[esquire]

I don't think the CFL will ever earn its bread and butter from US TV rights, but hey, if it could ever manage to consistently draw 250-500K viewers a game for what is essentially prepackaged, no-overhead content (i.e. it's not like ESPN would have to produce games on their own, although they along with other American networks did do that in the 80s and 90s), then perhaps it could mean an extra couple million dollars per team every year.

I actually find it kind of surprising that the CFL hasn't established that kind of "spring league" niche for itself in the US over the years. Various major networks have aired it there, and heaven knows there have been many high profile American players that played in the CFL. Yet somehow the CFL managed to disappear from most American TVs for the 2000s and into this decade. For a few years they were reduced to the America One network which virtually no one watches. It just wasn't a priority, I suppose.

That said, I'd be shocked if the CFL ever started earning revenue from any other international markets. Despite what people here think, even the NFL barely registers offshore. Mexico, the UK and some Pacific islands have small fanbases, but that's it. If some guy in Spain or China pays zero attention to the NFL, I don't know what's going to suddenly turn him on to the CFL. But frankly it doesn't matter given that the potential in the US is so vast.