ESPN announces CFL broadcast schedule for 2017

The CFL and ESPN have announced a schedule of 29 games that will air on television south of the border on various ESPN platforms.

TSN has had the exclusive broadcast rights for the CFL in Canada for many years. Ratings for the CFL have been growing from year to year highlighted by the10 million viewers who watched the 104th Grey Cup between Ottawa and Calgary.

The league reported a 5 percent increase in viewers for regular season games which includes an 11 percent increase in the key 18-49 demographic nationwide. The Edmonton Eskimos led the CFL with an average audience of 649,000 viewers per game.

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Regardless of the attendance of ticket buyers in certain CFL markets, the TV ratings have been outstanding across Canada and CFL games often squash the Toronto Raptors when it comes to viewing numbers on TSN nationally.

With American’s having a ravenous appetite for football, the CFL and ESPN are hoping to create similar interest south of the border over the summer while the NCAA and NFL are dark and don’t begin their TV coverage until late August.

Based on a multi-year agreement with the CFL, ESPN television networks and ESPN3 have the exclusive rights to present all regular season and postseason CFL games in the United States, including the 105^th Grey Cup.

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Here is the full schedule of CFL games to air on ESPN: The Toronto Argonauts will have seven games featured south of the border on ESPN.