The Canadian Football Network
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Football Network (CFN) was the official television syndication
service of the Canadian Football League
from 1987 to 1990.
and future Global Television Network
affiliates. CFN existed from 1987
-1990
and was formed by the CFL itself, which in return, provided much of the funding. It was created directly in response to CTV
completely dropping their CFL coverage
following the 1986 season
. CFN was conceptualized by then CFL Commissioner Douglas Mitchell.
, the CFL experimented with the TV blackout
policy as four games (two in Hamilton
and two in Toronto
) were televised in the Hamilton-Toronto market.
-1989
, a weekly CFN game telecast, including playoffs and the Grey Cup
championship, aired in the United States
on a tape-delay basis on ESPN
.
's coverage (whereas from 1971
-1986
, CBC and CTV fully pooled their commentary teams for the game; CBC's commentators called the first half of the game while CTV's crew called the rest of the game or vice versa).
During its broadcast of the 1988 Grey Cup
game, CFN reported that its telecasts that season were seen in 14 countries, including the U.S.
, Great Britain
, France
, Italy
, Spain
, West Germany
, Norway
, Sweden
and Finland
.
The 1988 Grey Cup was the last game for veteran Winnipeg Blue Bombers
offensive lineman Nick Bastaja
. The next season
, he joined the CFN crew as a colour commentator. Former Edmonton Eskimos
fullback Neil Lumsden
was CFN's primary colour man, while Dave Hodge
and Bob Irving, a long-time voice of the Blue Bombers, provided play-by-play.
levels. However, it did not do well financially, and the league discontinued the network after the 1990 season
. CFN was also supposed to work like a normal television network in that it was meant to get its money solely from sponsors.
The theme music package for CFN was provided by Donald Quan
.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
service of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
from 1987 to 1990.
Background
CFN broadcasts mainly aired on stations via the Atlantic Satellite NetworkAtlantic Satellite Network
CTV Two Atlantic is a Canadian English language cable television channel serving Atlantic Canada owned by Bell Media, with its studios located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is currently part of Bell Media's secondary CTV Two television system....
and future Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
affiliates. CFN existed from 1987
1987 CFL season
The 1987 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 34th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 30th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1987:...
-1990
1990 CFL season
The 1990 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1990:J...
and was formed by the CFL itself, which in return, provided much of the funding. It was created directly in response to CTV
CFL on CTV
CFL on CTV was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on the CTV Television Network from 1962 to 1986. CTV dropped coverage of the CFL after the 1986 season...
completely dropping their CFL coverage
CFL on CTV
CFL on CTV was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on the CTV Television Network from 1962 to 1986. CTV dropped coverage of the CFL after the 1986 season...
following the 1986 season
1986 CFL season
The 1986 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 33rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 29th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1986:...
. CFN was conceptualized by then CFL Commissioner Douglas Mitchell.
Hamilton and Toronto
In its first year on the air1987 in television
The year 1987 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1987.For American TV schedule, see: 1987–88 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:...
, the CFL experimented with the TV blackout
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
policy as four games (two in Hamilton
Ivor Wynne Stadium
Ivor Wynne Stadium is a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood Avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada...
and two in Toronto
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
) were televised in the Hamilton-Toronto market.
CFN in the United States
From 19871987 CFL season
The 1987 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 34th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 30th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1987:...
-1989
1989 CFL season
The 1989 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 36th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 32nd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1989:...
, a weekly CFN game telecast, including playoffs and the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
championship, aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on a tape-delay basis on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
Grey Cup coverage
CFN's Grey Cup coverage was completely separate from CBCCFL on CBC
CFL on CBC was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on the CBC Television Network. CBC held broadcast rights for the CFL from 1952 to 2007...
's coverage (whereas from 1971
1971 CFL season
The 1971 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the eighteenth season in modern-day Canadian football, although it was officially the fourteenth Canadian Football League season.-CFL News for 1971:...
-1986
1986 CFL season
The 1986 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 33rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 29th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1986:...
, CBC and CTV fully pooled their commentary teams for the game; CBC's commentators called the first half of the game while CTV's crew called the rest of the game or vice versa).
During its broadcast of the 1988 Grey Cup
76th Grey Cup
The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22-21...
game, CFN reported that its telecasts that season were seen in 14 countries, including the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
The 1988 Grey Cup was the last game for veteran Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
offensive lineman Nick Bastaja
Nick Bastaja
Nick Bastaja is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played fourteen seasons in the Canadian Football League. He was part of the Grey Cup championship-winning Winnipeg Blue Bombers teams of 1984 and 1988...
. The next season
1989 CFL season
The 1989 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 36th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 32nd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1989:...
, he joined the CFN crew as a colour commentator. Former Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
fullback Neil Lumsden
Neil Lumsden
Neil Lumsden is a former Canadian Football League player who played mostly as a fullback and also as a running back for the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Eskimos from 1976 to 1985....
was CFN's primary colour man, while Dave Hodge
Dave Hodge
Dave Hodge is a Canadian sports announcer who currently works for TSN, and has worked in the past for the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto.-Broadcasting career:...
and Bob Irving, a long-time voice of the Blue Bombers, provided play-by-play.
The end of CFN
CFN was critically acclaimed, credited for raising the production quality of CFL telecasts (which were sorely lacking in the mid- to late-1980s) to near-NFLNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
levels. However, it did not do well financially, and the league discontinued the network after the 1990 season
1990 CFL season
The 1990 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1990:J...
. CFN was also supposed to work like a normal television network in that it was meant to get its money solely from sponsors.
Commentators
- Nick BastajaNick BastajaNick Bastaja is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played fourteen seasons in the Canadian Football League. He was part of the Grey Cup championship-winning Winnipeg Blue Bombers teams of 1984 and 1988...
- Dave HodgeDave HodgeDave Hodge is a Canadian sports announcer who currently works for TSN, and has worked in the past for the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto.-Broadcasting career:...
- Bob Irving
- Dan Kepley
- Tom LarscheidTom LarscheidTom Larscheid is a former Vancouver-based radio sports broadcaster and football player. After a career playing college and CFL football, he was the colour commentator for the CFL's BC Lions and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks for many years...
- Neil LumsdenNeil LumsdenNeil Lumsden is a former Canadian Football League player who played mostly as a fullback and also as a running back for the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Eskimos from 1976 to 1985....
The theme music package for CFN was provided by Donald Quan
Donald Quan
Donald Quan is a Canadian composer of film and world music, best known for writing the scores to television shows Relic Hunter and Mutant X.-Career:...
.
See also
- 1987 CFL season1987 CFL seasonThe 1987 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 34th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 30th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1987:...
- 1988 CFL season1988 CFL seasonThe 1988 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 35th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 31st Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1988:...
- 1989 CFL season1989 CFL seasonThe 1989 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 36th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 32nd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1989:...
- 1990 CFL season1990 CFL seasonThe 1990 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 37th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 33rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1990:J...