Leafs TV set to go dark after 21 years

Leafs Nation Network TV will stop its on-air programming starting next month after 21 years of broadcasting.

Subscribers were told in an email this week that the channel will be discontinued starting Sept. 1 and removed from subscribers’ VIP or League Sports TV theme packages. No reason was given as to why the channel is being cancelled.

“The rest of your Rogers TV package will remain the same. This change is made in accordance with the CRTC Television Service Provider Code,” Rogers wrote in an email to subscribers, adding there could be a replacement channel in the future with similar content where possible.

Leafs TV was launched in 2001 and broadcast some regular-season Maple Leafs games. In 2007 the channel was broadcasting about 20 Leafs games and reaching about 900,000 households.

“During the day we want Leafs TV to be more about information,” the channel’s head Chris Hebb said back then while explaining the bitesized programming approach that the channel was adopting.

“It’s going to be quicker, self-contained programs aimed at hockey fans.”

After MLSE was purchased by both Rogers and Bell in 2012, the channel mostly showed Toronto Marlies games as well as replays of previous Leafs games.

Reacting to the news of the channel’s discontinuation, former president and CEO of MLSE Richard Peddie tweeted Tuesday that Leafs TV, along with Raptors TV, was a “new best practice in pro sports,” and that Rogers and Bell bought MLSE because they were intrigued by the idea of a “sports super channel.”