TSN2 approved

[VANFLAMESFAN]

^^^ I still don't get the reasoning that people are so upset about TSN showing Leafs games. They show them regionally, not nationally. You get your Flames games regionally, do you not?? TSN just bought the right to Leafs, Sportsnet bought the rights to the Sens, Oil, Flames and Canucks. I don't know why people get all up in a tizzy when TSN does something and automatically accuse them of being pro-Leafs.

If we're talking about the coverage they get on SportsCentre and other stuff, that's a totally different issue, but in terms of broadcasting games, I don't see the need to get all upset. Leaf regional broadcasts are show exactly like Flames games, either on their main provider or on PPV.

[fredr123]

So how many months after August 29, 2008 will I have to wait for Shaw to start offering this "new" channel and how much extra will it cost me?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

^^^ I still don't get the reasoning that people are so upset about TSN showing Leafs games. They show them regionally, not nationally. You get your Flames games regionally, do you not?? TSN just bought the right to Leafs, Sportsnet bought the rights to the Sens, Oil, Flames and Canucks. I don't know why people get all up in a tizzy when TSN does something and automatically accuse them of being pro-Leafs.

If we're talking about the coverage they get on SportsCentre and other stuff, that's a totally different issue, but in terms of broadcasting games, I don't see the need to get all upset. Leaf regional broadcasts are show exactly like Flames games, either on their main provider or on PPV.

Have you ever watched Sportscenter, or visited the TSN web-site? It is wall-to-wall leafs coverage. A leafs practice gets more attention than blockbuster Flames news.

Count the number of Leafs items on this page (and it is only August):

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by The Goon

I'll be excited when TSN8:The Ocho is approved.

[Jason14h]

I never got why TSN plays stuff like Strongman competitions and yachting instead of the CHL, AHL, or even NCAA college football. You'd have to think that those events would easily outdraw some of the garbage they play..

Because they:
#1) Are sports with exclusive rights that TSN doesn't hold
#2) Expensive to buy the rights to show
#3) Don't outdraw the events like Poker

Seriously though, TSN shows whatever will make them the most money (98% of the time) At times when most people aren't watching TV anyways (When stuff like Strongman is on) it is cheaper to show these programs then pay for something like football, etc

[Jason14h]

So how many months after August 29, 2008 will I have to wait for Shaw to start offering this "new" channel and how much extra will it cost me?

I would guess it's included in their sports package going forward with RDS, Hockey Classics, SNET (3), etc. Maybe they will add a buck to this package.

Actually, that would make WAY to much sense for Shaw. They will probably package with Womens Network HD and the Fireplace Show!

[fredr123]

For those on Shaw, did you get the alternate TSN feed during this last year's playoffs? Can you recall any other time when it was actually used? If you did get the alternate feed, did you subscribe to any other sports packages over and above the basic digital offering?

I honestly can't recall if I was able to watch it this year. When I had Starchoice with jolinar we got way more channels (TSN and Sportsnet HD) without having to pay extra. I would bet dollars to donuts (Krispy Kreme on the mind) that TSN2 will come with a fee. Sigh...

[Maritime Q-Scout]

The biggest problem with showing NCAA, CIS, CHL, etc is the fact that it's expensive to show with low ratings.

You have to pay for the entire production crew, plus the guys calling the game, and travel to BFN.

Those sports are best covered by the regional stations (like Eastlink, or Rogers Cable) due to the ease of getting volunteers, lower wages for the crew, getting relatively no-names to call the events. And the guys calling the game often know more about what's going on than the major network crew, as they're "closer to the action" sort of speak. Dan Robertson and Paul MacDonald forgot more about the Acadie-Bathurt Titan and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles than Mike Toth or John Druce will ever know. I don't mean that as a knock against Toth or Druce, just that their platform is much different.

To further put that in perspective, in 2002 the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles faced off against CHL leading Acadie-Bathurst Titan on a national broadcast. Later that year in the playoffs the Eagles squared off against the Halifax Mooseheads in the second round of the playoffs on Eastlink Television, the local cable provider throughout most of Nova Scotia and PEI. The game on Eastlink (shown only in parts of NS and PEI, and only to homes that have Eastlink cable, not Star-Choice, Bell-ExpressVu, or another cable provider) outdrew the SportsNet broadcast.

So why would national stations put the money into regional sports? It's not cost effective, espeically when they can pay peanuts for poker, or loop their highlight shows (I know I hate Saturdays as the SportsCentre loop stops at 11am rather than 1pm AST).

So look forward to more SportsCentre, poker, and tape-delayed games from overseas. Not that I'm complaining mind you (well I am about the poker, but love the ability to show more live sports, and the hopes of tape-delay from overseas)