Rumour: Canadian Premier League Strikes Broadcast Deal With CBC Sports

With less than 16 days until launch, the Canadian Premier League is leaving it pretty late before announcing a much-expected broadcast partnership. According to multiple sources, however, fans of the league should expect an announcement to come early next week.

As part of MEDIAPRO’s massive 10-year deal with Canada Soccer Business, all 98 CPL games will be produced by the new Canadian arm of the Spanish production giant. This partnership led to the eventual creation of OneSoccer, which will be a 24/7 live and on-demand streaming channel. Subscription details for the global streaming service haven’t released yet, but many fans have been hoping to catch CPL games on the television, too.

According to reputable journalists like John Molinaro and Gavin Day, sources have indicated that the Canadian Premier League will announce a broadcast partnership with CBC Sports as soon as next Monday. This coincides with CPL senior media officials like Kurt Larson flying back to Toronto from the league’s Punta Cana preseason training camp early, too.

Day’s source told him that the broadcast deal will see CBC Sports covering approximately 20 games, indicative of a ‘match of the week’ type of feature with the potential to cover playoffs as well. The national broadcaster will drastically expand Canadian viewership opportunities, especially since many can access CBC content at no cost. CBC Sports is no stranger broadcasting iconic Canadian sporting moments, having broadcast the first-ever season of Toronto FC action.

While the news hasn’t been officially confirmed by Canadian Premier League or CBC Sports officials yet, fans should expect an announcement early next week. The leak comes from some fairly reputable sources, and it’s a move that makes a lot of sense for both parties. As far as broadcast deals go, there is a good one for the CPL and its fans, the more hardcore of whom will still be driven to the OneSoccer subscription service – provided it launches with a reasonable price point.

Sources: Gavin Day (via Twitter), John Molinaro (via Twitter)