ESPN MediaZone Canada

– TSN celebrates the past year with a record Grey Cup, large audiences and growth across all business platforms –

– TSN is the #1 specialty channel in Canada across
all key male and female demographics –

TORONTO (December 23, 2009) – 2009 has been one of the most successful and significant years in TSN’s history. In addition to achieving record television audiences for its key broadcast properties, TSN saw significant growth across all of its business platforms.  

With multi-year agreements in place with all of its major partners, TSN will continue to be at the forefront of every major sporting event in 2010 including delivering extensive coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games from February 12 to 28.  

Below is a snapshot of TSN’s performance in 2009: 

TSN’s Audience

• TSN’s broadcast of the 2009 GREY CUP attracted 5.073 million viewers making it the most-watched program on Canadian television this year.
• TSN’s overall audience is significantly higher since BBM Canada introduced the industry’s new PPM audience measurement system that more accurately accounts for secondary viewing and out-of-home viewing.  
• Based on 16 weeks of BBM Canada’s PPM data, TSN continues to be the top-ranked specialty channel in Canada – in all key male and female demographics.  
• Since September 1, TSN ranks as the third most-watched channel in Canada for the coveted 18-34 demographic – ahead of conventional networks CBC and CITY Television. 

Properties Performance

All of TSN’s core broadcast properties delivered substantial audiences in 2009.

• NHL playoff audiences on TSN increased by 17% compared to the previous year 
• CFL registered record audiences on TSN in 2009 – with five regular season games attracting more than 1 million viewers.  
• The average NFL audience on TSN in 2009 is 713,000 – almost double the recorded average in 2008  
• Toronto Raptors games on TSN this season  are 44% higher than last season’s average audience 
• Since September 1, SportsCentre has registered much higher audiences compared to the same period last year.  Audiences for SportsCentre’s evening and late editions are 76% and 38% higher respectively, with SportsCentre’s morning editions registering average audiences that is twice as high as they were during the same period in 2008.    

* Audiences prior to August 31, 2009 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research Mark II meters 

TSN2

• Distribution - TSN2 enjoyed rapid growth in 2009. Rogers Cable and Videotron both signed on to carry the network in 2009.  TSN2 is now available in more than 4.5 million Canadian homes across all major television service providers in both standard and high definition. 
• Audiences – BBM Canada data confirms that TSN2 is now the top-ranked digital sports channel in Canada with an average audience that is higher than all other digital sports channels combined.  
• TSN2’s broadcast of the Toronto–Boston NHL pre-season game attracted 413,000 viewers – making it the most-watched program ever on a digital specialty channel.  
• On May 20, 2009, TSN2’s broadcast of a highly-anticipated Blue Jays-Red Sox game was the most-watched sporting event of the night – ranking even ahead of TSN. 

TSN HD

• TSN continues to set the standard in high definition broadcasting – producing and broadcasting more HD programming than any other broadcaster.  In 2009, TSN produced more than 2,200 hours of original HD programming and broadcast more than 8,700 hours of programming in HD.  

TSN – New Media

TSN enjoyed tremendous expansion in the new media world with TSN.ca once again proving to be Canada’s online source for sports news and programming. 

• TSN.ca set an industry standard for delivering breaking sports news in Canada with more than 850 million page views, a site record. TSN.ca registered a single-day record number of users on NHL Trade Deadline Day with 15.8 million page views. ( Source – Omniture) 
• TSN Video Player featured more than 200 events on-demand in 2009 including TSN’s full slate of NHL, CFL, curling and IIHF World Junior Championship events.TSN.ca is projected to register 75 million video streams by the end of the year. 
• TSN MOBILE –has emerged as an industry-leader for breaking news and highlights. The portable version of TSN’s sports website delivered more than 61 million page views in 2009 and issued 4.2 million SMS text alerts.  
• TSN on iTunes – For the first time, all CFL ON TSN games, including the 2009 GREY CUP, were available on the iTunes Store in Canada, giving fans the opportunity to relive all the CFL action anytime they want.   
• TSN on Social Media – TSN’s Insiders have proven to be extremely popular in the social media world with over 50,000 people following TSN’s various Twitter feeds, including Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger along with CFL analyst Glen Suitor.   

NOTE – TSN will announce details on the launch of its official Facebook page in the New Year 

Rights Deals and Acquisitions

TSN’s strong performance in 2009 can be attributed to its comprehensive schedule of sports properties. In 2009, TSN secured broadcast agreements or extensions with the following partners: 

• NFL - TSN signed a multi-year deal for the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL and MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. TSN’s jam-packed NFL lineup also features the popular preview/wrap-up shows SUNDAY NFL COUNTDOWN, FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA, NFL PRIMETIME and MONDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN, as well as the NFL DRAFT and special segments on SPORTSCENTRE and TSN.ca. 
• CIS – With a multi-year agreement in place, TSN has the exclusive broadcast rights for several marquee CIS events including the VANIER CUP and the CIS Men’s and Women’s Basketball finals. 
• AFL – Australian Rules Football returned to TSN and TSN2 in 2009. 
• NLL - TSN2 signed a deal to broadcast nine regular season National Lacrosse League Toronto Rock games throughout the 2010 season.
   

TSN Merchandise

• TSN introduced its official line of merchandise in 2009. With the launch of TSNShop.ca, fans can now purchase a wide range of clothing and sporting items for men and women including T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and sports bags. 

TSN Publishing

• TSN, in partnership with Wiley Publishing, released TSN 25 Years. The photo book delivers a candid look back at a quarter-century of sports through the network’s lens.

TSN Brand Partnerships and TSN Events

In addition to delivering tremendous audiences for its clients, TSN partnered with several clients to create customized promotions and events in 2009. 

• Kraft Celebration Tour - In recognition of TSN’s 25^th anniversary, the tour saw SportsCentre broadcast live out of 10 communities across Canada over 10 days.  
• Team up and Bring Home The Cup – Pepsi, Lay’s and Gatorade worked with TSN to offer Canadian amateur hockey teams the opportunity to hang out with the Stanley Cup and hockey legend Mark Messier. 
• $1 Million Promotions – TSN’s popular and award-winning $1 million promotions – Wendy’s Kick for a Million and the Chevrolet Equinox Million Dollar Shootout - returned for 2009. Both promotions generated a record number of entries.  
• Campbell’s Chunky MVC: Most Valuable Coach – TSN teamed up with Campbell’s Chunky Soup and the Coaching Association of Canada on a national promotion to recognize and celebrate amateur coaches.  
• Casino Rama Curling Skins Game – Last year, TSN’s annual curling skins game attracted more sponsors than ever before and registered its highest television audience ever. The popular annual event returns to TSN and Casino Rama on January 16 and 17 in 2010. 

Industry Recognition

• Gemini Awards –TSN was awarded three Gemini Awards for excellence in sports broadcasting. James Duthie was named Best Sportscaster/Anchor while Brian Williams was recognized as Best Host or Interviewer in a Sports Program or Sportscast and SPORTSCENTRE was honoured with its first Gemini Award for Best Sportscast. 
• Sports Media Canada Achievement Awards – TSN was presented with the prestigious President’s Award in recognition of the network’s 25^th anniversary. 
• CFL Hall of Fame – Long-time TSN producer Paul “Mac” McLean was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s Football Reporters wing in honour of his contributions to the CFL through his work at TSN. 

About TSN

Official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad, TSN, a division of CTVglobemedia, is Canada’s Sports Leader and Canada’s most-watched specialty network.  TSN’s comprehensive broadcast schedule features an exciting lineup of sports including NHL, IIHF, CFL, NFL, NBA, Blue Jays Baseball, Season of Champions Curling, Golf’s Majors, F1, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Grand Slam Tennis, Championship Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts events. TSN properties include TSN2, TSN MOBILE and the industry leading sports website TSN.ca. TSN delivers more sports coverage in High Definition than any other network in Canada. 

- TSN -