Winnipeg's new CEBL team started up. They drew a good crowd to their home opener which they won, a lower bowl sellout at Canada Life Centre. I was there and it was a very exciting evening capped off with a win by the home team.
But what the CEBL is doing exceptionally well for a smaller pro league is getting their product out to a mass audience. They have a TSN game of the week, and all games are available on TSN+ (which I access through my smart TV so it's like watching anything else on TV, no computer or tablet fidgeting/casting required). The games are really well done, they have some well known broadcasters like Chuck Swirsky and Rod Black calling games. My son likes the CEBL so he puts the games to keep an eye on what's going on while he does other stuff. But wouldn't you know it, I often become intrigued by the action, and end up sitting down to watch.
Sometimes I wonder if smaller leagues get too captivated by the thought of some meager dollars that come their way with obscure streaming services (One Soccer, CHL TV, AHL TV, etc.) instead of chasing a broader audience through a mainstream broadcaster. There has to be a lot of value to the CEBL in having all their games available to anyone with a TSN subscription (which has to be the vast majority of speaking sports fans at least in English Canada, not sure what the RDS situation is). At the same time, good on TSN for giving that kind of exposure to a fledgling Canadian league.
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