A weekly digest of the top Canadian sports business news, tweets, and more. All links are curated by hand by the Sports Business Canada team. Submit news to sportsbusinesscanada@gmail.com. Get the Sports Business Canada weekly digest delivered to your inbox every week by joining our mailing list.
The Kawhi Factor
The hype surrounding Kawhi Leonard and this year’s edition of the Toronto Raptors is real. According to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, viewership for the first three games aired on TSN this season is up 67% over the first three games the station aired last year. Furthermore, Leonard’s debut was the most-watched Raptors regular season game ever on TSN with 528,000 viewers.
From @JLew1050: Leonard making Raptors must-see TV: https://t.co/NmYY8WHPAS pic.twitter.com/E8tXxrx8LF
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 26, 2018
Maritime Football Ltd. picks new CFL stadium site
TSN’s Dave Naylor provides an update on Maritime Football Ltd’s bid to bring a CFL team to Halifax. The group plans to build a 24,000 seat stadium at Shannon Park at a projected cost of $170-190 million.
The latest on the vision for the CFL in Halifax and where it goes from here … https://t.co/BaRIwxW6Dr #CFL #Halifax
— David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) October 26, 2018
#IceSurfing Returns to Twitter
#IceSurfing captured a total audience of 649,000 viewers during its 3-hour premiere earlier this month. Canadian hockey fans can turn to Sportsnet’s Twitter account every Tuesday throughout the 2018-19 season to watch all the NHL action as it happens.
Making its debut last night, @Sportsnet #IceSurfing captured a total audience of 649,000 viewers during its 3-hour premiere on @Twitter.
Following all the #NHL action, #IceSurfing attracted 503,000 unique visitors on Tuesday – 200,000 more than its pilot episode last season. pic.twitter.com/WPvQCaXtlP
— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) October 10, 2018
On the Move…
After eight years, Scott Moore’s tenure at the helm of Sportsnet has come to an end. Moore, who played a key role in helping Rogers secure a blockbuster 12-year NHL deal, announced his resignation in early October. Rick Brace, President of Rogers Media, will oversee Sportsnet until a successor is named.
Thank you Scott for your amazing leadership at Sportsnet – Scott Moore on sports, balance and ‘storming the castle’ https://t.co/yc2e23pBCx
— Edward Rogers (@EdwardSRogers) October 26, 2018
It was a great ride. Thank you to the Rogers family for all the support in my 8 years, and for supporting sports in Canada for the last 50+ years. @EdwardSRogers https://t.co/9t4YxDNsaC
— Scott Moore (@MooreScottmoore) October 27, 2018