The CFL has extended its relationship with Bell Media, and in the process it has secured its own financial future for another three years.

New CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge, who has a background in negotiating broadcast deals, announced a three-year television agreement extension with Bell Media’s TSN and RDS Thursday night at the league’s second annual Inside the CFL event at Muzik nightclub. That means TSN and RDS now hold exclusive CFL television rights until the end of the 2021 campaign, including pre-season, regular season, playoff and Grey Cup games. The deal also features exclusive Grey Cup radio rights for Bell Media stations.

The league and TSN/RDS struck a lucrative agreement in the spring of 2013, and at the time it was called “transformative” for the three-down loop. The five year deal, valued at approximately $200 million, more than doubled each team’s annual share from about $2 million to more than $4 million. That is big money in the ticket-driven CFL, where Mother Nature can determine whether a team makes or loses money during a calendar year.

Now, thanks to the TV deal, teams are starting off each year in the black and have a much better chance to turn a profit.

“When things are working well, you want to keep them going,” Orridge said Thursday as current and potential CFL business partners mingled about at the Exhibition grounds’ nightclub.

TV ratings were actually down a bit in 2014 compared to the year before, which Orridge called an “aberration,” but the CFL remains the No. 2-watched sports entity in Canada behind the NHL. That’s why Bell Media had no problem tacking on another three years to its current deal, which went into effect last season and was set to expire in 2018.

“The CFL is absolutely a key component of our summer schedule and a key component for our entire programming strategy,” TSN president Stu Johnston told the crowd.

Of course it doesn’t hurt that Bell will soon be one of the league’s nine owners. The company, along with MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, have agreed to purchase the Toronto Argonauts from David Braley at the end of the year, so wanting to protect and have some control of their investment is only natural.

“This is huge for us,” Orridge said. “We’ve been great partners with TSN for quite some time, and our relationship has just deepened. Part of that is, candidly, with the sale of the Argos to Bell Canada, we’re integrated. There’s a lot of energy and momentum and resources that are going to be put behind raising this league. TSN has done an incredible job.”

Even though some wonder if the CFL might help itself by opening up the bidding process for its rights, Orridge said extending the current deal was the right move.

“The issue is really who’s the best partner at that particular point in time? And TSN has demonstrated their commitment to the CFL,” Orridge said. “They have continued to express an incredible interest and understand the opportunities with a property like the CFL. So it was a natural fit to just extend things that have been going well, to extend it so it can go even better.”

Sportsnet’s coverage of the CFL dwarfs in comparison to TSN’s, of course, but Orridge believes that will change as the league continues to grow.

“Any media outlet will look at what’s newsworthy, and that’s what they’ll cover,” he said. “As we do more innovative things and momentum gains, I think the CFL will receive as much recognition from any and everyone as is warranted. So we’re excited about it.”

Former commissioner Mark Cohon said at his final state of the league address last November that Argos games attract between 600,000 and 700,000 viewers each week and that nearly half of that audience is in southern Ontario.

What TSN and RDS will do to enhance its coverage of the league remains to be seen. There wasn’t much new during the first year of the deal in 2014, but one addition this season will be a pair of round-table discussions that were taped in March: one with four of the league’s top players and another with four general managers.

In addition, Johnston said TSN has produced a fancy new set for the CFL on TSN panel.

LEAGUE LOOKS TO GET YOUNGER

The theme of Thursday night’s Inside the CFL event was all about getting younger.

It’s no secret that the league’s fans are getting up there in age, and the league’s marketing executives unveiled a plan to go after that critical demographic of teens and 20-somethings.

“It’s a great partnership opportunity for us to showcase our brand in front of our existing partners and potential partners,” commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said. “Reaching out to a younger demographic, a broader demographic, is part of our plan. The CFL is built for something like this.”

The wining and dining was all done in an attempt to woo new sponsors, of course, but the league’s fans will benefit from many new features this year. Most notable is a new digital platform, including a new website for the league and its teams, that will be launched in the fall.

The goal is to get younger fans more involved in today’s technological age, and a recent partnership with Whistle Sports, a content company that specializes in viral videos, is one of many ways in which the league is tackling that issue.

kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca

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