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The Sports Network
TSN Logo.svg
Country Canada
Headquarters Bell Media Agincourt, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario
Programming
Language(s) English
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs)
4K (UHDTV) (part-time, selected broadcasts)
Ownership
Owner CTV Specialty Television
(Bell Media 70%/ESPN Inc. 30%) (Branding licensed from Disney Branded Television)
Sister channels TSN2
TSN3
TSN4
TSN5
TSN on CTV
RDS
RDS2
RDS Info
History
Launched September 1, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-09-01)
Availability
Streaming media
TSN Direct (Canadian subscribers only)

The Sports Network (TSN) is a popular Canadian TV channel. It broadcasts sports in English. TSN is owned by CTV Specialty Television. This company is partly owned by Bell Media (70%) and ESPN Inc. (30%). ESPN is part of The Walt Disney Company.

TSN started in 1984. It was created by the Labatt Brewing Company. TSN is the biggest sports channel in Canada. It makes a lot of money from showing sports. TSN broadcasts from Toronto, Ontario. Stewart Johnston has been the president of TSN since 2010. TSN shows live games, sports talk shows, and other original programs.

How TSN Started and Grew

The Early Days of Sports TV

TSN logo (original)
TSN's first logo, used until 2001.

TSN was approved on April 2, 1984. It was first called the Action Canada Sports Network. It officially launched on September 1, 1984, as The Sports Network (TSN). Gordon Craig, who used to work for CBC Sports, helped start the network.

TSN made a deal with ESPN. ESPN was a new sports channel in the U.S. at the time. This deal allowed TSN to show more sports programs. In its early years, TSN was a special premium channel. You had to pay extra for it. It was often bundled with movie channels. This made it harder to get many viewers.

To become more popular, TSN wanted to show NHL games. The CBC also showed NHL games. With some help, TSN made a deal with the NHL. This allowed TSN to broadcast games on cable TV.

By 1987, TSN had over one million subscribers. The channel wanted to be available to even more people. They asked to be part of the regular "basic cable" package. This request was approved. This meant many more people could watch TSN.

In 1991, TSN started showing the IIHF World Junior Championship. This tournament is also known as the "World Juniors". TSN's coverage helped make this event very popular in Canada. It became a big holiday tradition.

New Owners and More Channels

In 1995, TSN got new owners. Labatt had to sell it because of rules about foreign ownership. A group called NetStar Communications bought it. ESPN Inc. owned about 30% of NetStar. ESPN couldn't start its own channel in Canada. So, buying a part of TSN was their way to enter the Canadian market. TSN also launched its website, TSN.ca, in 1995.

In 1997, TSN was allowed to have an "alternate feed." This meant they could show different programs in certain areas. This was useful for games that couldn't be shown everywhere.

In 2000, CTV Inc. bought the Canadian shares of NetStar. CTV Inc. later became part of Bell Canada in 2001. After this, TSN moved its offices to CTV's main building in Toronto.

TSN started to look more like ESPN. They got a new logo similar to ESPN's. Their main sports news show, SportsDesk, became SportsCentre. This was like ESPN's SportsCenter. The government didn't want TSN to be called "ESPN Canada." They felt it would make it seem like ESPN had too much control.

In 2001, TSN launched more digital channels. These included a Canadian version of ESPN Classic, the NHL Network (for hockey), and WTSN (for women's sports). On August 15, 2003, TSN became one of the first channels in Canada to be available in high definition (HD).

In 2008, TSN launched a new 24-hour channel called TSN2. This channel was like ESPN2 in the U.S. It showed extra programs that couldn't fit on the main TSN channel.

Bell Takes Over and New Ways to Watch

On September 10, 2010, Bell Canada announced it would fully own CTVglobemedia, including TSN. This deal was completed on April 1, 2011. The new company was named Bell Media.

TSN also started its own radio network called TSN Radio. The first station launched in Toronto in 2011. Bell Media already had other sports radio stations. They started changing some of these to the TSN Radio brand.

In 2011, TSN got the rights to broadcast games for the new Winnipeg Jets hockey team. They even created a special channel called TSN Jets for these games.

In 2011, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications bought most of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). MLSE owns teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. This deal meant that TSN and Rogers' Sportsnet would have more control over showing these teams' games.

In March 2014, TSN launched TSN Go. This service allowed people who subscribe to TSN to watch the channels online or on a mobile app. It was later renamed to just TSN.

Changes in Hockey Rights and More Channels

In November 2013, Rogers Communications made a big deal. They got the exclusive national rights to show the NHL games for 12 years. This meant TSN would no longer show national NHL games.

This was a big change for TSN. However, TSN still had rights to other major hockey events. These included the IIHF World Junior Championships and the Canadian Football League (CFL). TSN also kept the rights to show regional games for some NHL teams, like the Maple Leafs.

On May 6, 2014, TSN announced it would launch three new channels: TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5. This brought the total to five main TSN channels. This expansion allowed TSN to show even more sports events at the same time. For example, they could show multiple games from a tennis tournament. These new channels also started showing regional NHL games.

In 2016, TSN started showing some events in 4K ultra HD. This included games for the Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs.

In 2018, TSN launched "TSN Direct." This was a way for people to subscribe to TSN channels online without a cable TV package. By 2022, it was simply called TSN. In 2023, TSN launched "TSN+." This is another online service that offers even more sports content, like specific golf and racing events.

TSN Channels You Can Watch

TSN Regional Feeds
Map of TSN's regional feeds

TSN has multiple channels. This means they can show many different sports at once. When you subscribe to TSN, you usually get access to all these channels.

On August 25, 2014, TSN launched its new setup. The original TSN channel was split into four regionally-focused channels: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5. All five channels are available across Canada. However, your main TSN channel will usually be the one for your region.

These channels often show the same big sports events. But they can also show different games or studio shows. This is especially true for regional NHL games.

Here are the main TSN channels:

TSN also has a French-language sister channel called RDS.

What You Can Watch on TSN

TSN shows many live sports events. It also has sports highlight shows, talk shows, and documentaries.

Some popular shows include:

  • Motoring: A show about new cars, reviews, and test drives.
  • SportsCentre: The main daily news show with the latest sports news and highlights.
  • That's Hockey: A daily show focused on hockey news.

TSN also has a deal with ESPN. This means they can show many ESPN programs. These include shows like Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, and 30 for 30 documentaries.

In 2012, TSN made its own documentary series called Engraved on a Nation. It focused on stories about the Grey Cup and the CFL.

Hockey on TSN

TSN is a major channel for ice hockey in Canada.

  • It shows games from Hockey Canada tournaments, like the Allan Cup and Centennial Cup.
  • It also broadcasts IIHF tournaments, including the Men's and Women's World Championships, and the very popular IIHF World Junior Championships.
  • TSN renewed its deal with Hockey Canada until the 2033–34 season.
  • Since 2021, TSN also shows 30 regular-season games from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the Memorial Cup.

TSN used to have the national cable rights for the NHL. But in 2014, Rogers Communications got those rights. However, TSN still shows regional NHL games for four teams:

These games can only be watched in the teams' local areas.

Football on TSN

TSN has been showing Canadian Football League (CFL) games since 1987. Since 2008, TSN has been the only channel to show all CFL games, including the Grey Cup. TSN and the CFL have a deal that lasts until 2025.

Basketball on TSN

TSN shares the rights to show National Basketball Association (NBA) games and Toronto Raptors games with Sportsnet. This is because the Raptors are owned by MLSE, which Bell (TSN's owner) partly owns.

TSN showed the 2019 NBA Finals when the Toronto Raptors won their first championship. The final game was watched by 7.7 million people, making it the most-watched NBA game in Canadian history.

Soccer on TSN

TSN started showing Major League Soccer (MLS) games in 2011. They showed games involving Canadian teams like Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. In 2023, most MLS games moved to a new streaming service.

TSN also got the rights to show FIFA soccer tournaments from 2015 to 2022. This included the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup which was hosted by Canada. In 2021, TSN also got the rights to show games from La Liga, a Spanish soccer league.

Other Sports on TSN

Images for kids

  • TSN Regional Feeds

    Map of TSN's regional feeds

  • TSN logo (original)

    TSN's first logo, used until 2001.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: The Sports Network para niños

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