Leafs' official TV network is shutting down after over 20 years

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ official TV network will be shutting down next month.

Leafs Nation Network, formerly known as Leafs TV, will be off the airwaves starting September 1.

“Thank you for your viewership,” a message on the channel read over the past few days. “As of Sept. 1, Leafs Nation Network TV services will no longer be on air.”

The channel initially began in November 2000, and previously hosted upwards of 10 exclusive Leafs broadcasts throughout their reign.

But in 2014, when the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan sold the team to a mixed ownership group of Bell and Rogers media conglomerates, the channel lost its marquee program.

That same year, Rogers had also signed a $1.32 billion rights deal with the NHL that included the broadcast rights to a majority of the Leafs’ games, with the remainder going to the Bell-owned TSN.

In the eight years since the two deals, live AHL games of the Toronto Marlies have been mixed in with Leafs highlights, tape-delay games, as well as classic matches and exclusive interviews on the TV network, which was rebranded in 2017.

Much of the similar content will still be available via both the team’s YouTube channel and team’s official website.

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