Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect changes in the CFL schedule on the ESPN networks.
Date | Matchup | Time | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 23 | Hamilton @ Toronto* | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 24 | Montréal @ Winnipeg | 8:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 25 | Calgary @ B.C. | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 30 | Ottawa @ Montréal | 7p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
June 30 | Toronto @ Saskatchewan | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 1 | Winnipeg @ Calgary | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 7 | Winnipeg @ Hamilton | 7p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 7 | Toronto @ B.C. | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 8 | Saskatchewan @ Edmonton | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 25 | Montréal @ Toronto | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 28 | Winnipeg @ Edmonton | 9p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 29 | B.C. @ Calgary | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July 31 | Toronto @ Ottawa | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 4 | B.C. @ Montréal | 7p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 4 | Saskatchewan @ Calgary | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 11 | Montréal @ Edmonton | 9p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 25 | B.C. @ Ottawa | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
August 26 | Saskatchewan @ Edmonton | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
All games on ESPN2 except for * on ESPNews. All times are Eastern. All feeds from TSN. |
ESPN is your CFL source in the United States once again in 2016. Every CFL game will either be on ESPN2, ESPNews, or ESPN3. 18 regular season games will appear on TV: all but a single game on ESPN2 with ESPNews taking the other.
ESPN2 will air the East Division semifinal, the East final, and the Grey Cup from BMO Field in Toronto.
ESPNews will have the CFL opener also from BMO Field in Toronto on Thursday. The schedule is heavily preloaded: 13 of the 18 regular season games air before the end of July. The lone late season game will air after a nearly 2-month break.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
One new twist to the telecasts is that ESPN2 will have 3 doubleheaders, a first for U.S. television in recent times. The network will carry both games on June 30, July 7, and August 4.
Team | Home | Road | Total |
Toronto | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Montréal | 2 | 3 | 5 |
B.C. | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Calgary | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Saskatchewan | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Winnipeg | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Edmonton | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Ottawa | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Late games are prevalent on the schedule. 10 of the 18 regular season games are west of Winnipeg. Every team gets a home game; all but Edmonton get a road game.
The 2 best teams in the East last year only have 5 games combined while the worst 2 East teams each have 5 games. Grey Cup champ Edmonton has fewer telecasts than 6 of the 9 teams in the league. ESPN has much less control over which teams are scheduled.
The overall scheduling pattern is similar to last year's schedule; click here to check out the 2015 TV schedule.
The late games haven't done well in U.S. ratings. The doubleheader appeal might boost 3 of those late games. Then again, outside of die-hards, will the average American watch TWO CFL games in a row?
As for watching the games, you need to have a cable provider that accepts ESPN3 to watch the non-TV games. Sling TV will sell you ESPN service without cable, but that only applies to the 20 games on the schedule.
All feeds on ESPN, whether on TV or online, comes from TSN. ESPN has a minority investment in TSN along with Bell Media. We'll also talk in the weeks to come about any extra coverage, such as promos for players and the basic rules explanation that we saw last season on ESPN.
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