Leafs Nation Network, formally known as Leafs TV, will no longer be a television channel on Sept. 1 and will move to digital-only offerings.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans who flipped up the dial to the Leafs Nation Network over the last couple of days were greeted with a banner at the very bottom of the screen.
“Thank you for your viewership. As of Sept, 1st, 2022, Leafs Nation Network TV service will no longer be on the air.”
Leafs TV launched a linear channel offering in 2001 and used to carry an selection of regular season Maple Leafs games on a regular basis. That was until 2012 when Bell Media and Rogers Media joined forces to purchase parent company Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment.
Former MLSE President Richard Peddie reacted to the news on his personal Twitter on Tuesday and mentioned how former majority owner Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had plans to launch a super sports channel had they not sold to the media conglomerates.
The channel continued to carry Toronto Marlies games and most of its recent programming was relegated to past Maple Leafs games. During its final days, there were many occasions when the channel just showed videos it had posted to its website on loop.
In today’s changing media landscape, Leafs TV didn’t serve much of a purpose. With its parent owners dedicating Maple Leafs games to its own channels, it was inevitable that Leafs Nation Network was going to eventually make the full-time pivot to digital.
Very little is expected to change from a staffing standpoint as the much of the way the channel had operated moved to more of a digital focus long ago.
The club has shifted its priorities to where eyeballs go and fewer were landing on linear television.
On Oct. 13, 2021, the Maple Leafs inked a deal with video-sharing company TikTok to become the helmet decal sponsor for the 2021-22 season, the clearest indication of a shifting of ideology. ‘
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