In an interview with TSN 690 this Wednesday, Canadian Premier League commissioner Mark Noonan confirmed that the league now owns OneSoccer, stating that they control "both the digital and the linear" side of the sports channel.
The commissioner also spoke about the challenges of getting it into a linear cable, the preferred way of watching TV by most Canadians.
"You probably know that we own the OneSoccer channel now, both the digital and the linear, and we think that can be an incredible resource for anybody who loves Canadian soccer." said Noonan. "Not just the CPL, but OneSoccer covers the spectrum of soccer across Canada, and whether it was Canada's incredible run in the Copa América, the Telus Canadian Championship, the CPL, League1 Canada, MLS, etc... It's a network that really just wants to bring the best of soccer to Canada and within Canada, and it needs broader distribution, and unfortunately, the duopoly that exists has not allowed that yet. And we're working diligently to get OneSoccer more broadly distributed, and we believe it will." Noonan added.
Timeless Inc., the former owner of OneSoccer, has been embroiled in a nearly two-year dispute with Rogers. Timeless claims that Rogers has been deliberately blocking OneSoccer from being added to its cable TV lineup to protect its own interests, such as being part owners of Toronto FC, continuing to delay a "critical revenue stream" which would "force OneSoccer to cease operations", and more.
The OneSoccer vs. Rogers dispute has been going on for a long time. Scott Mitchell, CEO of Timeless Inc., the company that owns and controls OneSoccer, went all out at Rogers, who filed a request to The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to review the… pic.twitter.com/HPAWJNs2Du
— TrueNorthFoot ?????? (@truenorthfoot) August 29, 2024
In the interview with TSN, Noonan also spoke about expansion to the province of Quebec:
"I’ve learned a couple lessons from MLS, if you don’t have the right conditions to be successful, you shouldn’t have a club. The success comes from having the right facility, right owner, the right corporate support, the right municipal support, the right support from supporters, and you need to align those things up before you make a commitment to starting or moving a franchise." said Noonan. "We’re trying to line these things up in the province of Quebec right now, and all the usual places… They’re talking to municipalities. We’ve got a great relationship with League1 (Canada), which is a league that we run." the commissioner added.
Noonan also referred to Ligue1 Québec side CS Saint-Laurent, saying how it'd be a "a phenomenal story for us if they could come up from League1 to the CPL".
"With CS Saint-Laurent, it’d be a phenomenal story for us if they could come up from League1 to the CPL and represent the great area they’re in, but there’s a facility that they play in that would need meaningful upgrades to get to the standard of which we aspire to be, and that’s a division 1 FIFA league. You need the right ownership to be able to invest in the player developments, and in the facility, and in the marketing and media, and then in building your staff off the field, and we’re working to get that puzzle put together in the province. Quebec as a province is very very high on our priority list, but we’re not going to do it if we can’t ensure that it’s going to be successful. We’ve got a number of really good discussions, which are private until we get to the point where we’re ready to announce them. It’s something we’re working day in and day out and it’s a high priority for our league." concluded Noonan.
Promotion and relegation:
The Canadian Premier League commissioner spoke about the possibility of promotion and relegation in the future with League1 Canada.
"We’re such a young entity that we can do some things that some more established leagues can’t do it." said Noonan. "We’re still in our startup and buildup phase. A couple years down the road, do we continue to develop League1 (Canada) clubs and have a legitimate 2nd division within Canada, and then think about promotion and relegation? Though we’re a long way away from that, but we can create those options within our business."
