to sell NetStar to Canwest. Bell Globemedia formed later that year through a joint venture between Bell Canada and The Woodbridge Company. TSN moved its operations to CTV's Agincourt complex in Scarborough. Rogers Media eventually bought the competing channel CTV Sportsnet which had been forced to be sold due to ownership rules. Both networks shared the same building until 2008 when Sportsnet relocated to downtown Toronto. Personalities on both sides joked about crossing the parking lot to work for the other network.

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• 3. Digital Feeds And Regional Expansion

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  TSN launched its first high definition simulcast on the 15th of August 2003 during a CFL game between Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. A power failure delayed the broadcast to August 16 but the technology remained intact. By 2008, the network operated TSN2 as an overflow channel similar to ESPN2. Three additional channels named TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5 arrived in September 2014 to coincide with the network's 30th anniversary. These feeds allowed regional coverage of teams like Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators. Stewart Johnston described the expansion as important evolution for efficient use of sports properties. Critics viewed the loss of national NHL rights to Rogers as a catalyst for this move. Bell executives stated that the five-channel service would cost the same rate as TSN and TSN2 combined. Some providers including Shaw Cable charged extra fees despite these claims. Videotron held out until October 2014 before agreeing to carry the new feeds.

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• 4. The Hockey Rights Battle

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  From 1987 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2014, TSN held national cable rights to broadcast the National Hockey League. The league's secondary rightsholder status ended when Rogers Communications secured a twelve-year contract starting in 2014-15. CTVglobemedia attempted to strike a similar exclusive deal worth $1.4 billion over ten years in 2006 but failed. Bob McKenzie explained via Twitter posts that TSN aimed to remain THE source for all things hockey through analysis programs and regional coverage. The network now airs sixty games per season for Winnipeg Jets on TSN3. Twenty-six games air annually for Toronto Maple Leafs on TSN4. Sixty Ottawa Senators games run each season on TSN5. These regional contracts began in the 2014-15 season following the loss of national rights. TSN also holds rights to Hockey Canada tournaments including the Allan Cup and Centennial Cup.

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• 5. A Diverse Sports Portfolio

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  TSN broadcasts Canadian Football League games since 1987 with exclusive rights to the Grey Cup. The channel signed a six-year media rights extension in November 2019 set to expire in 2026. Coverage includes university football playoffs like the Hardy Trophy and Vanier Cup championship before these moved elsewhere. Basketball rights split between TSN and Sportsnet due to league management by MLSE. TSN aired Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals which drew an average of 7.7 million viewers. Soccer rights expanded to include Major League Soccer matches involving Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC starting in 2011. FIFA World Cup rights spanned from 2015 to 2022 covering both men's and women's tournaments. Curling Canada's Season of Champions series runs through 2029 featuring the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Montana's Brier. Olympic coverage began in 1988 making TSN the first pay television channel globally to broadcast winter games.

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