''MLS on TSN'' is the branding used for TSN's telecasts of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS) matches. TSN first acquired rights to MLS in 2011.

History

In February 2011,

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include national television ...

announced a six-year deal for national MLS broadcast rights in Canada. TSN and

TSN2 TSN2 is a Canadian English-language discretionary sports specialty channel that acts as the secondary feed of sports-centred channel The Sports Network (TSN) and owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. It was launched in its current form on A ...

would broadcast 24 matches during the 2011 season and air a minimum of 30 matches per season during the subsequent five seasons, all featuring at least one Canadian team. French-language sister networks RDS and

RDS2 RDS2 is a Canadian French language discretionary sports specialty channel, acting as the secondary feed of French language television network Réseau des sports, owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. The channel was launched on October 7, 2011, ...

had similar broadcast rights. The networks also carried the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

and select playoff matches, the

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially adopted a traditional all ...

, and additional matches not involving Canadian teams.

GolTV GOL TV is an American TV sports channel dedicated to soccer owned by GOLTV Inc., based in Coral Gables, Florida. The network broadcasts Liga 1 and Campeonato Uruguay matches. The network was among the first to start a trend of bilingual bro ...

continued to carry selected all-U.S. MLS matches.

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

regional matches were split between TSN and the

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

networks (their parent companies,

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

and

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, in Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in the province ...

, jointly own a stake in TFC's parent company

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

). In 2014, TSN acquired rights to

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

regional matches. In 2017,

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

reached a five-year extension to its English-language rights to Major League Soccer, with coverage remaining similar to previous seasons (though with French-language rights moving to rival network

TVA Sports TVA Sports is a Canadian French-language sports specialty channel owned by the Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. The channel is a general-interest sports network, and the first major competitor to RDS, the only other F ...

, and the option for matches to be simulcast on broadcast network CTV). TSN also assumed exclusive rights to Toronto FC. On December 15, 2021, MLS announced that it would be continuing with the same Canadian broadcasters for 2022. TSN will broadcast all Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps games while TVA Sports will cover

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

in French. TSN will also broadcast select additional matches, and CTV will show eight MLS games. TSN acquired national rights to select MLS games for the 2023–2026 seasons. TSN will broadcast at least one match per week featuring a Canadian team, eight playoff matches, and the

MLS Cup Final MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

. Matches aired on TSN are non-exclusive and will also be available in Canada on

MLS Season Pass MLS Season Pass is a soccer streaming service operated by Apple Inc. which includes live matches from Major League Soccer (MLS). The package was launched in the 2023 Major League Soccer season as part of a new 10-year media rights agreement be ...

Commentators

*Luke Wileman (host and play-by-play) *

Steven Caldwell Steven Caldwell (born 12 September 1980) is a Scottish former footballer, coach, and executive. Playing as a defender, mostly as a centre back, Caldwell won 12 caps for the Scotland national team and has played over 300 league matches in his ...

(TSN soccer analyst) *

Terry Dunfield Terence Dunfield (born February 20, 1982) is a Canadian former soccer player, coach and pundit, as well as soccer analyst for TSN and colour commentator for OneSoccer. As a player he was a midfielder who played in the Premier League although ...

(TSN soccer analyst) *

Gareth Wheeler Gareth Wheeler is a Canadian sports broadcaster and radio host for The Sports Network (TSN) and TSN 1050 Radio, based in Toronto, Ontario. He currently serves as the radio voice of Toronto FC on TSN 1050 for games involving TFC on the TSN family o ...

(TSN soccer radio host) *

Blake Price Blake Price (born December 15, 1974) is a Canadian sportscaster. He is most recently an anchor on TSN's SportsCentre and a co-host of one of the most popular sports radio show’s in Vancouver, "Sekeres and Price Show" on The nation network podc ...

(play-by-play) * Paul Dolan (TSN soccer analyst) *Joey Alfieri (play-by-play) *

Vic Rauter Victor "Vic" Rauter (born 1955) is a Canadian sportscaster for TSN, having joined the network in 1985. Rauter has anchored TSN's curling coverage for more than 25 years, providing play-by-play curling commentary for the Season of Champions on ...

(play-by-play) * Greg Sutton (TSN soccer analyst)

History

Commentators

References

See also