https://3downnation.com/2026/01/14/cfl-sets-start-of-2026-season-as-self-imposed-deadline-for-new-broadcast-deal/

Well, same ****, different year. The CFL screwed itself 100 times over by going to a single game provider in 2008. The other networks basically said, Eff You. Now, they're stuck with a shitty provider who chronically underpays because they can do what they want. And a former TSN president negotiating with his old company?? What good can come from that?

The problem is you're making the CFL less accessible to fans by putting games on an obscure platform... it's a risk and sure they get a big payout now but what if that doesn't last?

My opinion the biggest thing the cfl needs is a grass roots effort to get support in all cities. Until they do that the league will always be on the brink of disaster.

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

You know what i would love to see? And option to buy just cfl games ans then I could watch cfl and only cfl on whatever streaming service had that particular game.

The CFL could easily do this. This is exactly what the NFL does and holds it out as a separate product.

In general the inevitability here is the CFL being pressured to be a spring league as a TV property. And that kind of kills the existing business.

It’s the typical CFL story of chasing the sugar high unsustainably.

Skalbania, McNall, US expansion….

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

Actually one of the interesting things I read yesterday is the subscription fee for CFL on DAZN hasn't been set yet. It's not a given that you have to purchase their whole package, containing NFL, Soccer, etc... it's a very real possibility that there will be a cheaper "CFL Only" option. So we shall see... If it was like 5-10 bucks/month for just the CFL, then I might... Just to support the league and see what their product looks like.

There was a hint from Darren Cameron on the Handled Internally podcast yesterday that Wade is cooking something up for season ticket members. No details available but it was mentioned around the 9 minute mark of the podcast.

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

I can't share the link, but Luke Willson is all kinds of mad at us long time CFL fans.... Aka "potatoes" (... apparently....)

Lack of talent and charisma forces the guy into being a "jerk" to get any sort of attention. I read his post which was complete nonsense. I'd like to think the majority of CFL fans who watch on tv are part of the older demographics who do not engage in online trolling.

1 hour ago, Goalie said:

Also. Why is it hard to believe right now that we would maybe be trying the international route instead of the USA route right now? Is anyone paying attention to what’s going on there like at all? Canada as a whole is distancing ourselves from the USA.

I’ll bet cfl plus numbers showed a large number of international fans were watching.

Soooo the league is changing the rules and field because of International fans or because they are moving towards catering to an American fan......

20 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Lack of talent and charisma forces the guy into being a "jerk" to get any sort of attention. I read his post which was complete nonsense. I'd like to think the majority of CFL fans who watch on tv are part of the older demographics who do not engage in online trolling.

Soooo the league is changing the rules and field because of International fans or because they are moving towards catering to an American fan......

The sad thing is I think the league feels like rule changes will have a positive impact on their fanbase within Canada too.

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

The problem is you're making the CFL less accessible to fans by putting games on an obscure platform... it's a risk and sure they get a big payout now but what if that doesn't last?

My opinion the biggest thing the cfl needs is a grass roots effort to get support in all cities. Until they do that the league will always be on the brink of disaster.

Tbh, the move to tsn wasn't very different. Now, not every game was televised back then. But a lot of people said the same about CBC, at that point too they were on sportsnet and tsn and cbc.

as far as the TV deal goes, 0 fault for the league from me. They get to keep TSN money AND add this crazy amount from DAZN? For a league where half the teams are on the verge every single year, its too good to pass up.

Im sure the next TSN deal won't be as big, but the combination at that point of both will be silly. Not to mention if the games do well on DAZN, imagine the future growth potential if they want more games or exclusive broadcast rights.

The rule changes, are awful for the most part. A couple, like the time changes are good. I hope the league sees this and makes changes/moves back to OG rules quickly.

On that note, with the DAZN deal, the league won't be wanting to have a strong negative reaction from fans or too much inconsistency on the field for the first year. I could see them pushing some of the changes back further to have a better debut. You never get to make a 2nd first impression.

2 hours ago, coach17 said:

Sounds like something they may consider just to get some new people subscribing, much like TSN does with TSN+. You can watch all of TSN CFL games with some enhancements, minus the pregame stuff plus a couple of other sporting events for only $8.00 per month rather than the regular $29.95 to get all of TSN. For me it works perfectly because I'm not really interested in any of the other TSN programing.

I only watch tsn for cfl if I being honest

3 hours ago, Goalie said:

So if I’m reading this correctly people who already prob pay for Amazon or Netflix (I do that) are upset cfl games are on another service they don’t currently pay for? Cool story.

You can’t want change and for the cfl to be successful long term when you old geezers ;) die out then complain when they do things. Thats crazy talk. Thats not in my backyard stadium talk. This is what is needed and who is to say this will fail, maybe the cfl plus numbers suggest more international fans are watching than people think.

Also. Why is it hard to believe right now that we would maybe be trying the international route instead of the USA route right now? Is anyone paying attention to what’s going on there like at all? Canada as a whole is distancing ourselves from the USA.

I’ll bet cfl plus numbers showed a large number of international fans were watching.

I dont think you are far off the mark. International views occur as I know many over seas who view it

Also I know Brandon Collier who runs PPI Recruits in Europe uses it for a ways to get guys to be exposed to CFL ball and show there is a pro option outside of the NFL

I would also assume global players who have families outside n.america would be using this to watch games

Ya for what my useless opinion is worth, I'm starting to come around on this deal after reading more and watching In The Huddle yesterday. I think this is going to be good for the league.. good for the players... Good for recruiting if we can bump up the minimum salaries. And if the price point is reasonable, I might even sign up for CFL DAZN, if for no other reason than to support the league.

I only subscribe to TSN for the season, just for the bombers. So an additional streaming service fee sucks for more cost but otherwise changes nothing about how I watch games. I’m 40 years old, I imagine those younger than me don’t get TSN through cable either

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Tbh, the move to tsn wasn't very different. Now, not every game was televised back then. But a lot of people said the same about CBC, at that point too they were on sportsnet and tsn and cbc.

The difference is that tsn was one stop for games and every cable package had tsn as an option for a nominal price if it wasn't already included.

I mean the cash infusion is great but I ain't subscribing to another platform just for Saturday cfl games.

54 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

The difference is that tsn was one stop for games and every cable package had tsn as an option for a nominal price if it wasn't already included.

I mean the cash infusion is great but I ain't subscribing to another platform just for Saturday cfl games.

TSN wasn't very accessible until the mid-90's. It cost a lot. Even until the early 2010s had to buy a whole suite of garbage cable channels to get it unless you were a commercial buyer (basically a bar).

The reason why this is different though is that it's not adding games people can watch. It's putting games people can already watch on a really shitty streaming service (switched my own Sunday Ticket/Red Zone pack off DAZN to Shaw/Rogers because it was so glitchy). And making people who are maybe marginally interested in a Ottawa-Hamilton game in July have to try to find it instead of being able to have it running as the background in a lot of places and on a channel a lot of Canadians are already sitting on. It goes against everything you want in terms of marketing a sport that needs to grow, for the big cheque.

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by JuranBoldenRules

10 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

TSN wasn't very accessible until the mid-90's. It cost a lot. Even until the early 2010s had to buy a whole suite of garbage cable channels to get it unless you were a commercial buyer (basically a bar).

The reason why this is different though is that it's not adding games people can watch. It's putting games people can already watch on a really shitty streaming service (switched my own Sunday Ticket/Red Zone pack off DAZN to Shaw/Rogers because it was so glitchy). And making people who are maybe marginally interested in a Ottawa-Hamilton game in July have to try to find it instead of being able to have it running as the background in a lot of places and on a channel a lot of Canadians are already sitting on. It goes against everything you want in terms of marketing a sport that needs to grow, for the big cheque.

You guys that ***** & complain about everything. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it is to watch the CFL on its own streaming service in the US when it's not on CBS Sports? My son has given up watching as it really is annoying. He has no idea when the games are being played. This deal with CBS Sports only gave teams a hundred grand or so each season & is one of the leftovers of the ******* Randy Ambrosie screw up years. The DAZN deal will be easier for fans to subscribe to to find the games.

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

You guys that ***** & complain about everything. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it is to watch the CFL on its own streaming service in the US when it's not on CBS Sports? My son has given up watching as it really is annoying. He has no idea when the games are being played. This deal with CBS Sports only gave teams a hundred grand or so each season & is one of the leftovers of the ******* Randy Ambrosie screw up years. The DAZN deal will be easier for fans to subscribe to to find the games.

Well if they are willing to cut their TV ratings in Canada by likely a half to 2/3 on the Saturday game for a few thousand potential US viewers they are even dumber than we think.

They got one big cheque. Now Montreal and Toronto will only lose $12 million a year instead of 15.

The celebratory self back pats can’t go on too long.

8 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Well if they are willing to cut their TV ratings in Canada by likely a half to 2/3 on the Saturday game for a few thousand potential US viewers they are even dumber than we think.

They got one big cheque. Now Montreal and Toronto will only lose $12 million a year instead of 15.

The celebratory self back pats can’t go on too long.

They could get a tv deal for $2 billion & you'd find something to complain about. Like Toronto would lose $35 million instead of $25 mill. There's no way that TSN could be exclusive broadcast rights anymore. Things had to change. Tell me, since you seem to hate this deal so much, what would you have done? What kind of package would you have put together?

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by SpeedFlex27

15 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

They could get a tv deal for $2 billion & you'd find something to complain about. Like Toronto would lose $35 million instead of $25 mill. There's no way that TSN could be exclusive broadcast rights anymore. Things had to change. Tell me, since you seem to hate this deal so much, what would you have done? What kind of package would you have put together?

If a league like the CFL is going to stream, they better go all in on it. Playing 3 games a week on cable and 1 game a week behind a paywall is just about the dumbest setup to get uptake.

Can't compare to NHL or NFL selling individual games to Amazon or Netflix because those apps are ubiquitous....everyone has them. And they offer a lot. People buy the DAZN to watch one thing. So you need someone to care enough about the CFL's SNF to now download, subscribe, pay and keep finding it.

So yeah it will be nice for the families of the players in the US (who actually get ALL the games on DAZN), but that's not a driver of revenue. This actively makes it harder for Canadians, the people who watch the CANADIAN Football League, to watch games.

I don't dispute that the CFL is trying to exist in a broadcast environment in Canada that doesn't really support it's operation. There's two main broadcasters in Canada and they are both actively working to get out of producing live sports. Even more of a reason to actually take the gamble in a way that might work with a streaming partner.

But I truly don't believe the future board chair of Bell running the league today is working in best interests of the league.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by JuranBoldenRules

2 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

If a league like the CFL is going to stream, they better go all in on it. Playing 3 games a week on cable and 1 game a week behind a paywall is just about the dumbest setup to get uptake

I’d be curious now what percentage of TSN CFL viewers watch on cable vs stream through the app. For cable cutters TSN is a paywall too

6 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

If a league like the CFL is going to stream, they better go all in on it. Playing 3 games a week on cable and 1 game a week behind a paywall is just about the dumbest setup to get uptake.

Can't compare to NHL or NFL selling individual games to Amazon or Netflix because those apps are ubiquitous....everyone has them. And they offer a lot. People buy the DAZN to watch one thing. So you need someone to care enough about the CFL's SNF to now download, subscribe, pay and keep finding it.

So yeah it will be nice for the families of the players in the US (who actually get ALL the games on DAZN), but that's not a driver of revenue. This actively makes it harder for Canadians, the people who watch the CANADIAN Football League, to watch games.

I don't dispute that the CFL is trying to exist in a broadcast environment in Canada that doesn't really support it's operation. There's two main broadcasters in Canada and they are both actively working to get out of producing live sports. Even more of a reason to actually take the gamble in a way that might work with a streaming partner.

But I truly don't believe the future board chair of Bell running the league today is working in best interests of the league.

For now, the CFL has stability & increased revenues & that's alright.

Just now, blue85gold said:

I’d be curious now what percentage of TSN CFL viewers watch on cable vs stream through the app. For cable cutters TSN is a paywall too

Well TSN on cable has almost 9 million subscribers just in Canada....which doesn't mean people are always on TSN, but they have it. Then add the TSN+ people. TSN+ also has a lot more value than DAZN. They are kind of in active competition over NFL, but either way Bell gets paid. DAZN has 20 million subscribers in the ENTIRE WORLD with almost all of them in Western Europe.

It will be a lot of work to get people on DAZN for one CFL game a week.

DAZN app itself needs a lot of work. I did one season for NFL on there and switched back to my cable provider for Sunday Ticket/RedZone because there would be weeks that I couldn't get most of the streams on DAZN to work. CFL will just be one stream at least so maybe they can handle that easier.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by JuranBoldenRules

My contribution to a grassroots approach in building our league is hammering our 22 year old son to convert to the CFL from the NFL and hammering our 25 year old daughter just to take interest in CFL football. I’m not having much luck, I need a little more customized help from the league to catch the attention of this generation.

3 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

You guys that ***** & complain about everything. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it is to watch the CFL on its own streaming service in the US when it's not on CBS Sports? My son has given up watching as it really is annoying. He has no idea when the games are being played. This deal with CBS Sports only gave teams a hundred grand or so each season & is one of the leftovers of the ******* Randy Ambrosie screw up years. The DAZN deal will be easier for fans to subscribe to to find the games.

DAZN doesn't fix that problem. Your son will now be able to easily find 20% of the games. Big whoop!

Have they announced what the break down is between who is paying the 500 million? The reports keep saying DAZN this and that... what if Bell is paying 450 million and Dazn only 50 million or something along those lines? I'd be curious to know the breakdown.

Crave would have been a better option. At least more people have it.

57 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Crave would have been a better option. At least more people have it.

Crave is going to have some stuff a cording to the presser... And YouTube will be doing a lot of stuff as well.

On 2026-05-29 at 9:59 AM, Noeller said:

I can't share the link, but Luke Willson is all kinds of mad at us long time CFL fans.... Aka "potatoes" (... apparently....)

Quite the ego for being Russel Wilson's jock strap washer for three seasons.

On 2026-05-28 at 9:06 AM, Super Duper Negatron said:

An additional $3.5 million a year per team is a giant boost to sustainability, no? Sucks to have to pay for another service, but better than having no league.

It’s pretty typical of any sports league to have to pay for more than one service to get every games. Thats how you maximize money. Essentially the cost of acquiring all games went up for consumers and some of that increase is being passed to the league. Services will pay for right if it will drive subs.