TSN Unveils CFL Broadcast Details Sports Programming / TSN Posted by RAD on Jun 18, 2007 - 03:00 PM TSN continues to raise the bar for football broadcasts in Canada with its most comprehensive CFL broadcast campaign ever. The 2007 Wendy's CFL on TSN season features a 50-game slate available for the first time ever on multiple distribution platforms - TSN, TSN HD and TSN Broadband. All 50 regular season games will air on TSN and TSN Broadband, with a minimum of 35 broadcasts televised in High Definition on TSN HD. The new season gets underway on Thursday, June 28 with an opening night doubleheader featuring B.C @ Toronto at 6:30 p.m. ET immediately followed by Winnipeg @ Edmonton (see "Broadcast Schedule" below). The second match-up will see 17-year CFL veteran quarterback Danny McManus make his TSN debut as a game analyst alongside Rod Black (see "Broadcast Team" below). Fans will also witness the debut of TSN's new and improved score bug (see "New Production Elements" below). The CFL on TSN broadcasts continue to grow in popularity, as evidenced by the past 2 seasons - the most successful CFL seasons in network history. In fact, the average audience of the 2005 and 2006 seasons is nearly double TSN's average audience throughout the 1990s (376,000 viewers vs. 189,000). TSN has been televising CFL games since 1986 and announced last year a new 5-year broadcast partnership beginning in 2008 that provides TSN with broadcast and digital rights for the CFL's entire 77-game package annually, including all regular season games, divisional playoff matches and the Grey Cup. The CFL on TSN is an original TSN production with Jon Hynes and Mitch Kerzner as Producers, Paul Hemming and Andy Bouyoukos as Directors and Jim Marshall as Executive Producer of Events. Rick Chisholm is Vice-President of Programming and Production and Phil King is President of TSN. Broadcast Schedule All 50 of TSN's games this season will be available for the first time ever on TSN Broadband at www.TSN.ca, with an unprecedented 35 match-ups available in High Definition on TSN HD. In addition to the opening night doubleheader on June 28, highlights of TSN's schedule include two Grey Cup rematches featuring Montreal vs. B.C. (Aug. 31 and Sept. 9), the traditional Labour Day Classic Weekend with Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan on September 2, a rematch of the Labour Day game between provincial rivals Calgary @ Edmonton on September 7 and the Hall of Fame Game featuring Winnipeg @ Hamilton on September 15. Also in the mix are 13 games featuring the Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions and 11 doubleheaders (See complete broadcast schedule below). The popular weekly staple Friday Night Football returns for an 11th season, with a minimum of one game every Friday night throughout the regular season. Twenty of the 22 FNF games will be available in HD. Broadcast Team The CFL on TSN welcomes a 'rookie' to its broadcast team. Only this 'rookie' is no stranger to the game, having won 3 Grey Cup titles over a 17-year career. Danny McManus joins the TSN team as an analyst for 28 games, 16 of which will be alongside Rob Black in the broadcast booth. For the other 12, McManus will be on the field as a sideline analyst while Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor call the action from above. This marks the first time TSN has positioned an analyst at field level for a CFL game. McManus will roam the sidelines and provide insight from a player's perspective, bringing viewers closer to the action than ever before. Cuthbert returns as the primary voice of TSN's CFL coverage, calling 34 games this season alongside Suitor, TSN's long-time game analyst. Last season, the two won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Play-By-Play or Analyst for their work together on the CFL on TSN broadcasts. Brian Williams returns as on-site host and will continue to conduct in-depth features and reports with key newsmakers from around the league. Dave Randorf returns as host of the TSN Studio Show alongside the always informative - and entertaining - analysts Chris Schultz, Jock Climie and Hall-of-Famer Matt Dunigan, who last November was named one of the TSN Top 50 CFL Players of the modern era. New Production Elements The CFL on TSN will have a slightly new look this year as the traditional score bug changes format and becomes a horizontal bar across the bottom of the television screen. The new score bug position will provide viewers with an unobstructed view of the ball, as the CFL has a high percentage of passing plays and punts. In previous years, the score bug was positioned at the top left side of the TV screen. Also new this season, TSN's virtual first down marker can also be seen in High Definition on TSN HD. CFL on TSN Contests * Wendy's Kick for a Million - The award winning contest returns for a 3rd season, and its popularity continues to soar. Last year, Wendy's Kick for a Million attracted 1.5 million total entries, up from 200,000 in 2005. The 2007 campaign features an exciting new twist for fans. Details will be announced when the campaign launches August 3. * Purolator Tackle Hunger - The program returns for a 5th season, exclusively on the CFL on TSN. Every time a quarterback is sacked, his weight in food is donated to the home team's local food bank. TSN analyst Chris Schultz is once again the spokesperson for the program. Last season, Purolator Tackle Hunger generated more than 248,000 pounds of food for local food banks across Canada, a 25 per cent increase in donations over 2005. Since its launch, the program has collected more than 1 million pounds of food. * Friday Night Gladiators - This year marks the 6th season TSN game analyst Glen Suitor will select one player as the game's Gladiator following each Friday Night Football telecast. A Friday Night Gladiator is a player who puts it all on the line for his team by displaying leadership, toughness and a willingness to sacrifice. At the end of the CFL season, Suitor will name his 'Ultimate Gladiator' for the year. Last year it was Saskatchewan Roughriders' offensive lineman Gene Makowsky who took the honour. TSN.ca and TSN Broadband TSN.ca's coverage this season features a new interactive CFL Roundtable, enabling fans to submit questions to members of the CFL on TSN panel, who will in turn provide answers on TSN Broadband. In addition to the games, TSN Broadband will also feature game highlights, extended player interviews, analysis and CFL features. TSN analyst Matt Dunigan, a 14-year CFL quarterback before joining the network in 1999, makes his TSN.ca debut as a columnist, with a weekly feature titled 'Monday Morning Quarterback', where he will break down the previous week's action from a QB's perspective. Chris Schultz returns to provide insight and analysis from around the CFL in a weekly column. Schultz will also put his prognosticating skills to the test once again in his popular 'Schultz Against The World' feature, where fans predict the outcome of each week's games against 'The Big Man' himself. ESPN Classic With the CFL season quickly approaching, ESPN Classic takes viewers down memory lane with CFL Kickoff Weekend on June 23 and June 24. Fans will be treated to 8 exciting match-ups from years past. The schedule is as follows: * June 23 at 12 noon ET - Montreal @ Ottawa (July 1, 2005) - The Alouettes fall victim to a huge Renegades comeback as the game culminates in an exciting finish. * June 23 at 2 p.m. ET - B.C. @ Montreal (October 16, 2005) - In a late season thriller, the Alouettes served notice that their slow start to the 2005 campaign was merely a blip on the radar, as they hold on to edge the Lions 46-44. They would eventually go on to the Grey Cup, where they lost in a classic to Edmonton. * June 23 at 4 p.m. ET - Montreal @ Winnipeg (July 22, 2005) - The Alouettes and Blue Bombers engage in a high scoring see-saw battle with Winnipeg winning 51-46. * June 23 at 6 p.m. ET - Calgary @ Winnipeg (September 17, 1988) - A look back in the TSN time machine to this classic 1988 game. * June 24 at 12 noon ET - Calgary @ Edmonton (September 10, 2004) - A very lopsided installment of the 'Battle of Alberta', with the Eskimos putting on a show. * June 24 at 2 p.m. ET - Toronto @ Winnipeg (October 16, 2005) - The Argos overcome an 11-3 first quarter deficit to come back and win the game. * June 24 at 4 p.m. ET - B.C. @ Winnipeg (October 14, 1990) - Doug Flutie shines at quarterback for the Lions in one of his early CFL games. Flutie would go on to be named the No. 1 player on the TSN Top 50 CFL Players list. * June 24 at 6 p.m. ET - Grey Cup Revisited 1996: Toronto vs. Edmonton (November 24, 1996) - Doug Flutie's MVP performance propels the Argos to victory in a Grey Cup classic at a snow-filled Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. TSN's 2007 CFL Broadcast Schedule June *Thursday, June 28 B.C. @ Toronto 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday, June 28 Winnipeg @ Edmonton 9:30 p.m. ET *Friday, June 29 Saskatchewan @ Montreal 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7 p.m. ET) July *Thursday, July 5 Montreal @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) Friday, July 6 Edmonton @ B.C. 10:30 p.m. ET *Sunday, July 8 Calgary @ Saskatchewan 7 p.m. ET Thursday, July 12 Calgary @ Toronto 7 p.m. ET *Friday, July 13 Edmonton @ Winnipeg 7 p.m. ET *Friday, July 13 B.C. @ Saskatchewan 10 p.m. ET *Saturday, July 14 Montreal @ Hamilton 7 p.m. ET *Thursday, July 19 Winnipeg @ Montreal 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7 p.m. ET) Thursday, July 19 Hamilton @ B.C. 10:30 p.m. ET *Friday, July 20 Saskatchewan @ Edmonton 9 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 8:30 p.m. ET) Thursday, July 26 Montreal @ Toronto 7 p.m. ET *Friday, July 27 Hamilton @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, July 28 Edmonton @ Saskatchewan 3:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 3 p.m. ET) August *Thursday, August 2 Toronto @ Montreal 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7 p.m. ET) Thursday, August 2 Saskatchewan @ B.C. 10:30 p.m. ET *Friday, August 3 Winnipeg @ Hamilton 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7 p.m. ET) *Thursday, August 9 Calgary @ Montreal 7:30 p.m. ET *Friday, August 10 Saskatchewan @ Toronto 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, August 10 Winnipeg @ B.C. 10:30 p.m. ET *Friday, August 17 B.C. @ Calgary 10 p.m. ET *Friday, August 24 Toronto @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) *Friday, August 31 Montreal @ B.C. 10:30 p.m. ET September *Sunday, September 2 Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan 4 p.m. ET *Friday, September 7 Calgary @ Edmonton 9 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 8:30 p.m. ET) *Sunday, September 9 B.C. @ Montreal 1 p.m. ET *Sunday, September 9 Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg 4 p.m. ET *Friday, September 14 Montreal @ Edmonton 9 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 8:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, September 15 Saskatchewan @ Calgary 4 p.m. ET *Saturday, September 15 Winnipeg @ Hamilton (HOF) 7 p.m. ET *Friday, September 21 Calgary @ Hamilton 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7 p.m. ET) Sunday, September 23 Edmonton @ Montreal 1 p.m. ET *Sunday, September 23 Winnipeg @ Toronto 4 p.m. ET *Friday, September 28 Toronto @ Edmonton 9 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 8:30 p.m. ET) October *Friday, October 5 B.C. @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) *Saturday, October 6 Edmonton @ Toronto 3 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 2:30 p.m. ET) *Friday, October 12 Montreal @ Toronto 7:30 p.m. ET *Sunday, October 14 Saskatchewan @ Hamilton 1 p.m. ET Sunday, October 14 Winnipeg @ Calgary 4 p.m. ET *Friday, October 19 Calgary @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, October 20 Edmonton @ B.C. 10 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 9:30 p.m. ET) *Sunday, October 21 Hamilton @ Saskatchewan 3 p.m. ET *Friday, October 26 B.C. @ Hamilton 6:30 p.m. ET *Friday, October 26 Saskatchewan @ Edmonton 9:30 p.m. ET Saturday, October 27 Montreal @ Calgary 7 p.m. ET November *Friday, November 2 Montreal @ Winnipeg 8 p.m. ET (pre-game @ 7:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, November 3 Edmonton @ Hamilton 7 p.m. ET Saturday, November 3 Calgary @ B.C. 10 p.m. ET * available in High Definition on TSN HD *2005/2006 Roper Canada - Winter All audience figures are 2+ and exclude and pre- and post-game; source BBM Nielsen Media Research For more information, please visit tsn.ca [1] This article is from CHANNEL CANADA   http://www.channelcanada.com/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1889 Links in this article   [1] http://www.tsn.ca/