TSN corners NFL market as sports broadcast battle heats up

Still smarting from Rogers' cornering of the hockey market, Bell Media has struck back.

Bell announced Monday that it has secured Canadian broadcast, digital and mobile rights to NFL games in a multi-year deal that kicks in next season. The deal means Bell-owned CTV and TSN now have all but one NFL broadcast package: the Thursday night games that air on Rogers. Bell will now be able to air the early Sunday afternoon game on CTV, early and late Sunday afternoon games on TSN or TSN2, the Sunday night game on TSN and Monday Night Football on TSN.

Bell also has playoff games and the Super Bowl, which is the most-watched TV event in the country.

Under an agreement that will expire after the next Super Bowl, Rogers had rights to a late and early Sunday afternoon game. Those now move to Bell.

The deal also means that TSN will be going all-out to fill the holes created by the $5.2 billion (U.S.) deal that gave Rogers exclusive rights to all nationally broadcast NHL games.

While the deal all but shuts Rogers out of the NFL, the cable giant won't miss them that much considering all of the hockey it will get under its record-breaking $5.2 billion (U.S.) deal with the NHL.

And while it provides Bell with much-needed high-profile content to replace the hockey it lost to Rogers, it comes up short in one key area: Canadian content.

Many of the NHL games counted as Canadian content while none of the NFL contests do.

It retains regional Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and WInnipeg Jets games, it will need more Canadian content to satisfy CRTC requirements. Possible replacements could include more curling, Toronto Raptors basketball and MLS games.

That means Bell isn't done dealing yet.