Now here’s a fish story that’s absolutely true. It’s about a small Canadian TV channel with dreams of making it worldwide.
The World Fishing Network (WFN) debuted in 2005, providing Canada’s approximately 8 million anglers with a round-the-clock TV destination. It’s part of a small group of niche TV channels and sports properties owned by Insight Sports, a Toronto sports media and entertainment company whose president and CEO, Kevin Albrecht, is the former head of global business development for sports marketing firm IMG. Insight’s other properties include soccer specialty channel GolTV, the video gaming channel GameTV, as well as events like the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling and the organized gaming league Major League Gaming Canada.
Having secured carriage with most Canadian cable/satellite operators (most recently Shaw Cable and Star Choice), WFN made its move into the U.S. in November, thanks to a distribution deal with Verizon FiOS TV that gave it access to more than one million American households. In May, WFN signed a distribution deal with DISH Network that makes its high-definition channel, WFN HD, an option for approximately 13 million American homes. (The channel is in the midst of a free preview period, included in a bundle with other high-definition services including ESPN HD, CNN HD, Discovery HD and the NHL Network HD).
But WFN isn’t content to be a small fish in a big North American pond. Another U.S. distribution deal with a “major” cable/satellite company (Insight won’t say which one) is pending, and there are also plans to push the network into the United Kingdom and Europe.
“[WFN] was built as a global distribution model, because if you look at both North America and internationally, you see a lot of common characteristics,” says Mark Rubinstein, president of Insight Sports’ digital media group. “Fishing tends to be one of the top three most popular activities in many countries around the world, and there is no pure-play fishing channel in any of those countries. It’s a massive audience and [there’s] an opening in the television landscape in terms of serving that audience.”
WFN and Insight have also worked to lure advertisers, and the company now counts upwards of 50 marketers among its clients, says Albrecht. While many of them are aligned with fishing-such as equipment manufacturer Shimano and apparel company Stormtech-major brands like Ford, Lakeport Brewing and Capital One are also advertising with the network.
Earlier this year, Capital One came on board as the title sponsor of the inaugural Canadian Open of Fishing, a three-day fishing tournament held in the Sarnia, Ont. area late last month. The three-day tournament, which also featured Shimano as a presenting sponsor, attracted more than 120 pro and amateur anglers from Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia.
“The tournament is a terrific event and a great opportunity for us to reach anglers and fans of one of the most popular sports in the country,” says Capital One Canada’s chief operating officer, Ian Cunningham.
“I think what really spurred their interest was the amount of purchasing power the fishing community has,” says Albrecht. “To see how much [anglers] travel, how much they spend on equipment, buying boats, buying gas etc., it was natural for a credit card company to be involved.”
