FANS RALLY TO NEW CFL.ca: VIEWS AND VISITORS ARE WAY UP
Popularity of site a reflection of fans' passion for our league: Cohon

TORONTO - Canadian Football League fans are rallying to the new CFL.ca, producing double and even triple digit increases in unique visitors, visits, page views and video views.

"The popularity of our redesigned and re-launched website puts a football spin on an old baseball saying: 'If you build it, they will come,' " said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.

"Drawn to the site's unique, top-quality content, Canadian families are coming to our site in large and growing numbers, and that provides our partners and advertisers with a tremendous opportunity to connect with Canadians."

The league's flagship website, CFL.ca was redesigned this Spring and re-launched July 1st, as part of a new digital network that features CFL team websites.

In the new CFL.ca's first month:

• Page views grew to 5.04 million, the site's largest monthly page view total in three years, and in increase of 13.4 per cent from a year ago.
• Unique visitors grew 12 per cent from a year ago, to a total of 482,998.
• Video views increased by an astounding 110 per cent, to a total of 223,375.
• And views of Live Play -- an exclusive CFL Game Tracker that shows plays, stats and field position in real time - increased  33 per cent to 1.78 million.

"The fact that the largest increases are for videos, including four-minute game highlight packages you won't find anywhere else, and for Live Play, says something about the passion Canadians have for our game," Cohon said.

UpTrend Media and the CFL have formed an exclusive partnership that provides advertisers with streamlined access to the 70 to 90 million annual page views projected for the new CFL.ca and CFL Network.

In the first month of the partnership alone, UpTrend featured more than a dozen new advertisers on the network, including Tide, Royale and Greyhound, who are using geo-targeted and national campaigns to reach families drawn to the CFL's affordable and accessible product.

Fans visiting the new CFL.ca and CFL Network are discovering:

• A new big screen video player and new photo gallery, both part of a cleaner, more streamlined design.
• Social links empowering fans to take CFL.ca and team content to their online social networks, contribute their own content, and comment on the big stories of the day.
• Extended game highlight packages that show you the key series in the game, not just the scoring plays.
• Feature length interviews with CFL players, coaches and GMs designed to show you what drives our biggest personalities.
• News and blogs from writers, fans and players from across the CFL, as well as access to special features including CFL Retro

The CFL Network includes CFL.ca, LCF.ca, BCLions.com, Esks.com, Riderville.com, Bluebombers.com, Ticats.ca, Argonauts.ca, the English and French versions of MontrealAlouettes.com and GreyCup.CFL.ca. The Calgary Stampeders and Stampeders.com are participating on a limited basis, in the commercial component of the project. CFL.ca and the CFL Network were designed and produced by MRX & Associates.

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