CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-language Radio-Canada network also produces sports programming.)

CBC Sports
Division ofCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
OwnerCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
Key peopleChris Wilson (Executive Director)
HeadquartersCanadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Major broadcasting contractsHockey Night in Canada (controlled by Rogers Media beginning 2014)
Olympics
IAAF Golden League
Grand Slam of Curling
Official websitecbcsports.ca

Once the country's dominant sports broadcaster, in recent years it has lost many of its past signature properties – such as the Canadian Football League, Toronto Blue Jays baseball, Canadian Curling Association championships, the Olympic Games for a period, the FIFA World Cup, and the National Hockey League – to the cable specialty channels TSN and Sportsnet. The CBC has maintained partial rights to the NHL as part of a sub-licensing agreement with current rightsholder Rogers Media (maintaining the Saturday-night Hockey Night in Canada and playoff coverage), although this coverage is produced by Sportsnet, as opposed to the CBC itself as was the case in the past.

As a result of funding reductions from the federal government, increased costs for licensing, and decreased revenues, in April 2014, the CBC announced it would no longer bid for professional sports broadcasting rights.[1] The CBC has since used its digital platforms to provide overflow coverage of events not on television, and simulcasts of television coverage. Since then, the CBC's in-house sports coverage has been largely focused on Olympic sports, other domestic amateur and semi-professional competitions such as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), along with coverage of Spruce Meadows' show jumping competitions.

The majority of CBC Television's sports coverage is broadcast on weekend afternoons, under the blanket title CBC Sports Presents (formerly Road to the Olympic Games from 2015 to 2022, and CBC Sports Weekend prior to 2015).[2][3] CBC Sports also streams all of its programming, as well as other event coverage not shown on television, via its website and digital platforms.

Former CEO of Curling Canada Greg Stremlaw was the head of CBC Sports from April 10, 2015[4][2] to January 2019.[5]

Sports properties

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Current/upcoming

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Olympics and Pan Am

Hockey

Alpine Skiing

Basketball

Baseball

Curling

Cricket

Equine sports

Figure Skating

Football

Rugby

Track & Field

Other Sports

Past properties

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Hockey

Horse racing

Soccer

Baseball

Multi-sports competitions

Basketball

Football

Figure Skating

Curling

Canoe Sprint

Tennis

Notable personalities (past and present)

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Ron MacLean and Scott Russell talk on an escalator at Sherway Gardens.

Directors

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Hall of Fame

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CBC Sports Hall of Fame recognizes those broadcasters of CBC Sports who have made a unique and lasting contribution to CBC and to the sports broadcasting industry.[30]

Proposed CBC SportsPlus channel

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In 2008, the CBC received CRTC approval for a sports specialty channel, "CBC SportsPlus", which would have aired a mix of amateur and professional sports. The application was controversial, with CTVglobemedia, Rogers Media, and The Score among others filing interventions against the channel for being unduly competitive with existing sports channels (therefore violating the CRTC's then-policy of genre protection among specialty channels). They showed particular concern for the CBC stating that it planned to devote 75% of its programming to professional sports. The CRTC approved the license application, but restricted it to only devoting 30% of its schedule per-week to professional sports, with only 10% of this quota allowed to be devoted to "professional stick and/or ball sports".[31][32]

The channel, however, never launched.

References

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  1. ^ "CBC to cut 657 jobs, will no longer compete for professional sports rights". CBC News. April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "CBC Sports launches Road to the Olympic Games". CBC Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. ^ CBC Public Relations (October 20, 2022). "CBC SPORTS TO PROVIDE EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING SEASON, BEGINNING OCTOBER 21". Retrieved July 7, 2023. CBC SPORTS PRESENTS will be live on location to provide broadcast coverage on CBC TV and CBC Gem.
  4. ^ "Greg Stremlaw Appointed CBC's Head of Sports". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  5. ^ "'Opportunity knocks': Greg Stremlaw leaves CBC Sports for United Soccer League". CBC.
  6. ^ "Canadian Hockey League announces new multi-year broadcast partnerships". CHL. July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "CBC Sports becomes exclusive English-language digital broadcaster of U SPORTS National Championships through 2025". U Sports. September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "Where to watch the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2023". fiba3x3.com. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "CBC Sports to showcase Canada's Little League Baseball". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  10. ^ Mann, Colin (July 25, 2023). "CBC Sports airs Global T20 Canada". Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "CBC to broadcast 2019 Vanier Cup" (Press release). 3downnation.com. November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "CBC Sports becomes exclusive English-language digital broadcaster of U SPORTS National Championships through 2025". U Sports. September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "CBC Sports, Toronto Wolfpack announce broadcast agreement". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "CBC Sports becomes exclusive English-language digital broadcaster of U SPORTS National Championships through 2025". U Sports. September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "CBC Sports becomes exclusive English-language digital broadcaster of U SPORTS National Championships through 2025". U Sports. September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "CBC signs broadcast deal with Toronto FC". CBC News. April 11, 2007. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023.
  17. ^ "CBC Sports, Mediapro Canada partner to provide 20-game package of CPL season". CanPL.ca. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  18. ^ "CBC/Radio-Canada premier media partner of 2017 North American Indigenous Games". CBC Sports. January 20, 2017.
  19. ^ "CBC Sports signs broadcast deal with Raptors". CBC News. August 1, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  20. ^ "Year-old Canadian Elite Basketball League signs broadcast deal with CBC". Penticton Herald. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  21. ^ "Rogers extends sponsorship of Rogers Cup". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  22. ^ DeGeer, Vern (October 30, 1965). "Good Morning". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Artiss, Laurie (April 7, 1967). "Hot of the Press Items". The Leader-Post. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "New Sports Chief Named". The Windsor Star. December 23, 1970. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  25. ^ "Appointments". Cinema Canada. February 1977.
  26. ^ "Smith appointed new chief of CBC Television Sports". The Globe and Mail. July 22, 1988.
  27. ^ "Nancy Lee Appointed COO of Olympic Broadcast Services". Broadcaster. November 17, 2006. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  28. ^ Kennedy, Brendan (November 10, 2010). "Shakeup in sports broadcasting". Toronto Star.
  29. ^ Rody, Bree (July 5, 2019). "CBC ups Chris Wilson to head sports". Media In Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  30. ^ "CBC Sports Hall of Fame adds 4 members". CBC News. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010.
  31. ^ "CBC's all-sports channel bid comes under fire". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  32. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (August 20, 2008). "Archived - CBC SportsPlus - Category 2 specialty service". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved January 9, 2020.