‘It’s a big day’: Commissioner Stewart Johnston reacts to new CFL broadcast deal

CFL fans will have new options to watch the sport beginning next summer, following a landmark new Canadian broadcast rights agreement announced on Thursday.

The league announced a six-year deal with Bell Media for the 2027 season, which will keep TSN as the primary broadcaster for 60 of 81 regular season games with the Grey Cup being broadcast on CTV and Crave.

A major shift has come with the introduction of subscription streaming platform DAZN, which the CFL has partnered with to deliver exclusive Saturday Night Football broadcasts over the regular season and two playoff games.

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The CFL has also partnered with YouTube to stream pre-season games, as well as provide all-access and behind-the-scenes footage throughout the season.

Financial figures of the deals were not provided by the CFL, however reporting by The Canadian Press puts the number at roughly $500 million, according to a source.

The new agreement comes on the heels of several significant changes for the CFL in 2027 including a slate of new rule changes with moving field goal posts to the back of the end zone and a shortening of the field by 10 yards.

As well, the league will be moving to a new page-playoff system next year with eight of nine teams qualifying for playoffs and the elimination of the divisional format.

CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston joined The Green Zone on Thursday to discuss the historic agreement and what fans can expect beginning in 2027.

Listen to the full interview, or read the transcript below:

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

THE GREEN ZONE: How historic is this deal for the next six years, starting in 2027 for the league?

STEWART JOHNSTON: It’s a big day. We’re really thrilled with what we were able to announce this morning. We think it’s a huge step for our league and our path towards significant, transformational growth. I think part of why it’s historic is we have managed to land one of the greatest partners the CFL has ever had in Bell Media and they are well entrenched with us for the long term. We’ve added the world’s leading sports entertainment platform in DAZN. On top of that, we’ve got YouTube, the world’s largest video platform, saying that they want to be a part of the CFL as well and help us drive content in and around our games. We feel really good with where we are.

What does this deal say about the health of the league right now?

JOHNSTON: I think it puts the CFL firmly in the conversation with the biggest sports properties in this country. You don’t get arrangements like this, you don’t get interest from powerhouse platforms like this unless you’re winning in the attention economy, and the CFL is clearly winning right now.

How do you battle with extra revenue that’s coming in and the potential tune out that will come with a streaming service fee?

JOHNSTON: Specific to DAZN, what we’re going to see is this world-class platform bring their power to the CFL. They’re going to tell stories in an authentic but innovative way. They are going to hire Canadian production crews, but use the might and power of their own production house that they have spread across the world and they’re going to tell stories in a different way. The innovation that they will bring to the CFL, I think, is going to be just incredible. One of the things that really caught my attention early in this process is when DAZN was telling me that they have 4,000 worldwide employees, 2,000 of them are engineers. That’s that’s how focused they are on the platform itself … we should be excited. We should be excited by what a new voice is going to do for the CFL.

Did you use the NFL or any other professional leagues to build a model for what you announced?

JOHNSTON: The modern way of major, elite leagues driving their rights forward is usually with multiple partners. Different partners can bring different audiences to the table, but also part of it is when you scale large enough it’s almost impossible for one broadcaster to swallow it whole. We wanted to make sure we were big enough that became a problem. Way back in my introductory press conference 13 months ago, I was asked about the media deal and I was asked many times since then. What I said then held true and really set our strategy for this process. We wanted to maximize revenue of course, we wanted to maximize reach, but we also wanted to look at partners who can help us find new audiences. Between all three of these partners we announced today, I think we’ve achieved all of that.

You used to be on the other side of the table in these negotiations, why have streaming platforms leaned heavier on live sports over the last five years?

JOHNSTON: Live sports has an overall appeal to any type of platform – linear or digital – because it is the last form of appointment viewing. It’s the last place where you can gather large audiences on a regular, consistent basis. While five years ago, the trend became quite popular and digital services that maybe only had entertainment content now wanted some sports and that drove the fees up for some properties, that has shifted a little bit. The media world right now, both entertainment and sports, is far more fiscally prudent and there’s actually downward pressure on fees for entertainment and sports. Those that can achieve significant rights valuations, are those properties who can prove they can shift consumer behavior?

Have there been initial conversations about how to approach the content delivery with DAZN?

JOHNSTON: There’s certainly been some very preliminary conversations, but you’re 100 per cent right. It’s early. The conversations we’ve had with DAZN started with their excitement and interest to be part of the process for this media rights cycle. When I first met with Deidra Dionne, who leads DAZN Canada, she was telling me about her roots in Alberta and her roots in Saskatchewan, and family members who have worn watermelons on their heads. It went from there to a recognition of just the power of the CFL, the modernization and innovation that they’ve seen over the last year. That is where the crux of the conversation (is), they’re a sophisticated company. They’re going to find the right ways to deliver that content to any games to our fans.

Is there a concern in the CFL that this is too much, too fast to ask fans to digest?

JOHNSTON: We just want to deliver content to radio shows and you’re welcome, by the way.

Thank you (laughing).

JOHNSTON: There has been a lot of change, there’s no doubt. When I came in, we were right at the beginning of the process for negotiating probably the most important deal in the history of the CFL, as it relates, at least, to commercial measures. All of this, piece by piece, comes together and lands in a really significant, momentous day for the league, which is what we announced today. That is going to set us up for the next six years after this one, and I believe that those six years with the partners that we have are going to actually launch us into another step change after that. The modernization of the game and what we’ve demonstrated we can do as a league, it has resonated. It’s resonated positively with a lot of fans, and you’ve heard a lot of feedback on the other side as well, but it has resonated. It’s a demonstration of the just the scale and power of our fan base of the CFL.

Were potential TV partners at all part of the reason we’ve seen some of the aesthetic rule changes?

JOHNSTON: I don’t think directly so. Certainly in television background, it seems fairly obvious (we) would prefer not to have obstacles in the middle of the playing surface. There are some areas that I think are great for visuals from the fans, but also visuals for television back home. Mostly this is about modernizing the game so that the core of what we are, the three downs and the 12 players, the motion and the waggle, all of that can come to life in the best possible way.

Does this speed up the possibility of a tenth team in the CFL?

JOHNSTON: This is I think my 160th media hit since I started and I’m now 160-for-160 in getting an expansion question. The streak is alive! I’m joking, but it’s important. The reason I’ve been asked 160 straight times about expansion is because of how important it could be for our league. A tenth team would be outstanding. Does it speed it up? Just like we did with with the broadcast partners, I think the same impact will be had on potential future owners and markets as they see this is a league in action. We’ve taken the CFL from an outstanding league I think is underappreciated and undervalued, to one that no one can ignore. Now, we’re actually a global sports product that’s going to be available on the biggest sports platform in the world in over 200 markets. I do think that will resonate.

What’s the deal with Ridgehaven Holdings (stadium development proposal) in Halifax?

JOHNSTON: We were not expecting any sort of articles to come out or any reference to the CFL, so there’s nothing to report there. If and when there’s something for us to talk about, believe me, we will talk about it. What we are certainly happy with is the interest we’ve seen from multiple markets around the country. Also, multiple ownership groups who didn’t come with a market necessarily in mind, but just an interest to be a part of the CFL in some capacity, and want to explore that. We’ve been having some excellent conversations, but truly far too early to report on anything.

– with files from The Canadian Press