Sportsnet Radio is the branding used by three sports talk radio stations in Canada owned by Rogers Sports & Media , a division of Rogers Communications .
108-580: The Toronto and Calgary stations (which maintain their former The Fan moniker in their names) were re-branded to increase their synergy with the co-owned Sportsnet television channel, amid indications that TSN would be launching a radio network of their own (which TSN indeed did, beginning with the conversion of CHUM in Toronto to TSN Radio 1050). Rogers also operates the Sportsnet Radio Network (previously known as The Fan Radio Network ), which
216-464: A "pitch blue" (dark blue) uniform that features an illustration of the Toronto skyline in royal blue, centred by the "Toronto" wordmark in red. The "pitch blue" colour is a reference to Lake Ontario 's reflection at night. The traditional Blue Jays logo patch on the sleeve is recoloured to match the uniform. The cap is also "pitch blue" and features a red maple leaf at the centre of a stylized red and blue "T" in split letters. The Montreal Expos were
324-837: A giant Canadian flag is carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces while "O Canada" is sung in English and French by a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force Band . The game was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the game was held in Buffalo, New York due to Canada–U.S. travel restrictions. The Blue Jays operate a store called the Jays Shop that sells primarily Blue Jays merchandise. This store has two locations at Rogers Centre, though, until January 2023, there
432-559: A giant Canadian flag was carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Sportsnet only airs the national anthems during the home opener, Canada Day, and playoff games. On June 29, 2019, "O Canada" was sung in Cree and English. On September 30, 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation , "O Canada" was sung in English, French, and Anishinaabemowin . On the following National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30, 2022, "O Canada"
540-588: A member club of the American League (AL) East Division . Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto. The name "Blue Jays" originates from the bird of the same name , and blue is also the traditional colour of Toronto's collegiate and professional sports teams including the Maple Leafs ( ice hockey ) and the Argonauts ( Canadian football ). In 1976, out of
648-535: A member of the Canadian Armed Forces . During the third inning, the team presents the honoured member with a personalized jersey. Since 2005, " The Star-Spangled Banner " has been sung before " O Canada " at every home game. In some home games (including Canada Day home games and playoffs), "O Canada" is sung in English and French. When "O Canada" was sung during the Home Opener, Canada Day, and playoff games,
756-520: A national audience throughout the regular season, and covered first-round playoff series not involving Canadian teams. Its first live sports event was an NHL opening night telecast between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers . The national cable rights to the NHL returned to TSN in 2002, though Sportsnet retained regional broadcast rights for most Canadian NHL teams. When CTV purchased NetStar,
864-663: A place in the Blue Jays' "Level of Excellence" in the upper level of the Rogers Centre; the number 4,306 is depicted beside his name. In 2008, Cheek received the third most votes from fans to be nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. Cheek finally received the Frick Award posthumously in 2013 after nine years on the ballot. Radio broadcasts of Blue Jays games originate from Sportsnet 590 CJCL in Toronto, which, like
972-456: A simulcast of Sportsnet Ontario, carrying nationally televised events, or separate content from other regional feeds. That feed was launched on September 1, 2003. In 2007, Sportsnet began using a second high-definition feed in order to broadcast selected regional NHL games in HD, beginning in the 2007–08 NHL season , activated only in the regions where a game is set to be televised. On January 26, 2009,
1080-506: A three-year deal signed in 2023. Jacques Doucet , former Montreal Expos radio announcer, broadcast the Blue Jays on TVA Sports from 2011 until his retirement in 2022. The Sports Network (TSN), which (like the Jays) was owned by Labatt from 1984 to 1995, served as the primary cable television outlet for the Blue Jays prior to the launch of Sportsnet. TSN (and later, its sister channel TSN2 ) continued to carry approximately ten Jays games through
1188-443: A transaction valued at $ 167 million. The acquisition itself closed on October 19, 2012, at which point Score Media's digital assets (including its website and mobile apps ) were spun off into another company, theScore Inc. , in which Rogers Media would retain a 10% interest. Score Media's TV properties were immediately placed into a blind trust , under trustee Peter Viner, pending final CRTC approval. Rogers plans to continue running
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#17328440829141296-513: A whole, and on-air promotions for programs being carried nationally by these four regional feeds often list all four channels separately, or refer to the Sportsnet "regional" (or "main") channels, to avoid any ambiguity. However, standalone mentions of "Sportsnet" in reference to a specific channel can still generally be assumed to be referring to the four regional channels (or the specific regional channel available locally on analogue cable). Sportsnet
1404-481: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media . It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet , a joint venture between CTV , Liberty Media , and Rogers Media . CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN . Rogers then became
1512-524: Is a syndication service distributing, among other programs, Toronto Blue Jays baseball and Tim and Sid . The network formerly distributed Prime Time Sports and the daily short-form feature Grapeline with Don Cherry and Brian Williams , both of which concluded their runs in 2019. CJCL went through a few different Sportsnet brandings: under Telemedia, it was Sports Radio The Fan 590 (originally 1430), then Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590, then Sportsnet 590 The Fan. On April 25, 2017, after having acquired
1620-530: Is about a four-hour drive from Toronto. According to The Detroit News , a July 2017 three-game series at Comerica Park against the Blue Jays drew a season-best-to-date total attendance of 115,088. Although the Seattle Mariners are not a divisional rival, many Blue Jays fans from Western Canada travel to Seattle when the Blue Jays play there as Seattle is geographically closer to Western Canada than Toronto is. Depending on traffic and border delays, Seattle
1728-457: Is about a three-hour drive from Vancouver . The Seattle Times estimated that Blue Jays fans represented around 70 percent of the crowd in Safeco Field for a June 2017 weekend series. The Blue Jays' former radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek , called every Toronto Blue Jays game from the team's inaugural contest on April 7, 1977, until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following
1836-451: Is actually quite small. Only 18 radio stations across the country aired at least some Blue Jays games during the 2021 season, which is fewer affiliates than most MLB teams, which have more stations covering smaller geographic areas. All Blue Jays games are carried nationally on Sportsnet (which, like the Blue Jays, is owned by Rogers Communications). As of 2023, Dan Shulman serves as the lead play-by-play announcer, with Buck Martinez as
1944-457: Is played four times followed by Charge being played thrice. From 1979 to 1999, BJ Birdy served as the Blue Jays' sole mascot, played by Kevin Shanahan. In 2000, he was replaced by a duo named Ace and Diamond. After the 2003 season, Diamond was removed by the team, leaving Ace as the team's sole mascot. Since the 2010s, Ace has been accompanied by his younger brother, Junior. This usually happens on
2052-601: Is the exclusive television outlet for the Toronto Blue Jays (which are also owned by Rogers), airing all of its games and other Blue Jays-related programming throughout the season. It also holds Canadian rights to Fox Saturday Baseball , the All-Star Game and the postseason (through Fox, TBS and MLB International ). Sportsnet also carries other MLB games simulcast from U.S. regional sports networks. Sportsnet began airing National Football League games Starting with
2160-555: Is the national cable rightsholder of the National Hockey League , and also holds full regional rights to three (and partial regional rights to one) of the league's Canadian franchises. It is also the national rightsholder of Major League Baseball in Canada (although most of ESPN 's MLB broadcasts are sub-licensed to rival network TSN ), and the exclusive broadcaster of the co-owned Toronto Blue Jays . It splits regional coverage of
2268-616: The 2014 FIFA World Cup . On February 8, 2011, Sportsnet announced that it had signed a multi-year deal with Tennis Canada to acquire early round rights to the Rogers Cup . Sportsnet also acquired rights to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and ATP World Tour 500 series events. As per an extension of Rogers' sponsorship rights to the tournament, Sportsnet holds sole rights to the Rogers Cup beginning in 2016. In 2016, Sportsnet lost
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#17328440829142376-450: The 2014 Winter Olympics . CBC will continue this sub-licensing agreement through the 2020 Summer Olympics . Sportsnet televised coverage of the 2015 Pan-American Games , also as part of a sub-license with CBC; it aired coverage of the soccer tournaments, as well as a Men's basketball semi-final game involving Canada. This list includes the all time Sportsnet 360 staff dated to its days as The Score. In 2014, Sportsnet announced
2484-446: The 2015 American League Division Series involving the Blue Jays were among the highest-rated telecasts in network history, with Game 4 drawing an audience of 4.38 million viewers. In September 2012, AMI-tv simulcast three Blue Jays games with described video provided by CJCL correspondent Sam Cosentino , which included explanations of on-screen graphics. Paul Beeston praised AMI's involvement, stating that "to our knowledge, we are
2592-616: The Amway Canadian Championship , an annual competition featuring Canada's five professional soccer teams – Toronto FC , CF Montréal , Vancouver Whitecaps FC , FC Edmonton , and Ottawa Fury FC , until TSN acquired full rights in 2017. In 2006, Sportsnet aired coverage of the FIFA World Cup as part of a consortium with TSN and CTV. From 2011 through 2014, beginning with the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup , CBC sub-licensed cable rights to FIFA tournaments to Sportsnet, including
2700-643: The Atlanta Braves are the only two MLB teams under corporate ownership; the Blue Jays are the only American League team to be under such ownership. Due to border restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic , the Blue Jays played home games at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida for April and May of the 2021 season , and Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York for the 2020 season as well as June and July 2021, returning home to Toronto as of July 30 of that year. In
2808-624: The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg , Indianapolis 500 and Honda Indy Toronto , with Bill Adam , Todd Lewis and Rob Faulds . Canadian driver Paul Tracy joined Sportsnet as an analyst. As of the 2019 season, all but the Honda Indy Toronto and Indianapolis 500 moved exclusively to Sportsnet World and Sportsnet Now+. In May 2013, Sportsnet reached a six-year deal for rights to the national championships of U Sports (then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport), including coverage of
2916-696: The National League 's Miami Marlins . After 1993, the Blue Jays failed to qualify for the playoffs for 21 consecutive seasons until clinching a playoff berth and division championship in 2015 . The team clinched a second consecutive playoff berth in 2016 , after securing an AL wild card position. In both years, the Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series , but lost the AL Championship Series . Most recently, they qualified for
3024-586: The Ottawa Senators to TSN, who acquired regional rights to the team in English and French under a 12-year deal, beginning in the 2014–15 season. In September 2014, Sportsnet announced its acquisition of regional English-language television rights to the Montreal Canadiens under a 3-year deal, replacing the Senators on Sportsnet East and succeeding TSN as regional rightsholder, until 2016–17. Sportsnet held
3132-661: The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics , as well as the London 2012 Summer Olympics . This was considered a serious coup, as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had consistently won Olympic broadcast rights from the 1996 Summer Olympics through to the 2008 Summer Olympics . CTV and V were the primary broadcasters; Sportsnet, TSN and RDS provided supplementary coverage. Rogers announced in 2011 that it would not bid with CTVglobemedia's predecessor Bell Media for
3240-499: The Vanier Cup . Sportsnet is a major broadcaster of National Hockey League games; the network is the current national cable rightsholder to the league, and regularly airs nationally televised games on Wednesday, Saturday nights as part of Hockey Night in Canada , and Monday nights as part of Rogers Hometown Hockey . Sportsnet is also a major regional broadcaster of the NHL; its four regional feeds carry regional telecasts of five of
3348-421: The colour commentator during the 2013 season, after which he was replaced by former Montreal Expos catcher Joe Siddall since the 2014 season. Former Blue Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst filled in for Morris for some games during the 2013 season. Another former catcher for the Blue Jays, Gregg Zaun , has served as the occasional colour commentator from the 2011 season until the end of the 2017 season when he
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3456-429: The pandemic ", all radio broadcasts for the 2021 season will be a simulcast of the television broadcast. Wagner will assume an alternative role. However, once the Blue Jays returned to Rogers Centre in late July 2021, dedicated radio broadcasts resumed. The Blue Jays have the largest geographical home market in all of baseball, encompassing all of Canada. Despite this, the number of radio stations that broadcast games
3564-686: The 1880s and been home to the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the International League , from 1896 to 1967. In January 1976, the San Francisco Giants nearly relocated to Toronto after owner Horace Stoneham agreed to sell the team to a Canadian consortium. The group, which included Labatt Breweries of Canada , The Globe and Mail 's Howard Webster, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), planned to rebrand
3672-774: The 1984 and 1985 seasons (the Vancouver Canadians were the AAA farm team of the Brewers at the time ), as well as single games against the Detroit Tigers and Brewers in 1993 and against the Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners in 1994 in a series billed as the "Baseball Classic". The Jays also played the Cleveland Indians in an exhibition game at War Memorial Stadium in nearby Buffalo, New York in 1987. More recently,
3780-570: The 2005 season, splitting late games across the Pacific and West feeds, and the East and Ontario feeds. The games not shown in the opposite regions were carried out regionally by City . It also had rights to Thursday Night Football and the American Thanksgiving games . Sportsnet lost all NFL broadcasting rights for the 2017 season. Sportsnet carried a large amount of soccer programming; it has been
3888-510: The 2009 season until May 2010; most recently, Rod Black handled play-by-play while Tabler served as colour commentator on these telecasts. CBC has carried Blue Jays games intermittently throughout the team's history, most recently in 2007 and 2008; those broadcasts featured Jim Hughson as the play-by-play announcer, and former Blue Jays Rance Mulliniks and Jesse Barfield on colour commentary. Games also aired on CTV (except in Montreal) from
3996-407: The 2020 season, the Blue Jays unveiled a modernized version of the powder blue uniforms, featuring navy/white/navy serifed split letters and numerals. These uniforms are paired with a powder-brimmed navy cap and an all-navy helmet. Since 1996, the Blue Jays wore predominantly red or red-accented uniforms every July 1, Canada Day . The uniforms were based on the team's alternate uniforms they wore at
4104-635: The ATP tours to TSN, but it still maintains exclusive rights to the Rogers Cup, as well as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup . In February 2013, Sportsnet announced that it would become the official Canadian broadcaster of the IndyCar Series beginning in the 2013 season in a five-year deal with the series. The new contract includes broadcasts on Sportsnet's networks and City, and French rights sub-licensed to TVA Sports . That season, Sportsnet also originated coverage from
4212-427: The Blue Jays became the first MLB team to attract over four million fans , with an attendance of 4,001,526, followed by 4,028,318 in 1992. Each of those records were broken in 1993 by the expansion Colorado Rockies , although the Blue Jays' 1993 attendance of 4,057,947 stood as an AL record for 12 years until it was broken by the 2005 New York Yankees . Several Blue Jays became very popular in Toronto and throughout
4320-574: The Blue Jays in 2015, Josh Donaldson set a new major league record by receiving 14,090,188 All-Star votes. The team is popular throughout Canada, as the only MLB team based in the country following the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington. The team has played a number of exhibition games at BC Place in Vancouver including three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers prior to both
4428-411: The Blue Jays logo on a white panel in front. In 2008, the Blue Jays' powder blue road uniform from this era was restored as an alternate home uniform worn every Friday until 2010. The Blue Jays adopted buttoned uniforms upon moving to Rogers Centre (then SkyDome) in 1989. Aside from the additions of buttons and belts, the only change affecting the home uniforms was the relocation of the team logo to
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4536-547: The Blue Jays traded away Yimi Garcia, Nate Pearson, Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, Yusei Kikuchi, Trevor Richards, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Kevin Kiermaier. In 1977, after just 50 home games, the Blue Jays set an MLB record for a first-year expansion team, with an overall attendance of 1,219,551 during those games. By the end of the season, 1,701,152 fans had attended. After setting an attendance record in 1990, with 3,885,284 fans, in 1991,
4644-411: The Blue Jays unveiled an alternate sleeveless white uniform, featuring the same lettering style as the regular home uniform. However, the chest numerals were replaced with the primary logo. Blue undershirts were worn with this uniform. Before the 2001 season, slight modifications were made to the uniforms, eliminating the tricolour stripes and adding a single colour piping along the chest and neck. While
4752-522: The Blue Jays winning multiple division titles and back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, making them the first team outside the US to achieve this feat. Key players during this golden era included Roberto Alomar , Joe Carter , and Dave Stieb . After the mid-1990s strike and subsequent downturn, the Blue Jays faced challenges but also saw the rise of talents like Roy Halladay and Carlos Delgado . The late 1990s brought brief revitalization with
4860-457: The Blue Jays' geographic National League rival, being the other Canadian MLB team before it was relocated. From 1978 to 1986, the teams played an annual mid-season exhibition game known as the Pearson Cup , named after former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson . The teams began facing each other in the regular season in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . During the 2003 and 2004 seasons,
4968-404: The Blue Jays, is owned by Rogers Communications. After Cheek's retirement in 2005, Jerry Howarth , who had been Cheek's broadcasting partner since 1982, took over as lead play-by-play announcer, with Mike Wilner as the secondary play-by-play announcer. During the 2007 to 2012 seasons, former Blue Jays catcher Alan Ashby was the colour commentator. Former Blue Jays pitcher Jack Morris served as
5076-615: The CRTC rejected the use of a proposed winter sports competition, the Sportsnet Winter Games , for its tangible benefits requirements. On June 4, 2013, Rogers announced that The Score would be rebranded as a Sportsnet channel; the channel changed its name to Sportsnet 360 on July 1, 2013. As of 2014, Sportsnet is available in 8.2 million Canadian homes. On October 2, 2018, Scott Moore, Rogers' head of Sportsnet and NHL properties, stepped down. Similarly to regional sports networks in
5184-642: The Canadian broadcaster of the Premier League since 1998 until 2018/19 season (from 2013/14 to 2018/19 season, Sportsnet jointly held Canadian rights to the Premier League with TSN), and also held rights to the FA Cup , UEFA Champions League and Europa League . Sportsnet lost UEFA coverage to TSN for 2015, but gained rights to Bundesliga matches beginning in the 2015–16 season until 2022–23 season. Sportsnet aired
5292-710: The Expos' last two seasons before relocating to Washington, D.C., as the Nationals , the Pearson Cup was awarded after a pair of three-game sets. The Detroit Tigers are the Blue Jays' geographic and traditional rival, dating back to the 1980s, when the teams were AL East contenders. The Tigers moved to the AL Central in 1998, and the rivalry has died down as a result, with the teams facing each other only six to seven times per year since 2011. Depending on traffic and border delays, Detroit
5400-447: The Jr. Jay Saturday promotions until the end of the 2017 season . The promotions were moved to select Sundays since the 2018 season since the Blue Jays can no longer hold early Saturday afternoon games to accommodate American national broadcasts on Fox , though Fox did occasionally broadcast Blue Jays games at the Rogers Centre. Since 2012, every Sunday home game, the Blue Jays pay tribute to
5508-700: The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and national coverage of the NBA 's Toronto Raptors with TSN; Rogers Communications and TSN's parent company Bell Canada own a joint majority stake in the teams' parent company . The Sportsnet brand has since been extended beyond the original regional channels, now encompassing the national channels Sportsnet 360 , Sportsnet One (and its regional part-time companion channels), and Sportsnet World ; Sportsnet Radio stations in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary; and Sportsnet Magazine . With these brand extensions, Rogers now generally uses "Sportsnet" (by itself) to denote its sports media properties as
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#17328440829145616-524: The Pilots. The new Toronto franchise, purchased for $ 7 million, was named the Toronto Blue Jays following a contest that attracted over 4,000 suggestions. The name reflected Toronto's tradition of using blue in team colors and was influenced by majority owner Labatt Breweries' flagship beer, Labatt Blue. The franchise's first employee, Paul Beeston , began as vice president of business operations, and before
5724-518: The Sportsnet Radio branding was intended to increase synergy with its television counterparts, upon rumors that TSN would be launching a sports radio network of its own . In July 2011, Rogers announced that it would be rebranding its premium international sports channel Setanta Sports Canada as " Sportsnet World " on October 3, 2011 – a move that would allow the channel better opportunities for cross-promotion with other Sportsnet services. As part of
5832-594: The Sportsnet brand beyond the original regional networks with the August 14 launch of Rogers Sportsnet One – a national companion channel promising 800 hours of live events per year. The channel was also accompanied by additional part-time feeds to serve as overflow channels for its regional NHL coverage. In January 2011, Rogers' sports radio stations, CJCL Toronto ("The Fan 590") and CFAC Calgary ("The Fan 960"), were rebranded as "Sportsnet Radio Fan 590" and "Sportsnet Radio Fan 960" respectively. Critics speculated that
5940-605: The United States, Sportsnet is operated in four regional feeds. While the feeds carry national programming as well, they primarily broadcast sporting events tailored to the region they serve. The four regional feeds are listed in the table below. All four feeds are available in both standard and high-definition formats. Although cable providers in Canada are permitted to carry only the local Sportsnet feed on analogue cable packages, all four feeds can be carried on digital television services. However, in some instances, programming on
6048-450: The acquisition of Roger Clemens . In the early 2000s, general manager J.P. Ricciardi led a rebuilding phase, culminating in a competitive roster by the mid-2000s. The team's resurgence in the 2010s featured playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016, driven by stars like José Bautista and Josh Donaldson . The Blue Jays continue to build for future success, with young talents like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , Bo Bichette , and Cavan Biggio leading
6156-566: The acquisition. This led to some peculiarities related to the fact that the two rival sports channels were only separated by a " parking lot ", leading to jokes and references from both networks. On April 30, 2008, Rogers Sportsnet moved its broadcast operations from 9 Channel Nine Court to the Rogers Building , a cluster of buildings in the Mount Pleasant-Jarvis Street area of Downtown Toronto . In 2010, Rogers began to extend
6264-416: The alternate blue uniforms, split letters and numerals became red/blue/red. Red also appeared on the pant and sleeve stripes, while the new logo occupied the left sleeve. Player names also took on the new block split-letter style. An updated all-blue cap was paired with the home and road uniforms, while a red-brimmed blue cap (with a modified logo without a baseball) was used with the blue alternates. In 1999
6372-505: The alternate white uniforms brought back chest numerals. The "T-bird" logo depicts a blue jay flexing its biceps and is nicknamed "Muscle Jay." Before the 2004 season, the Blue Jays adopted a new visual identity, going with a black, silver and graphite motif. The home and black alternates simply read "Jays" in front and in a 3D-oriented diagonal arrangement, with the bird connected to the letter "J." Letters and numerals were in graphite with light blue and silver trim. The road uniforms featured
6480-462: The channel was known as "Sportsnet", CTV was allowed to control programming on both networks, and some cross-affiliation and programs that were going to be tape-delayed on TSN, most notably figure skating , were given to Sportsnet. In 2004, Rogers then bought the remaining 20 percent stake from Fox. While Sportsnet had been based there from the beginning, TSN's operations would move to CTV's suburban Toronto complex, 9 Channel Nine Court , following
6588-411: The charge. During the off-season, the Blue Jays re-signed Kiermaier and signed utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa , designated hitter Justin Turner , and pitcher Yariel Rodríguez . The Blue Jays also traded Santiago Espinal for a pitching prospect. During the regular season, the Blue Jays designated Cavan Biggio for assignment and traded him for a prospect afterwards. Before the 2024 trade deadline,
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#17328440829146696-418: The city name in a similar letter style as the logo, with graphite letters and numerals trimmed in light blue and silver. In 2008, however, amid complaints of illegibility, the Blue Jays tweaked their road uniforms to include 3D-style block letters and numerals in light blue trimmed in black and white, along with chest numerals. The "J-bird" alternate was added to the left sleeve. A red maple leaf would be added on
6804-434: The city name was rendered in bold blue letters before gaining a white outline the following season. By 1979, it was replaced by the team name in a split-lettered white/blue/white style. Player numerals also used the split-letter style, except on the road uniform during its first two seasons. Player names in blue were added to both uniforms for the 1980 season but were dropped from the road uniform in 1981. The caps were blue with
6912-640: The club has hosted a pair of exhibition games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal prior to the start of the season against the New York Mets (2014), Cincinnati Reds (2015), Boston Red Sox (2016), Pittsburgh Pirates (2017), St. Louis Cardinals (2018), Milwaukee Brewers (2019). A series against the New York Yankees was scheduled for 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The club also has discussed playing more games at BC Place with
7020-540: The country. The network launched on October 9, 1998, as CTV Sportsnet , under the ownership of CTV, Rogers, and Liberty; the latter which owned some of the Fox Sports Net operations that Fox ran in the United States after which the channel was named. The new network gained credibility before it went on the air, having acquired national cable rights to the National Hockey League from long-time holder TSN . From 1998–99 until 2001–02 , Sportsnet aired NHL games to
7128-402: The death of his father—a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular-season games and 41 postseason games. Cheek later died on October 9, 2005, and the team commemorated him during their 2006 season by wearing a circular patch on the left sleeve of their home and road game jerseys. The patch was adorned with the letters 'TC', Cheek's initials, as well as a stylized microphone . Cheek is also honoured with
7236-638: The exclusive national rightsholder for the National Hockey League, again displacing TSN, along with CBC , a deal which began in the 2014–15 season. Valued at $ 5.2 billion and covering both television and digital media rights to the league, the value of the contract surpassed the league's most recent U.S. rights deal with NBC . Alongside its existing regional rights, Sportsnet now airs Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey , along with games during Hockey Night in Canada . In early 2005, Rogers Media and CTVglobemedia jointly acquired broadcast rights to
7344-460: The first ever NBA game produced in 4K, and the first live sporting event in 4K in Canadian history—a Toronto Raptors / Orlando Magic game at O2 Arena in London . Sportsnet's first domestic 4K telecast, a Toronto Maple Leafs/Montreal Canadiens game, aired January 23, 2016. Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto . The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
7452-430: The first sports organization to have our games provided through this revolutionary approach to accommodating the needs of the blind and low-vision community." On June 27, 2013, Rogers' over-the-air Toronto multicultural Omni Television station CJMT-DT simulcast a Blue Jays game, scheduled to be started by Taiwanese player Chien-Ming Wang , with commentary in Mandarin , marking the first ever Canadian MLB broadcast in
7560-419: The former parent company of TSN, in 2000, the CRTC ordered CTV to sell either TSN or its stake in Sportsnet. CTV ultimately chose to retain TSN, and sell its stake in Sportsnet. The other shareholders had first right of refusal; as Rogers was the only interested party, it acquired CTV's stake in the summer of 2001, and soon after renamed it Rogers Sportsnet . During part of the transition period, during which time
7668-404: The home uniforms remained mostly intact, the road uniforms gained blue sleeves in a faux-vest design. On the alternate white uniform (now a faux vest instead of a straight sleeveless design), the new "T-bird" logo replaced the primary "jay leaf" logo, which moved to the left sleeve. In 2003, the "T-bird" logo became the primary, taking over the previous logo's placement on the caps and sleeves, while
7776-728: The inaugural 1977 season, Peter Bavasi and Pat Gillick were appointed as president and assistant general manager, respectively. The Blue Jays debuted on April 7, 1977, with a win against the Chicago White Sox amid a snowstorm, marking the beginning of a journey from early struggles to eventual success. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Blue Jays showed gradual improvement, highlighted by their first winning season in 1983. The team's fortunes rose significantly under manager Bobby Cox in 1985 when they won their first American League East title. The late 1980s and early 1990s, under manager Cito Gaston , were particularly successful, with
7884-698: The language. In June 2018, Omni announced that it would air Sunday afternoon games in Tagalog , the most spoken language of the Philippines , through the remainder of the season. Sportsnet and Omni announced a regular season of Sunday broadcasts in Tagalog for the 2019 season. TVA Sports has aired games in French since 2011, with Denis Casavant and François Paquet on play-by-play and Rodger Brulotte on colour. The channel currently has rights to 81 Blue Jay games per season in
7992-422: The late 1970s and early 1980s, the Blue Jays went through struggles typical of an expansion team, frequently finishing last in their division. In 1983, they had their first winning season and two years later, became division champions . From 1985 to 1993, the Blue Jays were an AL East powerhouse, winning five division championships in nine seasons, including three consecutive from 1991 to 1993 . During that run,
8100-522: The latter covering the Memorial Cup . From its launch through 2002, Sportsnet was the national cable broadcaster of the NHL in Canada, displacing the rival TSN; it aired a package of Tuesday night games, along with coverage of non-Canadian matchups from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On November 26, 2013, Rogers Communications announced that it had reached a 12-year deal to become
8208-465: The launch of a new TV Everywhere service known as Sportsnet Now , allowing online streaming of the Sportsnet regional channels, Sportsnet One, and Sportsnet 360 for cable subscribers. On March 31, 2016, Rogers announced that Sportsnet Now would be made available as an over-the-top streaming service for cord cutters, initially priced at $ 24.99 per-month, in addition to remaining available at no additional charge to cable subscribers. In October 2018,
8316-424: The left chest. The road uniforms changed from powder blue to grey, while the city name and numerals in blue/white/blue split letters were emblazoned, and the logo moved to the left chest. Player names were also added to the road uniform. All-blue caps were worn with their road uniform while keeping the white-panelled blue caps at home. By 1993, the all-blue caps were worn universally, supplanting and eventually retiring
8424-415: The magazine's back page columnist. On October 3, 2011, Rogers Sportsnet underwent a major rebranding, introducing a revamped logo and visual appearance designed in conjunction with Troika Design Group , and a new image campaign ("Fuelled By Fans"). Additionally, the network's official name was shortened to just Sportsnet . The new logo does not incorporate the previous "player" emblem that had been used in
8532-405: The major leagues, starting with Dave Stieb , whose seven All-Star selections is a franchise record. He is closely followed by Roy Halladay and José Bautista , who were selected six times each, and by Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter , who were selected five times each. Bautista set a major league record in 2011 (which only stood for a year), with 7,454,753 All-Star votes. In his first season with
8640-533: The national HD feed was replaced by individual HD feeds for each region. On October 5, 2015, Rogers announced that it planned to produce 101 sports telecasts in 4K ultra-high-definition format in 2016, including all Toronto Blue Jays home games, and "marquee" NHL games beginning in January 2016. These broadcasts are offered via a part-time Sportsnet 4K channel on participating television providers. On January 14, 2016, in cooperation with BT Sport , Sportsnet broadcast
8748-405: The network as a sports news service. The acquisition and Rogers' proposed amendments (which included a reduction in the frequency of sports updates during live events) were approved by the CRTC on April 30, 2013; the same day, The Score also began to air more Sportsnet-produced programming, including a simulcast of CJCL's afternoon show Tim & Sid and Hockey Central Playoff Extra . However,
8856-556: The network's branding since its original launch, as research performed by Rogers indicated that its association with Sportsnet did not resonate well with viewers. The redesign of Sportsnet was overseen by Dean Bender, who served as the network's creative director upon its original launch as CTV Sportsnet. On August 25, 2012, Rogers announced that it would acquire the television assets of Score Media , owners of The Score Television Network (a competing sports network which primarily airs sports news and highlights, alongside event coverage), in
8964-530: The original cap design. In 1994 the Blue Jays began wearing blue alternate uniforms with the team name and numerals in white/blue/white split letters. The Blue Jays updated their logo prior to the 1997 season with a new bird design and an enlarged red maple leaf at the back. The usage of red was greatly increased on the team's new uniforms. On the home uniforms, the letters and numerals were changed to blue/teal/blue split letters, while road uniform letters and numerals were changed to blue/red/blue split letters. On
9072-408: The original logo used from 1977 to 1996. The bird's head was also made sleeker than its 1977–1996 predecessor. The uniforms are similar to the ones used from 1989 to 1996, the team's most successful era. New serifed split letters were also released. In 2015, the Blue Jays began wearing a modernized version of the white-panelled blue caps they originally wore from 1977 to 1993 as an alternate. Before
9180-611: The out-of-market Sportsnet feeds, particularly regional NHL games, are blacked out due to league restrictions on teams' regional broadcast rights. Since the revival of the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, regional Flames and Oilers games on Sportsnet West have also been blacked out in Manitoba, despite it being the "local" Sportsnet feed for that province. [REDACTED] Sportsnet is the main television outlet for Major League Baseball in Canada: it
9288-472: The over 4,000 suggestions, 154 people selected the name "Blue Jays." In addition, the team was originally owned by the Labatt Brewing Company , makers of the popular beer Labatt Blue. Colloquially nicknamed the " Jays ," the team's official colours are royal blue, navy blue, red, and white. An expansion franchise , the club was founded in Toronto in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium ,
9396-526: The plan structures were changed; a $ 24.99 tier was reintroduced which adds WWE Network , while Now+ was replaced with Sportsnet Now Premium, which is priced at $ 34.99 per-month and includes WWE Network and out-of-market NHL games beginning the 2022–23 season (replacing NHL Live). The service was quietly renamed Sportsnet+ ahead of the 2023–24 NHL season . Sportsnet operates four high-definition feeds, one for each regional channel. Originally, Sportsnet operated one national feed that consisted primarily of
9504-412: The playoffs as a wild card team in 2020 , 2022 , and 2023 . From 1977 to 2024, the Blue Jays' overall win-loss record is 3,761–3,788–3 (.498). The Toronto Blue Jays came into existence in 1976, as one of two teams slated to join the American League for the following season, via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion . Toronto had been mentioned as a potential major league city as early as
9612-541: The president of the Vancouver Canadians. During the seventh-inning stretch of home games, before singing " Take Me Out to the Ball Game ," Blue Jay fans sing and clap to the pop song " OK Blue Jays " by Keith Hampshire and The Bat Boys, which was released in 1983. The song was remixed in 2003, and since then, the new, shortened version has been played at home games. At home games, the "Let's Go Blue Jays" chant
9720-428: The price was dropped to $ 19.99, annual subscription options were added, and an additional tier known as Sportsnet Now+ was introduced, adding additional international soccer and rugby events, and out-of-market streaming of regional NHL games for Canadian teams whose rights are owned by Sportsnet. NHL Live, the NHL's digital out-of-market sports package , was later added to Sportsnet Now+ in January 2021. In April 2022,
9828-585: The primary colour commentator; on select series, Toronto Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin calls the game in place of Shulman, and Joe Siddall works colour commentary in place of Martinez. Prior to that, Martinez had been the primary play-by-play announcer alongside colour commentator Pat Tabler , with Shulman only calling games sporadically since 2016. In previous years, the colour analyst role rotated between Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks , Darrin Fletcher , and from 2011 to 2017, Gregg Zaun . Sportsnet became
9936-586: The radio rights to the Vancouver Canucks , Rogers Media announced its intent to acquire CISL in Vancouver from Newcap Radio and convert it to the third Sportsnet-branded radio station as "Sportsnet 650". CISL is the third radio station part of the Sportsnet Radio Network and the third sports radio station in the Metro Vancouver market. This article about radio broadcasting in Canada
10044-421: The right sleeve starting in 2009. The Blue Jays wore all-black caps with the "J-bird" logo for much of the uniforms' existence, save for the 2004 and 2005 seasons when they wore all-graphite caps at home, and in 2007 when an alternate all-black cap with the "T" from the previous road uniform was used. Prior to the 2012 season, the Blue Jays unveiled new uniforms and a new logo. The logo is a modernized version of
10152-654: The rights to the Canadian Hockey League under a 12-year deal renewed in the 2014–15 season. Its coverage included a package of national broadcasts from the CHL's member leagues, coverage of the CHL Canada/Russia Series and the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game , along with coverage of the season-ending Memorial Cup tournament. In the 2021–22 season, Sportsnet lost the rights to CBC Sports and TSN , with
10260-463: The rights to the 2014 and 2016 games, citing scheduling and financial issues. While Bell Media did attempt to partner with the CBC in 2011 to bid for coverage, CBC reached a deal of its own in August 2012, winning the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Games. On February 7, 2013, CBC announced that it had reached deals with Sportsnet and TSN for both networks to become their official cable partners, beginning at
10368-456: The seven Canadian franchises, including the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sportsnet Ontario (split with TSN4 beginning in 2014–15; Rogers and Bell Canada own a joint, majority stake in the team's parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment ), the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet West, and the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific. In January 2014, Sportsnet lost
10476-509: The sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox . The Sportsnet license comprises four 24-hour programming services; Sportsnet was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a category A service , operating as a group of regional sports networks offering programming tailored to each feed's region (in contrast to TSN, which
10584-539: The team also became back-to-back World Series champions in 1992 and 1993 , led by a core group of award -winning All-Star players, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar , Joe Carter , John Olerud , and Devon White . The Blue Jays became the first (and, to date, only) team outside the U.S. to appear in and win a World Series and the fastest AL expansion team to do so, winning in its 16th year. As of 2019 , they are one of only two MLB franchises that are undefeated through multiple World Series appearances, along with
10692-564: The team as the Toronto Giants and play at Exhibition Stadium . However, a court ruling halted the move, and the Giants remained in San Francisco. Despite this setback, Toronto's ambition for an MLB team persisted, leading to their successful bid in the 1976 American League expansion, driven by a need to balance the league after Seattle was granted a team as a result of a lawsuit over their loss of
10800-532: The team began playing its home games at SkyDome upon its opening in 1989. They are the second MLB franchise to be based outside the United States, and currently the only team based outside the U.S. after the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos , became the Washington Nationals in 2005. Since 2000, the Blue Jays have been owned by Rogers Communications and in 2004, SkyDome was purchased by that company, which renamed it Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays and
10908-420: The team's primary carrier soon after it launched in the late 1990s and became the team's exclusive broadcaster in 2010. As of August 2010, Sportsnet One also broadcasts Blue Jays games (often in case of scheduling conflicts with the main Sportsnet channels). Rogers was, however, criticized by fans and critics due to Sportsnet One only being carried by Rogers Cable systems on launch. Sportsnet's broadcasts of
11016-399: The time but with red as the primary colour. On a few occasions, the Blue Jays added red trim to an existing white uniform (or, in the case of the 2006 uniforms, their black alternates) and sometimes added the flag of Canada or a red maple leaf on the uniform. In 2024, the Blue Jays unveiled a City Connect uniform inspired by Toronto's nightlife. The jersey is nicknamed "Night Mode" and is
11124-411: The transition, Setanta Sports sold its minority ownership interest in the channel to MLM Management. On September 29, 2011, Rogers published the first issue of Sportsnet Magazine , a bi-weekly sports magazine positioned "for Canadian sports fans", covering professional sports from a Canadian perspective. Sports writer Stephen Brunt left his position at The Globe and Mail newspaper to become
11232-463: Was an additional location in the Toronto Eaton Centre shopping mall. The Blue Jays wore pullover uniforms during their first decade of existence. The front of the home white uniforms contained the team name in a unique blue/white/blue split-letter style, with the team logo centred below. The road uniforms were powder blue, with the city name in front and the team logo centred below. Initially,
11340-499: Was approved by the CRTC in September 1996 under the tentative name S3 , with Baton Broadcasting Inc. (later renamed to CTV Inc.) holding a 40% controlling interest in the network, and 20% minority stakes held by Rogers Media and Liberty Media (in turn a spin-off of TCI , an American cable-television group). The network proposed a structure with an emphasis on regional programming, operating four feeds to serve different areas of
11448-686: Was licensed at the time to operate as a national sports service, and could only offer limited regional opt-outs). Since 2011, the service has operated under deregulated category C licensing, which allows Sportsnet to operate multiple feeds with no restrictions on alternate programming. In each region, only the local Sportsnet channel is available on analogue cable, but all four channels are available nationally via digital cable (subject to blackouts for some out-of-market teams). The four Sportsnet feeds air some common programming and simulcast major, national events, but are capable of airing programming autonomously—most prominently regional programming. Sportsnet
11556-455: Was sung in French, English, and Blackfoot . For Blue Jays road games, "O Canada" is sung before the "Star Spangled Banner" as all road games (since the Expos moved to Washington, DC) for the Blue Jays are in the United States. The Blue Jays traditionally host an afternoon home game during Canada Day . During the game, the team wears red jerseys instead of blue jerseys. During the pre-game ceremony,
11664-466: Was terminated amid accusations of improper conduct from several female employees. Following Howarth's retirement in the 2017 season, Ben Wagner was hired as the primary radio play-by-play announcer, splitting said duties with Dan Shulman and Mike Wilner. In November 2020, Mike Wilner was laid off by the team. In February 2021, it was announced that "in an effort to minimize travel and closely adhere to team, league, and government protocols related to
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