Canadian Premier League

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

Regardless of speculation.  This is awesome.  CBC being involved, even if it's just one night a week, lends the whole thing so much credibility.  Even if there aren't huge crowds initially, if CBC is pushing it, the launch will be legit.  Nothing against TSN, but they just don't hold the same place in the hearts and minds to the average (non-sports) person that CBC does.

43 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

They didn't unilaterally do anything. They want to be the league's head office and have spearheaded it from the get-go. Bear in mind CPL was only trademarked by the same address, that doesn't mean the league as an entity is owned by Bob Young.

Not to mention, his was the name that's already out there.  If they do indeed have others interested, it makes sense to keep everything else hush-hush and use the one name that's already there.

 

[Complete Homer]

3 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

It could also easily be to block any other broadcaster from using it given recent changes to trademark law make it easier to do that without proving use (see earlier posts), but definitely an interesting one.

Tbh, I'm tempted to fire off that to a couple law school friends...the prompt and frequent active use of a trademark is a cornerstone of canadian trademark law, I have a hard time believing your interpretation is bang-on (not saying you're necessarily incorrect or made a poor reading, but it just seems unlikely to me).

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

It was up until 2014 was what I saw claimed when I googled this subject. Provided a link that will be a few pages back by now.

[Ansem]

54 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

Honestly a little surprised. Everything off-the-record (and on the record from Rollins) has been saying TSN was the main partner, at least last I heard about 6 weeks ago.

I wonder if this is the "shift in the TV deal" when the TO ownership group came in that some people were talking being the reason for the delay about behind the scenes...hopefully TSN is still involved and the Toronto leverage just helped them get a night on CBC as well as TSN exposure.

Either way, exciting!

It doesn't prevent TSN to broadcast the rest of the matches and weekday matches as well. 

But you need a soccer night in Canada so Canadians from coast to coast are exposed to the league to create a demand

[Complete Homer]

5 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

It was up until 2014 was what I saw claimed when I googled this subject. Provided a link that will be a few pages back by now.

I know, but it simply clashes with the entire point of our trademark system.

Take a recent example - the rebranding of CIS. They literally trademarked it days before the official announcement, because you need prompt evidence of use. Just my opinion, I might fire off a question to law school friends tonight.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

1 minute ago, Complete Homer said:

Take a recent example - the rebranding of CIS. They literally trademarked it days before the official announcement, because you need prompt evidence of use. Just my opinion, I might fire off a question to law school friends tonight.

Does that fit on this one, if spring 2018 is the earliest likely launch date? Would be interested to hear your law school friends' take. Inquiring minds want to know and all that.

[Complete Homer]

1 minute ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Does that fit on this one, if spring 2018 is the earliest likely launch date? Would be interested to hear your law school friends' take. Inquiring minds want to know and all that.

It does fit with an announcement before Christmas

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Hope the CBC don't plan to have Anthony Totera pontificating for two hours in front of a green screen as SNIC from Dec 2016 to May 2018.

[Complete Homer]

18 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Hope the CBC don't plan to have Anthony Totera pontificating for two hours in front of a green screen as HNIS from Dec 2016 to May 2018.

Oh Geez

Honestly I'd love to see him get a job out of this, he deserves it for toiling in a thankless media niche for years, but I have a 90 second Totera limit

[baulderdash77]

I didn't think we'd be getting news via scouring trademark sites.  The CBC being the broadcaster immediately gives the CanPL reach though.  It sets the bar high to kick off a league that's for sure.  I wonder if they would stream it online as well.  This broadcast path brings legitimacy as well as broad exposure.  It's a good thing I think.

The recent flurry of trademarking indicates to me that things are progressing consistent with everything we've heard.

 

 

[Complete Homer]

14 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

I didn't think we'd be getting news via scouring trademark sites.  The CBC being the broadcaster immediately gives the CanPL reach though.  It sets the bar high to kick off a league that's for sure.  I wonder if they would stream it online as well.  This broadcast path brings legitimacy as well as broad exposure.  It's a good thing I think.

The recent flurry of trademarking indicates to me that things are progressing consistent with everything we've heard.

 

 

IIRC, everything on CBC Sports gets streamed for free (with ads), so it would be a decent way to cater to younger demographics while still making some cash.

EDIT: Should stress that this isn't necessarily CPL. MLS rights being bought by CBC outbidding TSN seems like a stretch to me, but it could be possible that they are doing a cooperative bid with TSN, seeing as the numbers on CBC were good and crap on TSN. Still leaning towards CPL though

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

TFC play a lot of Saturday night games now, but I find the idea of CBC showing MLS games and using a HNIC spin off brand to promote it a bit too good to be true, because as Joe MaCarthy never tires of telling us ratings have been less than stellar. Doing it for a start up league that could have players like Joey Melo featuring prominently puts it into a realm well beyond that, but it's obviously being done for some reason so it will be interesting to see what unfolds.

[baulderdash77]

With Soccer Night In Canada I wonder how the broadcast schedule compared to the overlap of Hockey Night in Canada.  HNIC  runs from the 2nd week of October to the 2nd  week  June.  There are 17 weeks with no hockey.  

I don't think that's long enough to run a full league schedule in unless they're going to do Sunday nights for the overlap season in May and October.  Would they run SNIC  on Sundays from May 1 to June 12 and October 12 to 31?  That would give a 26 week season, assuming a May-Oct schedule?

[matty]

23 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

With Soccer Night In Canada I wonder how the broadcast schedule compared to the overlap of Hockey Night in Canada.  HNIC  runs from the 2nd week of October to the 2nd  week  June.  There are 17 weeks with no hockey.  

I don't think that's long enough to run a full league schedule in unless they're going to do Sunday nights for the overlap season in May and October.  Would they run SNIC  on Sundays from May 1 to June 12 and October 12 to 31?  That would give a 26 week season, assuming a May-Oct schedule?

I'm actually concerned many had their wishes come true and we've ended up with the ISL's 14 game regular season 

[Complete Homer]

11 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

With Soccer Night In Canada I wonder how the broadcast schedule compared to the overlap of Hockey Night in Canada.  HNIC  runs from the 2nd week of October to the 2nd  week  June.  There are 17 weeks with no hockey.  

I don't think that's long enough to run a full league schedule in unless they're going to do Sunday nights for the overlap season in May and October.  Would they run SNIC  on Sundays from May 1 to June 12 and October 12 to 31?  That would give a 26 week season, assuming a May-Oct schedule?

Big part of why I suspect, if Soccer Night in Canada is actually related to CPL, it's only a portion of the games. TSN has apparently been part of this since the beginning, it would be strange if they were suddenly uninvolved.

That's not saying I'm expecting a proper 36 game schedule, there's only so far you can stretch 8 teams before it's silly.

[baulderdash77]

Maybe your right.  Of course with 8 teams in a HNIC format of 2 double headers 1/2 the teams would be on a national broadcast each week.

Maybe that's the angle.  TSN and CBC do a deal.  TSN carries 2 games a week from May to October and CBS carries 2 games a week for the 17 weeks with no hockey.  It's all speculation at this point.

 

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

2 hours ago, Complete Homer said:

Oh Geez

Honestly I'd love to see him get a job out of this, he deserves it for toiling in a thankless media niche for years, but I have a 90 second Totera limit

Honestly I think he'd make a good Don Cherry of Soccer.  Give him 5 minutes to rant and a caretaker to keep him on topic and let him rip.

edit: just to add - people might think we're ripping off HNIC, but it's a format that we know works and really, the shoe does fit.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

7 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

Maybe your right.  Of course with 8 teams in a HNIC format of 2 double headers 1/2 the teams would be on a national broadcast each week.

Maybe that's the angle.  TSN and CBC do a deal.  TSN carries 2 games a week from May to October and CBS carries 2 games a week for the 17 weeks with no hockey.  It's all speculation at this point.

 

speculation, but I'd put money on that being pretty close to the format.

[Complete Homer]

I can dig it

 

[Complete Homer]

27 minutes ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

Glitch

[matty]

Just curious but would anyone here actually be fine if the CPL had a mere 14 game season?

[C2SKI]

5 minutes ago, matty said:

Just curious but would anyone here actually be fine if the CPL had a mere 14 game season?

Long term? No. To start? Absolutely. It's a hell of a lot better than 0 games. Just give me something.

[matty]

25 minutes ago, C2SKI said:

Long term? No. To start? Absolutely. It's a hell of a lot better than 0 games. Just give me something.

Burn the Witch..........kidding I agree it isn't the worst to start. Could be a good way to build a fanbase in the early years. Cheap season tickets would attract some looking for something to do on a Saturday night and it's short enough to fall into a June to September window and avoid competing with hockey and basketball on TV.

It's also close enough to 20 (the likely number of games we'll season with a conference set-up) that the price increase wouldn't upset season ticket holders and it would be a relatively easy jump for talent.

[masster]

3 hours ago, Complete Homer said:

IIRC, everything on CBC Sports gets streamed for free (with ads), so it would be a decent way to cater to younger demographics while still making some cash.

EDIT: Should stress that this isn't necessarily CPL. MLS rights being bought by CBC outbidding TSN seems like a stretch to me, but it could be possible that they are doing a cooperative bid with TSN, seeing as the numbers on CBC were good and crap on TSN. Still leaning towards CPL though

That is assuming TSN makes a bid. The ratings are so poor we have to consider the possibility that they may just walk away. With Bell as the Whitecaps kit sponsor, maybe that is unlikely. Does anybody know when that deal is supposed to come to an end?

[toontownman]

1 hour ago, matty said:

Just curious but would anyone here actually be fine if the CPL had a mere 14 game season?

Depends on the amount of teams but with so few I would like to see themselves play each other 3 times. 

What I find hardest about supporting hockey is the meaningless amount of times teams play each other and also the close proximity in days that take the impact away from results.. yay big derby between Edmonton and calgary...yay Edmonton won, oh short lived celebration we play again the next day and calgary thrashed Edmonton. Obviously the joke there is Edmonton winning a game and having fans hopefully you get my point.  

I quite like that 3 games give the chance of a definitive decider game for bragging rights between teams.

4 games is too much. 2 makes a short season.  Combine the 21 games with an expanded voyageurs cup and I think that is a nice length of season and easy for new fans to follow.