The Canadian Football League believes it has taken a major step into the future.
Appearing on The SportsCage following Thursday’s announcement of a sweeping new media rights agreement, CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston described the day as “transformative,” “foundational,” and a launching point for the next era of the league.
The CFL unveiled a series of new long-term partnerships with Bell Media, DAZN and YouTube beginning in 2027, agreements the league says collectively represent the largest media rights deal in CFL history.
“I just said to the fellas here, I’m calling it a monumental day,” SportsCage host Barney Shynkaruk said to Johnston during the interview.
“It is truly,” Johnston responded. “We think it’s a landmark day, it’s a foundational day, it’s a launching day. We are thrilled with what we were able to announce today. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work, but it’s also the culmination of a process that reinforced just how important the CFL is as a media property in this country and now around the world.”
The agreements dramatically reshape how the CFL will distribute games and content moving forward.
Bell Media remains the league’s primary Canadian rights holder, with TSN set to broadcast 60 regular-season games, six playoff games and the Grey Cup beginning in 2027. RDS remains the French-language home of the CFL, while select games and the Grey Cup will also be available on CTV and Crave.
Meanwhile, DAZN enters the picture as a major new partner, highlighted by an exclusive Saturday Night Football package each week during the regular season and select playoff coverage. The streaming giant will also carry every CFL game internationally outside Canada and the United States in more than 200 countries.
YouTube was also announced as a “Premier Platform Partner,” with expanded live and on-demand CFL content, creator collaborations, enhanced combine coverage and access to the league’s historical archives.
For Johnston, the deal checks every major box the league hoped to accomplish.
“It was question seven on day one, and question one many, many times after that,” Johnston said with a laugh, referencing the immediate focus on media rights after he became commissioner.
“Everyone recognizes this was an important moment for the league. It really is how you determine whether this league lives at the elite level of media properties or not.”
Johnston explained that maximizing revenue was only part of the equation.
“We wanted to optimize our rights. We wanted to maximize revenue, of course. We wanted to maximize our reach, and we wanted to try and reach new audiences. I feel overjoyed right now to say that we’ve landed these partners, including YouTube as a premier partner on a premier platform.”
The commissioner said the partnerships allow the CFL to simultaneously maintain its broad traditional audience while aggressively pursuing younger fans and new viewers.
“Between all of these partners, we’ve got the ability to do wide and powerful reach,” Johnston said. “We’ve got targeted, young, and new audiences being attracted through Bell Media, DAZN and YouTube.”
Johnston also revealed just how much interest there was around the CFL during negotiations.
“It wasn’t just those three partners that we announced this morning,” he said. “Almost every major global streamer and almost every major domestic distributor were interested in having a conversation with us about the CFL.”
According to Johnston, that interest reflects both the strength of the product and the momentum the league has built over the last year.
“I think it’s a testament to the game on the field,” he said. “I think it’s a recognition of the modernization that we’ve demonstrated over the last year. We created a lot of attention on the league, and that has been noticed.”
One of the most intriguing elements of the new agreement is the addition of a consistent Saturday Night Football window on DAZN at 7 p.m. ET.
Johnston believes the consistency could become a major benefit for fans.
“What Bell and TSN have done with Thursday Night Football and Friday Night Football has been outstanding,” Johnston said. “But on a Saturday, you can lock that in. I think that consistency is going to be fantastic for fans.”
The commissioner also acknowledged that the CFL is following a growing trend across professional sports by balancing traditional reach with digital growth opportunities.
“We’ve seen some data from other leagues that clearly have split packages,” Johnston explained. “The global digital distribution platform often appeals to a younger audience, and what the linear player brings is a broad audience. I think those two groups are starting to merge.”
Perhaps most importantly for Johnston, the agreements reinforce his long-held belief that the CFL has been undervalued as a sports property.
“One of the reasons I came to the CFL and took this job is because for 20 years I was on the other side looking at the CFL and realizing it is undervalued and underappreciated for the strength of what it delivers,” Johnston said.
“This is a highly scaled sports property in this country, and I don’t think it’s ever had the proper recognition of that.”
Johnston believes the new partnerships finally provide validation for the league’s standing in Canada’s sports landscape.
“These companies saw that. They recognized that. We demonstrated the strength of our league, and they got it right away, and they were excited right away.”
The commissioner stopped short of discussing specific financial figures related to the agreements but acknowledged a “significant increase” in overall media valuation. Still, Johnston suggested the biggest impact may go beyond revenue.
“What this deal does, even more importantly than the revenue generation, is the demonstration of momentum,” he said. “We have some of the biggest partners domestically and internationally you could ever want, saying that they want to be a part of the CFL family.”
For a league that has spent years battling questions about its future relevance, Thursday’s announcement represented something much different: confidence, ambition and belief in where the CFL is headed next.
Hear the entire conversation here.
