The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / How Rogers And The CRTC Are Sidelining Canadian Soccer

**Posted by RadioActive** May 11, 2025 10:44 am

I never watch soccer - to me, it's like watching paint dry - but when a former CRTC Vice-Chair cites both his former government body and Rogers for helping to kill the "beautiful game" in Canada, it's definitely worth a read.

Peter Menzies accuses both the Commission and the cable giant of suppressing an important upcoming match that might have otherwise had national implications for the country and if nothing else, a source of Canuck pride at a time when that feeling is at an all time high.

See what you think.

How Rogers And The CRTC Are Sidelining Canadian Soccer

**Posted by RadioAaron** May 11, 2025 11:10 am

Fubo is a far more accessible platform than an obscure specialty cable channel, especially for soccer fans who have embraced the service in large numbers.

The league made a big mistake moving away from their relationship with TSN. There's a very good chance, given the rising popularity of the sport along with TSN's lack of content, that the arrangement could have been profitable for both the league and TSN by now.

**Posted by torontostan** May 12, 2025 10:37 am

RadioAaron wrote:
TSN's lack of content

What planet do you live on? OneSoccer is the one with a lack of content.

**Posted by Johnny B** May 12, 2025 10:59 am

Every Canadian soccer team's (men and women) games that have World Cup, Gold Cup, FIFA or CONCACAF implications need to be fully accessible to fans on platforms most of them have access to...this is a matter of national pride and importance...the Canadian Soccer Association has a track record of fucking things up enormously and chasing dollars from OneSoccer, Fubo, etc, because of their idiotic management decisions over the years....same thing is happening with Toronto FC...they are alienating fans and thinking they can match European clubs with pay per view and subscription platforms...Canada and the MLS are not on that level.

**Posted by RadioAaron** May 12, 2025 11:43 am

torontostan wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
TSN's lack of content
What planet do you live on? OneSoccer is the one with a lack of content.

The one where Rogers has the stranglehold on the biggest teams in market #1 and the national rights for the biggest sport in the country.

**Posted by Radio Bob** May 12, 2025 1:09 pm

Another reason to preserve the CBC.

**Posted by torontostan** May 12, 2025 1:44 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
torontostan wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
TSN's lack of content
What planet do you live on? OneSoccer is the one with a lack of content.
The one where Rogers has the stranglehold on the biggest teams in market #1 and the national rights for the biggest sport in the country.

2023 Revenue:
TSN: 610M (potentially excludes most NFL revenue)
SN: 848M

2023 pre-tax profit:
TSN: 14%
SN: 10%

You're making it sound like TSN is on par with OneSoccer, when actually they're more profitable than Sportsnet as per CRTC filings. Exclusive NFL, CFL, FIFA, IIHF, NASCAR, F1, Golf, plus regional Jets, Sens & Habs (including RDS), plus half of the Leafs & Raptors leftovers isn't exactly "lack of content" ...... I'd argue Sportsnet has made worse decisions, which have left them with all their eggs in two baskets (Blue Jays performance & NHL overpaying).

Last edited by torontostan (May 12, 2025 1:45 pm)

**Posted by torontostan** May 12, 2025 1:44 pm

Radio Bob wrote:
Another reason to preserve the CBC.

Olympics aside, CBC has no place in sports anymore.

**Posted by Radio Bob** May 12, 2025 2:49 pm

Then who will cover the sports other than hockey and the Olympics?

**Posted by andysradio** May 12, 2025 3:57 pm

And athletics - what little they show.

**Posted by RadioAaron** May 12, 2025 6:17 pm

torontostan wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
torontostan wrote:

What planet do you live on? OneSoccer is the one with a lack of content.
The one where Rogers has the stranglehold on the biggest teams in market #1 and the national rights for the biggest sport in the country.
2023 Revenue:
TSN: 610M (potentially excludes most NFL revenue)
SN: 848M

2023 pre-tax profit:
TSN: 14%
SN: 10%

You're making it sound like TSN is on par with OneSoccer, when actually they're more profitable than Sportsnet as per CRTC filings. Exclusive NFL, CFL, FIFA, IIHF, NASCAR, F1, Golf, plus regional Jets, Sens & Habs (including RDS), plus half of the Leafs & Raptors leftovers isn't exactly "lack of content" ...... I'd argue Sportsnet has made worse decisions, which have left them with all their eggs in two baskets (Blue Jays performance & NHL overpaying).

I'm absolutely not trying to make them sound on par with OneSoccer, or where you'd get that from.

I'm saying they're obviously second to Sportsnet in terms of audience which is only going to get worse since Bell's exit from MLSE. They're locked into runner up status for ratings for the foreseeable future, and that MLS would have been a great way to catch up a bit in a way that would keep them leading in profit.

**Posted by cash** May 12, 2025 6:36 pm

Onesoccer is available on Bell Fibe from the Google Play Store. Also available on Roku. Looks like it's $99.00 per year. Not that difficult to find.

**Posted by torontostan** May 13, 2025 12:44 pm

Radio Bob wrote:
Then who will cover the sports other than hockey and the Olympics?

TSN and Sportsnet, plus streamers

**Posted by torontostan** May 13, 2025 1:07 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
I'm absolutely not trying to make them sound on par with OneSoccer, or where you'd get that from.

I'm saying they're obviously second to Sportsnet in terms of audience which is only going to get worse since Bell's exit from MLSE. They're locked into runner up status for ratings for the foreseeable future, and that MLS would have been a great way to catch up a bit in a way that would keep them leading in profit.

Sorry... I misread your original comment as calling TSN the "obscure channel."

I don't think it's safe to say that Sportsnet has a higher overall year-round audience compared to TSN. While the NHL national package is powerful, it it's only around 100 games. Even if TSN gets shut out of the Raptors (41 games) and Leafs Regional (26) rights..... that's not a huge loss in terms of audience... but it would become an issue to retain subscribers in Ontario.

MLS was pulling terrible numbers on TSN..... in fact, the only time they saw big numbers in the regular season was during the CTV games. I don't blame MLS for trying something new, but Apple was not a good choice... small market penetration compared to OTA, Amazon or Netflix.