It's about time, TSN finally refreshing the CFL broadcast. So far Thursday Night Football has a great look. Debut of new theme song to come, momentarily.

lol anyone else see this lame promotion by the Als!

https://twitter.com/MTLAlouettes/sta...52145008058369

Is that the best the marketing department could come up with?!

I don't see anything wrong with that. A good marketing department would have seen a need and they're trying to fill it. Somebody must have recognized that there was a market there. As the old saying goes, an empty seat makes no noise (nor generate revenue) I thought their helmet/logo by the month campaign was a good idea as well.

I would think the Commish is encouraging new ideas and this is certainly one. The teams from next? year on will be following a league business plan

Most young people now are getting accustomed to this type of thing. It's almost the live version of a Youtube clip. And then of course because it's the Als (the team equivalent of Rod Black at this time) comes the piling on.

Last year it was the Ti-Cats and the Art Briles affair and everyone piled on but then they get a new coach turn the season around sign Johnny Manziel and now they're the cat's meow (pardon the expression).

All in a day's work for the CFL.

CFL commish's dish on his league's big-picture vision
Ed Willes Vancouver Sun June 14, 2018

...

What he does with those opportunities remains to be seen but, in the here and now, one thing is clear: Ambrosie brings a new energy and a reformer’s zeal to a league that needed both. If his plan for the CFL actually works, so much the better.

“We have to build some strategies about creating more stability on the rosters,” he says. “Are we doing it well enough? Well, everything can be done better. I think if you start with that fundamental notion that good enough isn’t good enough, you set a higher expectation.”

Good enough isn’t good enough. That might be the league’s new motto.

...

As long as anyone can remember, the CFL has operated as nine, sometimes eight, separate fiefdoms under a weak, ineffectual king. The league office, such as it was, existed largely to maintain a presence in Toronto’s corporate community but failed to create a central authority for the league, a place that offered both a plan and a vision for all nine teams.

Ambrose is trying to change that. This off-season he toured the offices of the major North American sports leagues and was struck by the NBA’s model, pioneered by former commissioner David Stern in the 1980s.

“The NBA found 80 per cent of their business plan applied to every market, then they customized the last 20 per cent,” said Ambrosie. “We had nine plans and then there was the league plan. I said, no, there has to be one business plan.”

To that end, the league is now formulating a model that identifies the best business practices and metrics for measuring their success. Ottawa, for example, has succeeded in breaking down the wall between millennials and the CFL. How have they made their brand cool in the nation’s capital?

“Not everyone has to build their own widget,” says Ambrosie. “Maybe we can build one widget that applies to all teams.”

“The thing I like best is we live in a world today that’s in a state of disruption and that disruption is going to create opportunity,” Ambrosie said. “In that state of disruption there will be winners and losers.”

Decent if you live within 1 km of Molson Stadium, almost useless for anyone else.

Adidas out as CFL apparel sponsor after this season
By Drew Edwards and Justin Dunk
Posted on June 15, 2018 by Drew Edwards

The brand with the three stripes is moving on from the three-down league.

Adidas, the CFL’s official outfitter and licensing partner for the last two seasons, has informed the league that it will not be continuing in the role after the deal expires after the 2018 campaign.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league is working on finding a replacement for Adidas, who took over from Reebok to much fanfare in 2015.

“There is a constant evolution to our licensing deal and our sponsorship deals,” Ambrosie said in an interview this week. “We’re not at a place today where we’re going to talk openly about where we’re going but there are some exciting things happening in that area… with people other than Adidas.”

Adidas is the second-largest sports apparel manufacturer in the world behind Nike and is one of the most prominent brands in sports. The company sponsors close to 50 NFL players and is an official partner of the 2018 World Cup.

With Adidas departing, there are relatively few big-name options available to the CFL.

The NFL’s apparel rights are currently owned by Nike, a partnership that was recently extended until 2028. Under Armour supplies jerseys to a number of high profile U.S. college programs including Auburn, Notre Dame and UCLA. Reebok, who was the CFL’s apparel sponsor from 2003 until 2016, is owned by Adidas.

Landing a prominent brand could be critically important for the league. In addition to the importance of revenue from jersey sales and apparel to the individual teams, the lack of a major outfitter could make it harder for the league to get American players up to Canada.

A new apparel sponsor also increases the likelihood of a new uniform redesign next season. Adidas revamped the jerseys for all nine teams after taking over in 2016 and a new provider would be expected to put its own stamp on the league’s look.

“Adidas has been a great partner. They’re really cool people and we love their brand, love their apparel and their shoes,” Ambrosie said. “But sometimes in business things change and you change with them so we’re going to continue to proudly wear our Adidas this coming season and then work on our plan for seasons beyond.”

http://3downnation.com/2018/06/15/ad...ponsor-season/

Yeah, i'm trying to think of who this is actually targeting. People hanging around McGill on a weekend?

[QUOTE=JHikka;8223738]Adidas out as CFL apparel sponsor after this season
By Drew Edwards and Justin Dunk
Posted on June 15, 2018 by Drew Edwards

The brand with the three stripes is moving on from the three-down league.

Adidas, the CFL’s official outfitter and licensing partner for the last two seasons, has informed the league that it will not be continuing in the role after the deal expires after the 2018 campaign.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league is working on finding a replacement for Adidas, who took over from Reebok to much fanfare in 2015.

“There is a constant evolution to our licensing deal and our sponsorship deals,” Ambrosie said in an interview this week. “We’re not at a place today where we’re going to talk openly about where we’re going but there are some exciting things happening in that area… with people other than Adidas.”

Adidas is the second-largest sports apparel manufacturer in the world behind Nike and is one of the most prominent brands in sports. The company sponsors close to 50 NFL players and is an official partner of the 2018 World Cup.

With Adidas departing, there are relatively few big-name options available to the CFL.

The NFL’s apparel rights are currently owned by Nike, a partnership that was recently extended until 2028. Under Armour supplies jerseys to a number of high profile U.S. college programs including Auburn, Notre Dame and UCLA. Reebok, who was the CFL’s apparel sponsor from 2003 until 2016, is owned by Adidas.

Landing a prominent brand could be critically important for the league. In addition to the importance of revenue from jersey sales and apparel to the individual teams, the lack of a major outfitter could make it harder for the league to get American players up to Canada.

A new apparel sponsor also increases the likelihood of a new uniform redesign next season. Adidas revamped the jerseys for all nine teams after taking over in 2016 and a new provider would be expected to put its own stamp on the league’s look.

“Adidas has been a great partner. They’re really cool people and we love their brand, love their apparel and their shoes,” Ambrosie said. “But sometimes in business things change and you change with them so we’re going to continue to proudly wear our Adidas this coming season and then work on our plan for seasons beyond.”

http://3downnation.com/2018/06/15/ad...ponsor-season/


I was really disappointed by Adidas when their uniforms came out in 2016 they were either very bland or just ugly when you see BC's uniforms. Hopefully Nike or Under armour can come in and bring something better. Personally I would like throwback unis for all team that showcase the great uniforms of the 70's and 80's.

CFL Football Operations team launches new Twitter account, website
CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — Canadian Football League (CFL) fans will be able to use some new sources this season to access information on video reviews in real time and learn more about the game they love anytime.

A new Twitter account, @CFLFootballOps, will deliver explanations for in-game officiating decisions made by the Command Centre, outline what the rules say about unusual plays, provide interesting stats and keep fans abreast of the latest news involving league decisions.

A new website, www.cfl.ca/football-operations will be a hub where fans can access instructional videos on what officials look for on various plays, information on player health and safety, updates on supplemental discipline and points of emphasis for this season. They will also be able to visit a storehouse of news releases and data on the three-down game.

“If you’ve ever wondered or debated, for example, whether the Command Centre ruled a pass incomplete because the receiver’s feet were out of bounds or because he was bobbling a pass, this will give you the answer,” said Darren Hackwood, the CFL’s Senior Director of Officiating. “As a league, we are in a constant conversation with our fans and the media and we’ve strived to share information. But this will allow us to streamline this aspect of our communications by giving fans and the media specific destinations for information on officiating and other football operations.”

Ryan Janzen, the CFL’s Senior Director of Football Operations, said this is an opportunity for fans to dive deep inside the decisions, rules and procedures that can affect the game they love.

“Our fans are very passionate and knowledgeable,” Janzen said. “Every time we feed that passion, and help them expand that knowledge, our league is that much stronger.”

average attendance for week 1 was 24,778 of the CFL season.
The bad weather in Calgary and Winnipeg definitely effected that. Will be interesting to see if the Argos can sell out the 20,000 seat configuration of BMO next week with the east side upper deck seats closed off. So far on ticketmaster.ca looks like they might possibly sell it out.

https://www1.ticketmaster.ca/toronto...00549EF480A0C5

CFL turns to social media to convert casual viewers into hardcore fans
Morgan Campbell Sports Reporter The Star.com June 13, 2018

On Monday the CFL announced a new partnership with Facebook that makes the social network the home of a new CFL pre-game show that will air on Thursday nights this summer. The move doesn’t settle the revenue question, but Litz says social media initiatives are a key element of the league’s long-term strategy to engage casual fans, who she says are typically younger and more diverse than hardcore CFL followers.

For this season, Litz says the 30-minute weekly Facebook broadcast, which aims to showcase each market’s local fan culture, will lead in to TSN’s pre-game show. It’s loosely modeled on ESPN’s College Gameday morning show, which visits a different campus each week, and places hosts on set amid frenzied spectators.

The goal, Litz says, is to use Facebook to expose casual fans to an in-stadium entertainment experience the league thinks they’ll enjoy. She says casual fans usually parachute in during the playoffs, accounting for the uptick in post-season TV viewership. Reaching part-time fans earlier in the season could help nudge them into the habit of watching CFL games, and inch them toward becoming ticket-buying customers.

Facebook doesn’t offer the CFL an all-access pass to younger audiences. A 2017 study by the analytics firm Forrester Research found that 34 percent of U.S. teenagers surveyed found that Facebook was “for old people.” But the same study found that three quarters of those teens had Facebook accounts, even if they used them sparingly.

Sports marketing professor Peter Widdis says a solid Facebook strategy could pay off for the CFL, even if the platform has flaws.

“Facebook matters because it’s a proven platform,” Widdis said. “You’re seeing Instagram and Snapchat grow with the younger audience, but Facebook is foundational.”

Last season CFL broadcasts averaged 610,666 viewers, according to CFLdb.ca. And while a Facebook pre-game show will likely draw an audience a fraction that size, Ryerson University sports marketing professor Cheri Bradish points out that streaming via Facebook gives the CFL and its sponsors valuable data about each viewer. So even if pregame show audience is composed of casual fans, the CFL quickly learns their other interests, and can leverage that information to enrich sponsorships or target potential hardcore fans.

“Christina Litz has always tried to push the boundaries with technology and try new things,” said Bradish, the sports marketing chair at the Ted Rogers School of Management. “(This partnership) allows you to go global and reach consumers in different markets. They’re starting to reach fans in other markets who might be a fan of a player in Toronto.”

This year Facebook will pay Major League Baseball up to $35 million to broadcast 25 games exclusively on its platforms. A Blue Jays-Royals game that streamed directly to Facebook drew a reported 6.8 million views worldwide, but that figure counts any user who spent at least three seconds watching the game. According to the Philadephia Inquirer, a Phillies game streamed on Facebook averaged between 65,000 and 85,000 concurrent viewers, a significant drop from the number who would typically watch on TV.

While the CFL has streamed preseason games on Facebook, Litz said the league has no plans to move regular season contests there. But she did say the CFL would consider using the social network to reach overseas markets its current broadcast deals don’t cover.

Corner Gas Animated announce awesome collaboration with the Saskatchewan Roughriders
BarDown Staff

Corner Gas was a Canadian television sitcom that took place in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan that ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, and now the cast and crew are back with a brand new series, Corner Gas Animated.

With the 2018 CFL season set to get underway on Thursday night and the Saskatchewan Roughriders opening their season at home on Friday night against the Toronto Argonauts, the Corner Gas team announced a new partnership with the Roughriders that will start as early as Friday.

The new series is set to make its CTV debut on Sunday, June 17, so the collaboration comes at a perfect time for both parties. In the new collaboration, the two Canadian icons band together to share Rider Pride as the show will include the cast cheering on the Riders at Mosaic Stadium, Rider t-shirts featuring the Corner Gas Animated characters which will be sold at the team store, as well as contests for fans to win tickets to Regina, a Roughriders home game, and Corner Gas Animated merchandise.

When Canadians think of Saskatchewan they think of the Roughriders and Corner Gas, so this should make for a fantastic collaboration. If you’re wondering just how much Corner Gas is admired in Saskatchewan, April 13, 2009, was declared “Corner Gas Day” by then-Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall.


https://i.imgur.com/sh9FZNn.jpg

I thought it was closer to 17K instead of 20K?

Has anyone seen Week 1 TV numbers for the CFL?

Haven't seen anything.

CFL Communications released the following relative numbers:

Source: https://twitter.com/CFL_PR/status/1009538240649547781

Looks like the breakdown was like this

Riders v Argos - 660,500
Ti-Cats v Stamps - 651,700
BC v Montreal - 547,600 (plus the RDS numers)
Edm v. Wpg - 481,000 (was actually a split number due to rain, but this was the average)
AVERAGE WK 1 - 585,200 up 11.7%

^That's way better than I thought. I figured the cable cutting trend and starting the season this early would hurt the numbers. I can see TNF pulling some good numbers once people see it for the first time.

^ Edm Wpg is surprisingly low but I guess the epic delays hurt viewership. I was at the game for the first half but I was asleep in bed when the second half started.

Early start to the season gives CFL a TV ratings bump
Drew Edwards 3downnation June 21, 2018

Those numbers – and the early returns in 2018 – are good news for both the CFL and TSN as the industry deals with the seismic changes brought on by cord cutting that has seen as many as one in four people cancel their cable services. TSN recently announced a $24.99 a month streaming package that allows customers to watch the network online without a cable package for the first time.