Brand new TSN

February 5, 1996 by Strategy Staff

A new era is being ushered in at The Sports Network as the cable service moves to a brand management-like structure to market its broadcast properties in distinct segments.

The segments are hockey, baseball, news and information, and a general grouping informally called 52 weeks that takes in special events and the likes of football, skiing, motor racing and other sports.

Jake Scudamore, vice-president of marketing at tsn, says before the change, the broadcaster was structured so the marketing department worked on all sports, not just one.

Now, Scudamore says, tsn is moving to a brand management-type system so one product has all the necessary components of support behind it to provide full service.

The new structure consists of a director of brand management, a manager of brand management and brand co-ordinators.

‘Within that team, their role is basically homework, and then when the homework is complete, [they] interpret direction and support and service execution.’

Scudamore says he believes tsn has always had packaged goods discipline and the speed of retail execution.

But he says it is now the broadcaster’s view it has to put support systems behind its individual product segments since the broadcaster has built its position and reputation through content and distribution.

The change at tsn could be considered pre-emptive.

Long a giant among cable broadcasters, tsn may soon find itself challenged on the sports front by would-be cablecasters such as ctv’s proposed S3 service and its sports pay per view entry if the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission licenses them after the next round of hearings.

Another potential sports competitor is the Sportscope Television Network, also an applicant for a new crtc cable licence.

tsn has also filed an application with the crtc for a licence to operate TSN Plus, regional, east-west services.

Guy Letourneau, vice-president of marketing at Reseau des Sports in Montreal, tsn’s French sister service, says there are changes under way at rds but adds he cannot discuss them until they have been communicated to rds employees.

Letourneau does allow the rds changes are not of the brand management variety being implemented at tsn since his service is not big enough to pull them off.

Scudamore says it is tsn’s belief it is better to initiate change than to deal with what others have changed.

‘We do not accept the role of standing still,’ he says.

‘The premise surrounding the desire to change, of course, is driven by competition and technology, but we always do it under these guidelines, and this, I presume, is critical: everything we do has to be relevant and engaging.’

Scudamore says the primary beneficiary of this relevance and engagement has to be consumers, with them being supplied with the news and information they want.

He says this relevance and engagement has to be supplied at the ‘access points’ the consumer wants, too, whether that is a certain broadcast hour on tsn, TSN Sports Radio or its site on the Internet.

Second, he says the broadcaster has to be relevant and engaging to its cable operator partners, so tsn product is always looked at by their customers as an important part of cable packages.

Next, Scudamore says, tsn has to be relevant and engaging to advertisers, offering them the target group and the vehicle they want their message associated with.

Also, the broadcaster has to be sure it is relevant and engaging to the crtc’s vision of the Canadian broadcasting environment; relevant and engaging on social issues, and relevant and engaging to tsn employees.

To communicate the changes at tsn, Scudamore says in the near- and mid-term the broadcaster has a series of meetings planned with its advertisers to explain the redesign of its servicing structure based on their requirements.

As for changes viewers might see, Scudamore says he does not want to let too much of the cat out of the bag, but will say ‘wraparound programming’ has proven to be a big hit with viewers.