CHAMPIONS LIVE HERE: Canada’s Sports Leader Recaps Production Milestones, Industry Honours, and the Iconic Championship Moments Seen on TSN in 2016

TORONTO (December 21, 2016) – As 2016 draws to a close, TSN celebrates its expansive CHAMPIONS LIVE HERE campaign by recapping the iconic championship moments that Canadians enjoyed on TSN. Along with delivering more than 60 championship events, the past 12 months saw Canada’s Sports Leader set multiple Canadian audience records, mark several production milestones, and receive a wide variety of industry awards and honours – making 2016 yet another transformative year for TSN. “Our CHAMPIONS LIVE HERE campaign was centered around a singular theme, that TSN is home to an abundance of iconic championships,” said Stewart Johnston, President of TSN. “Whether it’s LeBron James bringing home a franchise-first title, the Ottawa Redblacks winning the GREY CUP in an overtime thriller, or Toronto FC making history in the MLS CUP playoffs, these extraordinary moments of consequence are delivered only through championship games. Over the next 12 months, and in the years ahead, we’ll continue to offer TSN subscribers and advertisers an unmatched roster of the biggest, and most diverse championships.” Production Milestones In 2016, TSN marked several production milestones:

• Canada’s Sports Leader kicked off 2016 with a North American production first, producing the first-ever live 4K Ultra HD broadcast when the Toronto Raptors hosted the Boston Celtics on January 20
• In August, TSN delivered the first-ever Live Mic Broadcast of a regular season CFL game, allowing fans to listen to quarterbacks and coaches, each wearing live microphones all game long. In total, TSN delivered five Live Mic Broadcasts in 2016, which attracted an average audience increase of nearly 20% compared to non-Live Mic Broadcasts games
• This year, TSN ventured into virtual reality for the first time, offering 360-video content to fans with a behind-the-scenes look of SPORTSCENTRE, and a fully immersive GREY CUP experience featuring both teams’ pre-game speeches and player introductions, as well as the ceremonial coin toss

Industry Recognition In 2016, TSN’s world-class broadcast and production teams received a wide-range of awards and honours:

• Canadian Screen Awards – TSN scored seven 2016 Canadian Screen Awards – more than any other sports broadcaster – including Best Sports Feature Segment for THE BUTTERFLY CHILD (which has garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube), as well as three awards for TSN’s comprehensive coverage of the FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP CANADA 2015, and three for the 2015 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• Order of Canada – TSN founder Gordon Craig was invested into the Order of Canada for being a pioneer in sports broadcasting in Canada
• Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Canadian Curling Hall of Fame – TSN’s acclaimed Senior Reporter and analyst, Bob Weeks, was inducted into both the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
• Ontario Sports Hall of Fame – CFL ON TSN panellist Chris Schultz and TSN basketball analyst Leo Rautins were both inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
• Ryerson University’s Radio & Television Arts (RTA) Wall of Fame – TSN’s Senior Vice-President of Production Mark Milliere was inducted into the RTA Wall of Fame
• Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ring of Honour – CFL ON TSN panellist Milt Stegall was inducted into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Ring of Honour

In addition, the TSN Brand Partnerships team was awarded two Promax Awards for their TSN Fantasy Football (Global Award: Overall Integrated Sports Marketing Campaign) and Coors Light Games (North American Award: Consumer Tie-In Campaign) executions. Championships on TSN Here is a month-by-month selection of some of the iconic sports moments seen on TSN in 2016, along with a recap of record ratings: January

• 2016 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Finland defeats Russia to win gold on home ice in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory. In total, almost 17 million unique viewers – or almost half the country – watched some part of the World Juniors on TSN and RDS, with Team Canada’s five games attracting an average audience of 2.1 million viewers

• PINTY’S ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME: At TSN’s signature curling skins game, Team Jacobs captures back-to-back men’s titles and Team Jones bests Team Sweeting to claim victory in the women’s tournament

• AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Novak Djokovic defeats Andy Murray in straight sets to claim his second consecutive Australian Open title. Murray’s semifinal match versus Canadian Milos Raonic became the most-watched Australian Open men’s semifinal ever with 2.3 million individual Canadian viewers tuning in as the tennis stars battled in the fourth set

February

• SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS: Chelsea Carey’s Team Alberta defeats Krista McCarville’s Team Northern Ontario 7-6 in a thrilling final as Team Alberta breaks a 6-6 tie in the last end with their final stone to seal the victory 

• NBA ALL-STAR GAME: Toronto hosts the 2016 NBA ALL-STAR GAME at the Air Canada Centre, the first time the game is held outside the United States. Overall, 3.1 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in to some part of the game, making it the most-watched NBA ALL-STAR GAME in 20 years

March

• TIM HORTONS BRIER: Kevin Koe’s Team Alberta defeats Newfoundland-Labradour’s Brad Gushue to capture his third BRIER championship and the right to represent Canada at the 2016 World Men’s Curling Championship

April

• NCAA^® MARCH MADNESS^® : Following a dominating win over Oklahoma in the semifinals, the Villanova Wildcats secure their second NCAA championship title over North Carolina with a nail-biting 77-74 victory

• THE MASTERS: Trailing by five shots at the start of the back nine, Danny Willet claims his first golf major title after draining three birdies in the final six holes. More than 1.5 million viewers watched the final round on TSN, CTV, and RDS – an increase of 10% compared to the 2015 tournament

 May

• IIHF WORLD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP: Led by superstar Connor McDavid, Team Canada captures their second consecutive gold medal with a 2-0 victory over Team Finland. A record average audience of 1.56 million viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS, with more than 4.7 million unique viewers watching part of the gold medal game

• NBA PLAYOFFS: TSN delivered a record-breaking Eastern Conference Finals as the Toronto Raptors battled the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series attracted an average audience of 1.8 million viewers on TSN, making it the most-watched basketball game in Canadian TV history

• UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: Anchored by superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Real Madrid defeats rivals Atlético Madrid on penalty kicks for their second UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE trophy in three years and their 11^th in club history

• PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester City’s storybook run to become Premier League champions concludes with a season-ending match against previous champions Chelsea

June

• NBA FINALS: LeBron James lifts the Cleveland Cavaliers to the franchise’s first-ever championship title over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. An average audience of 1.2 million viewers tuned in to the epic Game 7 broadcast, capping off the most-watched NBA FINALS ever

• FRENCH OPEN: Novak Djokovic bests Andy Murray in four sets to claim his first career French Open title. With the victory, Djokovic becomes the eighth men’s singles player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam 

• AMWAY CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP: In what would be the first of a series of milestones for Toronto FC in 2016, the club records its fifth AMWAY CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP with a victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC

• U.S. OPEN: Dustin Johnson achieves redemption after his 2015 U.S. OPEN collapse to win his first ever major title

July

• UEFA EURO 2016: Portugal wins the country’s first international soccer championship, defeating host-nation France in the UEFA EURO final. An average of 2.3 million viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS for the final match, wrapping up the most-watched UEFA EURO ever in Canada

• QUEEN’S PLATE: Featuring a stirring upset win by Sir Dudley Digges, the 157^th running of the QUEEN’S PLATE attracted an average audience of 311,000 viewers to CTV and TSN

• OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: Henrik Stenson out-duels Phil Mickelson in the final round to claim his first major title, establishing a new Open Championship scoring record with a final score of -20 

• PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Jimmy Walker edges defending champion Jason Day by one stroke to become the third golfer of the 2016 season to claim their first major championship 

• WIMBLEDON: Milos Raonic becomes the first Canadian to compete in the Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles final, falling to home-crowd favourite Andy Murray. An average of 1.6 million viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS, making it the most-watched men’s tennis match in Canadian TV history

August

• RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES: As the primary broadcast partner, TSN delivers more than 400 hours of coverage from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, including events in basketball, soccer, rugby sevens, beach volleyball, and much more

September

• SWATCH BEACH VOLLEYBALL FIVB WORLD TOUR FINALS: Rio 2016 Olympic Games gold medallists Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany capture victory in the women’s tournament, while Rio 2016 Olympic Games gold medallists Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil win the men’s side
• AFL GRAND FINAL: In a thrilling culmination of the AFL season, the Western Bulldogs defeat the Sydney Swans to overcome a 62-year championship drought

• US OPEN: In the season’s final Grand Slam event, Stan Wawrinka defeats defending champion Novak Djokovic to claim the men’s title. In the women’s tournament, Angelique Kerber bests Karolina Pliskova to win her second Grand Slam title

October

• 2016 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL: Canadian competitors take home three out of four gold medals: Patrick Chan (men’s singles); Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (pairs);  and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (ice dance)
• THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2016: New Zealand captures their fourth Rugby Championship title following a perfect 6-0 run over competing nations Argentina, Australia, and South Africa 

• RYDER CUP: Led by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Phil Mickelson, Team USA captures victory for the first time in eight years following three consecutive losses to Team Europe

November

• 104^th GREY CUP: The underdog Ottawa Redblacks defeat the Calgary Stampeders in a thrilling 39-33 overtime win to claim the franchise’s first CFL championship title. 10.5 million unique viewers – or nearly 30% of Canadians – tuned in to TSN and RDS, with an average audience of 3.9 million viewers

• UFC 205: ALVAREZ VS. MCGREGOR: Boasting one of the most star-studded cards in UFC history, TSN delivers a slate of UFC specials leading into complete coverage of the UFC^® 205 PRELIMS

• NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES: Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh drivers’ championship, tying him with NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most in history

• FORMULA ONE: Nico Rosberg claims his first ever Formula One championship in the final race of the season. The 2016 season is also the first year of TSN’s new partnership with Sky Sports, providing Sky Sports’ award-winning broadcast coverage to Canadian viewers

December

• MLS CUP 2016: Seattle Sounders edge Toronto FC on penalty kicks to secure the club’s first MLS CUP championship. Toronto FC became the first Canadian club to compete for the title, scoring an all-time MLS audience record of 1.5 million viewers on TSN