The Canadian Football League and ESPN will be in business together for the foreseeable future. The league announced an extension to its US television rights deal with ESPN on Monday.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the financial terms of the new deal represent “an improvement in economics for us reflective of last season’s ratings,” but declined to give specifics. CFL games on ESPN2 saw a 19% increase in viewership in 2018.
Under the terms of the new deal, ESPN will put 20 CFL games on a linear TV outlet each season, including one divisional final and the Grey Cup championship game. Ambrosie says that every game this season will be available to fans via the OTT service ESPN+.
Ambrosie says the new deal is part of what he calls CFL 2.0, which includes an effort to partner with other American football leagues around the world. The CFL is holding a scouting combine in Mexico City this week.
The rights deal with ESPN is important for the CFL, as the league is about to see some significant competition for people that want to watch pro football in the spring. The AAF will debut on CBS Sports Network right after the Super Bowl and Vince McMahon will relaunch the XFL in 2020. Ambrosie says that while he is “always mindful of what’s going on in the world around me,” getting a new deal in place with ESPN is important for the CFL’s continued success, not from a competitive standpoint.
