TSN's New Deal

Yeah, I know I promised news from the NW, but I've been a little tied up reading books and taking care of errands I have put off for a semester, sorry. Today, I have something else to complain about. For over 30 years the NFL's Monday Night Football was on ABC in the United States and a variety of networks in Canada, most recently Global. These networks are all "terrestrial" broadcasts, meaning they are not cable based. That is until this year. This year MNF moved to ESPN in the United States and TSN in Canada. These are, as many know, cable offerings only. That's right you can't see MNF unless you go to a bar or have cable or satelite with a sports package. I think it's dumb, especially considering the popularity of the sport in the United States. Now today, TSN/RDS (the french TSN) announce that they will be carrying the exclusive contract for the CFL (Canadian Football League), including the Grey Cup (the Championship game) and all playoffs. This is also a switch from terrestrial broadcast. For as long as I can remember CBC has carried the CFL. It now looks as though you will not be able to watch the Grey Cup unless you have cable. Stupid idea! It may be good for the network but it is bad for the regular viewing public. There are lots of people who will miss out because the terrestrial networks are no longer able to carry games. I think that makes for a very bad choice overall. It has the potential to push those fans who have been watching on terrestrial TV to buy cable/satellite, something they may or may not be able to afford. I know I'm talking about worst case scenario's but it's just frustrating. If this had happened while I was living in Canada and didn't have satellite I would be very upset about it. Terrestrial television has been carrying football for decades why should we change it now just because a part of the population wants to watch every single game. That's all I have please feel free to post comments below or shoot me an email but hitting the link on the right. Thanks. Sorry, here is the link