Sport Chek and TSN Partner to Launch First Live Broadcast Studio in Maple Leaf Square Flagship Store in Toronto

TORONTO (June 23, 2015) – Building on its expansive footprint in sport, TSN and Sport Chek announced today that the Sport Chek Flagship store in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Square will be home to a first-of-its-kind, fully integrated broadcast-ready studio. Built in collaboration with Sport Chek, the world-class studio is located in the heart of Toronto’s sports hub and will provide consumers with the opportunity to experience live segments and broadcast interviews with athletes, sports personnel and industry experts while they shop.

“We are consistently evolving the way we interact with our customers and finding new ways to shift from a point of sale to a point of experience,” said Frederick Lecoq, Senior Vice-President of Marketing, FGL Sports. “Our strategic partnership with TSN allows us to give our customers a deeper immersion into a sports environment. There is no other retail store in this country where fans can get this authentic experience and we’re excited to be the first to bring this to Canadians.” “This new studio is the next evolution of what continues to be a truly successful integrated partnership with Canadian Tire and the FGL team – one that has already delivered impactful, meaningful campaigns and world-class features,” said Ken Volden, Vice-President and Executive Producer, Studio Production and News and Information, TSN.  “Having a fully functional studio in the middle of the Sport Chek Flagship store, right at the doorstep of one of Canada’s major sports hubs will allow us to complement our productions with some pretty unique and compelling original content.” Overlooking the square from the second floor of the store, the Sport Chek Studio will host onsite broadcast hardware with the ability to send live video feeds to the airwaves within seconds. The first segment from the store will air today on all editions of SPORTSCENTRE with custom basketball-related content leading up to the NBA DRAFT, airing live Thursday, June 25 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN2. The in-store studio includes:

• Nine-foot broadcast desk fully equipped with studio lighting, microphones, and four cameras
• Sports ticker with 11 LED panels totaling 22,528 LEDs
• Full colour LED system
• 48” TV screen

The studio will broadcast special editions and reports to be featured in the following:

• SPORTSCENTRE
• LEAFS LUNCH
• Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs pre- and post-games
• TSN DRIVE WITH DAVE NAYLOR
• CABBIE PRESENTS
• TSN Digital platforms
• And more

The Sport Chek Studio and second floor of the store will be open to the public later this summer. The enhancements to the Maple Leaf Square location will provide shoppers with access to industry-leading digital technology, an immense media experience and an expanded product assortment. In May 2014, Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) announced a multi-year media, content, and digital partnership with TSN that included access to the network’s suite of assets to develop and produce branded content for CTC’s marketing channels. Click here for more information.