More ESPN Rights Deals: 2018 CFL Season Exclusively on ESPN Platforms; ESPN+ Adds National Pro Fastpitch Slate

ESPN networks and ESPN+ — the recently-launched direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International segment and ESPN — will combine to present all 2018 Canadian Football League (CFL) regular season and postseason games. ESPN2 and ESPNEWS will televise more than 20 games, including the Eastern and Western Finals and 106th Grey Cup, while nearly 70 games will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+.

70 games will be included on the streaming service

In a separate announcement, ESPN+ has reached an agreement with National Pro Fastpitch to carry regular season games throughout the summer and the league’s Cowles Cup Championship Series.

All 2018 Canadian Football League Games to Air on ESPN Networks, ESPN+
The ESPN+ CFL schedule begins with four preseason games, including the contest between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who recently signed former NFL quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, and the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts on June 1 (7:30 p.m. ET).

ESPN2 kicks off the CFL regular season on June 14, and will televise all four Week 1 games in primetime. Opening weekend matchups feature the Edmonton Eskimos vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (June 14, 8:30 p.m.); Argonauts vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (June 15, 9 p.m.), and a doubleheader on Saturday, June 16: Tiger-Cats vs. Calgary Stampeders (7 p.m.) and Montreal Alouettes vs. BC Lions (10 p.m.).

ESPN, which first televised CFL games in 1980, has exclusive rights in the U.S. to present all regular season and postseason CFL games, including the Grey Cup. ESPN International and its affiliated networks also distribute CFL games internationally to more than 47 million households and 74 countries.

ESPN+ Adds National Pro Fastpitch Regular Season Games, Cowles Cup Championship Series
In a separate announcement, ESPN+ has reached an agreement with National Pro Fastpitch to carry regular season games throughout the summer and the league’s Cowles Cup Championship Series.

The exclusive regular season slate begins Thursday, May 31, and will continue into August, featuring multiple appearances from every team in the league. ESPN+’s first season of NPF coverage will culminate with the best-of-five championship series, which gets underway Thursday, Aug. 16. ESPN+ is the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International division in partnership with ESPN.

“ESPN+ will now offer the best in professional women’s softball, adding more exclusive live events to its dynamic and growing portfolio.” says Richard Mace, ESPN manager of Programming and Acquisitions. “In addition to a robust NPF regular season slate and the league’s championship series, fans will receive a highly personalized experience on the ESPN App and access to a multitude of professional and college games and a full library of on-demand sports content. For softball enthusiasts, ESPN+ offers hundreds of softball games each year from a variety of levels, including Little League Softball in the summer and college action throughout the spring.”

“National Pro Fastpitch is thrilled to be included on ESPN+ during the subscription service’s inaugural year,” says Cheri Kempf, NPF Commissioner. “Softball fans have come to rely on ESPN to deliver our fast-paced and entertaining sport, so to include the professional level among coverage options through ESPN+ is a perfect fit. We are looking forward to an exciting season of action, capped off with our Championship Series in August.”

ESPN+’s exclusive 13 game regular season slate is highlighted by at least four appearances by each of the five teams in the league.

The deal adds to ESPN already significant slate of softball programming, with complete coverage of the NCAA Division I Super Regionals and Women’s College World Series (WCWS) for the 12 and 18 consecutive seasons, respectively. In 2017, the network expanded its coverage to include every game of the post season. This season alone, ESPN led the industry with a schedule of more than 650 NCAA Division I games available across its family of networks and ESPN+. ESPN also signed a multi-year deal with USA Softball in 2017 to televise games from the World Cup of Softball and added every game of the Little League Softball World Series and all of its U.S. regional tournaments to ESPN+ in 2018.

Password must contain the following:

A lowercase letter

A capital (uppercase) letter

A number

Minimum 8 characters

;
SVGLogoHR_NOTAG-200

The Latest in Sports Video Production & Technology
in Your Inbox for FREE

Daily Email Newsletters Monday - Friday