TUESDAY COMMENTARY – THE POWER OF TELEVISION

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 FM & Rock 98.5 FM)

NOT SURE WHY, BUT I CONTINUE TO DELIBERATE DAILY HOW WE GOT INTO THIS CURRENT STATE OF CANADIAN SPORTS.

I’VE CONCLUDED IT’S GENERALLY SELF-INFLICTED.

FOR INSTANCE, A BUDDY AND I WERE WATCHING THE COWBOYS & FALCONS ON SUNDAY AND TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD OL’ DAYS OF THE CFL IN THE MID-2000’S WHEN THE STADIUMS IN CANADA WERE PACKED, CFL RATINGS BEAT THE NFL HANDILY AND EVEN GAVE THE NHL A RUN FOR ITS MONEY.

15 YEARS LATER, THE CFL IS VERY CLEARLY NOT IN THE CLASS OF EITHER OF THOSE LEAGUES, IN ANY REGARD.

THE DIFFERENCE? BACK THEN CFL GAMES AIRED ON TSN, SPORTSNET AND CBC AND ALL NETWORKS GAVE THEM PRO-LEVEL COVERAGE. IF YOU REMEMBER, I WAS A REGIONAL CORRESPONDENT ON THE SCORE AND LATER SPORTSNET FOR YEARS COVERING THE RIDERS, AND IT WAS A BIG DEAL.

AFTER THE 2007 SEASON WHEN THE CFL JUMPED INTO BED WITH TSN EXCLUSIVELY AND TURNED ITS BACK ON THE OTHER NETWORKS, IT’S BEEN A TAILSPIN EVER SINCE.

I’M ALSO REMINDED OF THE SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR PATS TV BROADCASTS. WE WERE ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO BROADCAST THIS SATURDAY’S PATS-AT-WARRIORS GAME AT MOSAIC PLACE BUT THE BROADCAST GOT SCRATCHED A FEW WEEKS AGO.

I’M REMINDED OF A CHAT WITH WARRIORS BUSINESS PEOPLE A FEW YEARS AGO WHERE THEY TOLD ME TELEVISED GAMES AGAINST REGINA COST THEM INTO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE PATS FANS DON’T MAKE THE TRIP, PREFERRING TO STAY HOME AND WATCH THE GAMES ON TV.

CLEARLY THEY HAVEN’T CHANGED THEIR STANCE, AND THAT’S WHY THIS SATURDAY’S BROADCAST WAS YANKED. (I’LL STILL BE IN ATTENDANCE THOUGH, AS I NEVER MISS A CHANCE TO WATCH THE PATS, NOW VISIT DEJA VU WINGS AND THE MAD GREEK).

I CAN’T CHANGE THEIR THINKING, BUT I DON’T AGREE WITH IT. BUT THEY’RE NOT ALONE. THIS IS WHY SASKATCHEWAN RUSH HOME GAMES AREN’T BROADCAST LIVE, BUT AT LEAST OWNERSHIP FINALLY RELENTED AND AIR THEM ON TAPE DELAY.

BUT HERE’S THE FLIPSIDE:

IN 2006 RIDER PRESIDENT JIM HOPSON MADE THE CONTROVERSIAL DECISION TO LIFT ALL TV BLACKOUTS ACROSS THE PROVINCE. IT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN A POPULAR DECISION AMONGST THE HABITUALLY SHORTSIGHTED ROUGHRIDERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

LO AND BEHOLD, THE RIDERS SOLDOUT EVERY GAME THE FOLLOWING SEASON AND BEYOND AND THERE HASN’T BEEN A BLACKOUT SINCE.

THAT’S THE KIND OF THINKING THAT PUT JIM HOPSON IN THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME.

EVERYBODY ELSE IS STILL PINCHING PENNIES AND TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV Network across Canada and the USA. Contact your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24 hours a day at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)