View The Complete 2009-10 Broadcast ScheduleSeptember 3, 2009
The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday their broadcast schedule for the 2009-10 NBA season with all 82 regular-season contests being broadcast in High Definition (HD) and televised nationally for a fourth consecutive season. This also marks the eighth straight campaign that the entire regular season schedule will be aired locally.
"We are delighted to continue our association with an outstanding group of broadcast partners to bring Raptors basketball to the fans in Ontario and from coast to coast," said Tom Anselmi, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment executive vice-president and chief operating officer. "The continued commitment from our partners - CBC, The Score, TSN, TSN2 and Raptors NBA TV -- and the quality roster additions compiled by Bryan Colangelo during the offseason should make for an exciting season of NBA action."
TSN and TSN2 will televise 50 Raptors contests across Canada during the 2009-10 campaign. TSN2 has the season opener against LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 28 from Air Canada Centre. They will also televise the second home match-up versus Cleveland on February 26, with TSN providing coverage of both contests in Cleveland on January 19 and April 6.
TSN's schedule will feature two games against Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace and the Boston Celtics on November 27 and January 10, with the later being a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. TSN will also showcase the only visit of the season by the Raptors to Los Angeles to face Bryant and the Lakers on March 9.
TSN2 will air the lone appearance by Toronto at Phoenix (November 15), two contests with Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat (November 20 and January 27), Turkoglu's first return visit to Orlando on December 16 and two games against the Celtics (January 2 and April 7).
TSN will also carry the conference finals and select playoff games, NBA All-Star Weekend coverage, including the 59th annual All-Star Game on February 14 from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and exclusive Canadian coverage of the NBA Finals.
"With all of the off-season moves that were made to improve the team, this promises to be a very exciting season for the Toronto Raptors, and we're proud to once again be the home to more Raptors games than any other broadcaster," said Phil King, President of TSN. "With more NBA games than ever before on TSN/TSN2, Canadian fans will well-served from the first game of the 2009-10 season to the last game of the NBA Finals."
The Score will air 20 Raptors games with its first outing at Dallas on November 7. The Score's broadcast package will feature the only two meetings with Brandon Roy and his Portland Trail Blazers (February 24 and March 14), and one each against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs (January 3), Kobe Bryant and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers (January 24) and Blake Griffin, the first overall draft pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and the Los Angeles Clippers (March 31).
"Our young audience lives and breathes basketball and with our expanded coverage this year, we will be broadcasting an exciting mix of NBA action," says John Levy, Chairman & CEO, Score Media Inc. "For the upcoming season, we look forward to showcasing a great lineup of key Raptors matchups while delivering basketball programming in our own, unique way."
The Score will also bring viewers a full schedule of original programming, including its signature Court Surfing show and NBA XL.
Canada's national network, CBC, will feature 10 games this season, with eight Sunday afternoons and two games in prime time on a Saturday and Sunday night. The CBC schedule begins November 1 with a Toronto visit from Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic. This game also marks the first contest for new Raptor forward Hedo Turkoglu against his former teammates.
The CBC schedule also includes games against Canadian Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns (November 29), Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets (December 20) and Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 17).
"Raptor fans have an exciting year ahead, cheering on a team with an injection of youthful and international talent," said Scott Moore, executive director, CBC Sports. "CBC is committed to providing the very best in sports programming and presenting Toronto Raptors Basketball s a natural fit."
Raptors NBA TV will carry two games in the 2009-10 campaign. The first is November 9 against Duncan the San Antonio Spurs followed by a March 28 meeting at Miami against Wade and the Heat.
Veteran play-by-play voice Matt Devlin will call all the action for a second season. He will be joined by Canadian National Team head coach Leo Rautins for broadcasts on CBC and The Score, "The Coach" Jack Armstrong will lend his expertise on TSN/TSN2, and former Team Canada star Sherman Hamilton will be on board for the Raptors NBA TV telecasts.
For a fifth consecutive season, all 82 Raptors telecasts will be produced by Raptors NBA TV.