CFL on CBC was a presentation of Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 football aired on the CBC Television Network

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

. CBC held broadcast rights for the CFL from 1952 to 2007

2007 CFL season

The 2007 CFL season was the 54th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 50th season of the league, and many special events were held to commemorate the event. Regular-season play began on June 28, 2007 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and concluded on...

. The exclusive broadcasting rights for the league moved to TSN

The Sports Network

The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...

 starting from the 2008 CFL season

2008 CFL season

The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 51st season for the league. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup game, were aired on TSN. This meant the CFL...

.

Schedule

The broadcast schedule changed several times in its history, but in the final years of the run, CBC showed a game every Saturday. CBC also showed the Labour Day Classic, a Labour Day Monday CFL Doubleheader which always featuring the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

 and the Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 versus the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

. The CFL on CBC also showed the Thanksgiving Day Classic (Monday) doubleheader. From 1991

1991 CFL season

The 1991 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 38th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 34th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1991:...

 until 2007

2007 CFL season

The 2007 CFL season was the 54th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 50th season of the league, and many special events were held to commemorate the event. Regular-season play began on June 28, 2007 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and concluded on...

, the CBC had exclusive coverage of all playoff games and the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 Championship Game.

The CFL on CBC ended its run on November 25, 2007, airing the 95th Grey Cup from the Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

 in Toronto, Ontario. The earliest the CFL can possibly return to the network is 2013, when the TSN deal with the league expires.

Commentators

At the end of its run, the CFL on CBC was hosted by Elliotte Friedman

Elliotte Friedman

Elliotte Friedman is a Canadian sports journalist. He currently works on CBC Sports programmes including hosting and appearing on the Hockey Night in Canada segment The Headliner...

, and featured the panel of Sean Millington

Sean Millington

Sean Millington is a former Canadian Football League fullback and currently does colour commentary for cfl.ca and the CBC. He is also an actor in several movies and television shows.-Before the CFL:...

, Greg Frers

Greg Frers

Gregory Frers is a former professional Canadian football player who played ten years in the Canadian Football League. Frers played defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions from 1993 to 2002. He was part of the Stampeders 1998 and 2001 Grey Cup winning teams...

, and Khari Jones

Khari Jones

Khari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...

. Mark Lee

Mark Lee (sportscaster)

Mark Lee is a Canadian sportscaster for CBC Sports who has covered women's ice hockey, Olympic games and the Pan Am Games. He quarterbacked the Carleton Ravens football team for four years, graduating with a journalism degree. He then worked as a news anchor at CFCF radio in Montreal...

 was the main play-by-play commentator, along with colour commentator Chris Walby

Chris Walby

Chris Walby is a retired Canadian Football League player who played the offensive tackle position almost exclusively with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...

. The secondary broadcast team was Steve Armitage

Steve Armitage

Steve Armitage is an English-born Canadian sports reporter for CBC Sports. He has covered such events as Hockey Night in Canada, the Canadian Football League and Grey Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup of Football.Armitage won the 1982 ACTRA Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports...

 and Khari Jones

Khari Jones

Khari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...

. From August 20-October 4, 2005, the CFL on CBC had no on-air announcers due to a CMG

Canadian Media Guild

The Canadian Media Guild is a trade union representing employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , the Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters, Agence France-Presse, S-Vox, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, CW Television, CJRC Radio in Gatineau, Que., and TVOntario.It is a local of The...

 strike.

Play-by-play

• Steve Armitage
  Steve Armitage
  Steve Armitage is an English-born Canadian sports reporter for CBC Sports. He has covered such events as Hockey Night in Canada, the Canadian Football League and Grey Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup of Football.Armitage won the 1982 ACTRA Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports...
  
   (1991, 2005-2007)
• Dean Brown
  Dean Brown (sportscaster)
  Dean Brown is a Canadian hockey commentator. He is known for being the main play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators since the team's return to the NHL at first on Ottawa's talk-radio station 580 CFRA in the franchise's first years, then on the Rawlco owned station...
  
   (2000, 2004)
• Don Chevrier
  Don Chevrier
  Don Chevrier was a television and radio sports announcer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life and career:...
  
   (1969-1980)
• Gil Christy
• Chris Cuthbert (1992-2004)
• Dan Kelly
  Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
  Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
  
   (1964)
• Mark Lee
  Mark Lee (sportscaster)
  Mark Lee is a Canadian sportscaster for CBC Sports who has covered women's ice hockey, Olympic games and the Pan Am Games. He quarterbacked the Carleton Ravens football team for four years, graduating with a journalism degree. He then worked as a news anchor at CFCF radio in Montreal...
  
   (1996-2007)
• Norm Marshall
  Norm Marshall
  Norm Marshall was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster. He and Larry O'Brien were commentators for the first telecast of a Grey Cup football game 29 November 1952 on CBLT Toronto. CBC paid both Marshall and O'Brien CAD$250 for this inaugural broadcast.-Biography:Marshall's radio...
  
   (1952)
• Bob Moir (1959-1961)
• Wes McKnight
  Wes McKnight
  Wes McKnight was a Canadian television and radio personality who did play-by-play for many sports broadcasts, including serving as one of the original hosts for Hockey Night in Canada telecasts and covering the CFL Toronto Argonauts for about thirty years.He was elected to both the Hockey Hall of...
  
  
• Dave Price
• Bruce Rainnie
  Bruce Rainnie
  Bruce Rainnie is a broadcaster for CBC Sports and the host of CBC News: Compass, the supper-hour news program on CBCT in Prince Edward Island. He has been the host of Compass since 2003 and has been with CBC since 1995....
  
   (2007)
• Ted Reynolds
  Ted Reynolds (Canadian television)
  Ted Reynolds was a broadcaster on both Canadian television and radio. His career spanned for more than fifty years, with some thirty five having been spent with the CBC.-Career:...
  
   (1956-1960)
• Don Wittman
  Don Wittman
  Donald Rae Wittman was a Canadian sportscaster.Born in Herbert, Saskatchewan, Wittman attended the University of Saskatchewan and got his start in the field of broadcasting as a news reporter with CFQC radio in Saskatoon in 1955.As a sportscaster, Wittman covered many sports including athletics,...
  
   (1961-1995)

Colour commentary

• Ernie Afaganis
  Ernie Afaganis
  Ernie Afaganis is a Canadian sports broadcaster, known for his work at CBC Sports.-Career:After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Washington University, Afaganis returned to Alberta where in 1953 he joined CFRN in Edmonton...
  
   (1966-1969)
• David Archer
  David Archer
  David Mark Archer is a former professional American football player. A 6'2" undrafted quarterback from Snow College and Iowa State University, Archer played six seasons in the National Football League from 1984 to 1989 for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and...
  
   (1996-1997)
• Leo Cahill
  Leo Cahill
  Leo Cahill is a former head coach and general manager in the Canadian Football League, much of it spent with the Toronto Argonauts. Since 2004, Cahill has been serving as "goodwill ambassador" with the Argonauts. Has 5 children. Steve, Christy, Terry, Lisa and Bettye. He lives in Sarnia,...
  
   (1981-1985)
• James Curry
  James Curry
  James Curry, was a defensive tackle who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League. He won Grey Cups in 1983 with the Toronto Argonauts and 1989 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders--his first and last seasons in the league....
  
   (1993-1996)
• Chuck Ealey
  Chuck Ealey
  Charles "Chuck" Ealey is a former football player for Notre Dame High School, University of Toledo, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.-High school and college years:...
  
   (1986)
• Terry Evanshen
  Terry Evanshen
  Terrence Anthony "Terry" Evanshen is a motivational speaker and former star receiver in the Canadian Football League.-CFL:...
  
   (1979)
• Darren Flutie
  Darren Flutie
  Darren Paul Flutie is a former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League's third all-time leader in catches, behind Ben Cahoon and Terry Vaughn; he is also third all-time in career receiving yardage behind...
  
   (2002-2006)
• Greg Frers
  Greg Frers
  Gregory Frers is a former professional Canadian football player who played ten years in the Canadian Football League. Frers played defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions from 1993 to 2002. He was part of the Stampeders 1998 and 2001 Grey Cup winning teams...
  
   (2007)
• Joe Galat
  Joe Galat
  Joe Galat was born in Painesville, Ohio and has extensive experience in professional football as a player, coach, general manager, broadcaster, and youth executive. He is best known as a former college and professional football coach who starred at Miami University as a player...
  
   (1991-1993)
• Russ Jackson
  Russ Jackson
  Russell Stanley "Russ" Jackson, OC is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League...
  
   (1971-1973, 1977-1980)
• Khari Jones
  Khari Jones
  Khari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
  
   (2006-2007)
• Dan Kepley (1991-1996)
• Ron Lancaster
  Ron Lancaster
  Ronald "Ron" Lancaster was one of the pre-eminent quarterbacks of the Canadian Football League during his playing career; after his retirement as a player, he was also coach and general manager in the same league, and a sports announcer for CBC Television...
  
   (1981-1990)
• Larry O'Brien (1962)
• Ken Ploen
  Ken Ploen
  Kenneth "Ken" Ploen [PLAYN], OM was a star quarterback in American college football and for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League .-College football:...
  
  
• Frank Rigney
  Frank Rigney
  Frank Rigney was an offensive tackle for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League.-College:Rigney played college ball with another Blue Bomber great, quarterback Ken Ploen at the University of Iowa.-CFL:...
  
   (1969-1976)
• Chris Walby
  Chris Walby
  Chris Walby is a retired Canadian Football League player who played the offensive tackle position almost exclusively with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
  
   (1998-2007)
• Jack Wells
  Jack Wells
  John Hampson "Jack" Wells , also known as Cactus Jack, was a Winnipeg-based radio and television broadcaster specializing in sports....
  
   (1954)
• Nobby Wirkowski
  Nobby Wirkowski
  Norbert Wirkowski is a retired American and Canadian football player and coach. He is best known as quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts...
  
   (1966)

Hosts

• Steve Douglas
  Steve Douglas (sportscaster)
  Steve Douglas was a Canadian sportscaster, most notably with CBC Sports.Douglas was a sports anchor for CBLT in Toronto and an announcer for the CFL on CBC from 1953-1965...
  
   (1953-1961)
• Elliotte Friedman
  Elliotte Friedman
  Elliotte Friedman is a Canadian sports journalist. He currently works on CBC Sports programmes including hosting and appearing on the Hockey Night in Canada segment The Headliner...
  
   (2006-2007)
• Dave Hodge
  Dave Hodge
  Dave Hodge is a Canadian sports announcer who currently works for TSN, and has worked in the past for the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto.-Broadcasting career:...
  
   (1984-1986)
• Scott Oake
  Scott Oake
  Scott Oake is a Gemini Award winning Canadian sportscaster for CBC Sports.-Early life:Oake was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and raised in Sydney's "shipyards" neighborhood until the age of 14, when his family relocated to Newfoundland...
  
   (1995)
• John Wells
  John Wells (sportscaster)
  John Wells is a Canadian sportscaster. His most recent show, which ended in April 2008, was Wells And Company on CJOB radio in Winnipeg. He broadcast Canadian Football League games for over 30 years. He is the son of "Cactus" Jack Wells.-Early life and career:Wells broadcasting career began in...
  
   (1973-1983)
• Brian Williams
  Brian Williams (sportscaster)
  Brian Williams is a Canadian sportscaster who is best known for his coverage of the Olympic Games.-Biography:Williams' father was a very successful doctor...
  
   (1987-2005)

Studio analysts

• Daved Benefield
  Daved Benefield
  Daved Benefield is a former professional American football player who played thirteen seasons in the Canadian Football League for five different teams. He also was a backup at linebacker and defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers in 1996.-Career:As a youngster growing up in Southern...
  
   (2007)
• Bernie Faloney
  Bernie Faloney
  Bernie Faloney was a professional football player in the Canadian Football League and an outstanding American college football player at the University of Maryland...
  
   (1962)
• Darren Flutie
  Darren Flutie
  Darren Paul Flutie is a former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League's third all-time leader in catches, behind Ben Cahoon and Terry Vaughn; he is also third all-time in career receiving yardage behind...
  
   (2002-2006)
• Greg Frers
  Greg Frers
  Gregory Frers is a former professional Canadian football player who played ten years in the Canadian Football League. Frers played defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions from 1993 to 2002. He was part of the Stampeders 1998 and 2001 Grey Cup winning teams...
  
   (2003-2007)
• Joe Galat
  Joe Galat
  Joe Galat was born in Painesville, Ohio and has extensive experience in professional football as a player, coach, general manager, broadcaster, and youth executive. He is best known as a former college and professional football coach who starred at Miami University as a player...
  
   (1993)
• Khari Jones
  Khari Jones
  Khari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
  
   (2006-2007)
• Sean Millington
  Sean Millington
  Sean Millington is a former Canadian Football League fullback and currently does colour commentary for cfl.ca and the CBC. He is also an actor in several movies and television shows.-Before the CFL:...
  
   (2003-2004, 2006-2007)
• Annis Stukus
  Annis Stukus
  Annis Paul Stukus was a Canadian football player, coach and general manager, and ice hockey general manager....
  
   (1955)
• Glen Suitor
  Glen Suitor
  Glen Suitor was a defensive back who played eleven seasons for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He ranks among the CFL all-time leaders in interceptions with 51. Suitor was a three-time CFL All-Star and a four-time Western All-Star...
  
   (1995-2002)
• Eric Tillman (2005)
• Chris Walby
  Chris Walby
  Chris Walby is a retired Canadian Football League player who played the offensive tackle position almost exclusively with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
  
   (1997)

Sideline reporters

• Ernie Afaganis
  Ernie Afaganis
  Ernie Afaganis is a Canadian sports broadcaster, known for his work at CBC Sports.-Career:After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Washington University, Afaganis returned to Alberta where in 1953 he joined CFRN in Edmonton...
  
   (1966-1969)
• Frank Anderson (1962-1963)
• Steve Armitage
  Steve Armitage
  Steve Armitage is an English-born Canadian sports reporter for CBC Sports. He has covered such events as Hockey Night in Canada, the Canadian Football League and Grey Cup, the Olympics, and the World Cup of Football.Armitage won the 1982 ACTRA Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports...
  
   (1977-2007)
• Ward Cornell
  Ward Cornell
  Ward MacLaurin Cornell was a Canadian broadcaster noted for hosting Hockey Night in Canada between 1959 and 1972....
  
   (1959)
• Mark Connolly
  Mark Connolly
  Mark Gerard Connolly is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Bolton Wanderers.-Club career:Connolly was signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers by Bolton Wanderers on the summer transfer dealine in 2009. After the clubs agreed a £1,000,000 fee...
  
   (2007)
• Chris Cuthbert (1995)
• Darren Flutie
  Darren Flutie
  Darren Paul Flutie is a former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League's third all-time leader in catches, behind Ben Cahoon and Terry Vaughn; he is also third all-time in career receiving yardage behind...
  
   (2006)
• Elliotte Friedman
  Elliotte Friedman
  Elliotte Friedman is a Canadian sports journalist. He currently works on CBC Sports programmes including hosting and appearing on the Hockey Night in Canada segment The Headliner...
  
   (2005)
• Brenda Irving
  Brenda Irving
  Brenda Irving is a Canadian television sports journalist employed by CBC Television. She was the first female Hockey Night in Canada rinkside reporter between 2001 and 2006, and previously served for seven years as a news reporter. She has also reported on Canadian football and major league...
  
   (1996-2007)
• Khari Jones
  Khari Jones
  Khari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
  
   (2007)
• Mark Lee
  Mark Lee (sportscaster)
  Mark Lee is a Canadian sportscaster for CBC Sports who has covered women's ice hockey, Olympic games and the Pan Am Games. He quarterbacked the Carleton Ravens football team for four years, graduating with a journalism degree. He then worked as a news anchor at CFCF radio in Montreal...
  
   (2004)
• Doug Maxwell
  Doug Maxwell
  Douglas Dean "Doug" Maxwell was a noted Canadian journalist and broadcaster, noted for his coverage in the sport of curling....
  
   (1961)
• Tom McKee
• Bob Moir (1958-1960)
• Scott Oake
  Scott Oake
  Scott Oake is a Gemini Award winning Canadian sportscaster for CBC Sports.-Early life:Oake was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and raised in Sydney's "shipyards" neighborhood until the age of 14, when his family relocated to Newfoundland...
  
   (1987-1994)
• Larry O'Brien (1956-1957)
• Brian Williams
  Brian Williams (sportscaster)
  Brian Williams is a Canadian sportscaster who is best known for his coverage of the Olympic Games.-Biography:Williams' father was a very successful doctor...
  
  (1984-1986)