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It’s not just on the field where CFL fans will see some big changes this season. News leaked today that Kate Beirness will be the new host of 'CFL on TSN'. Rod Smith, the longtime host of the panel show, is moving into a full-time commentary role, so Beirness has been brought in as his replacement.
The 37-year-old is well known to Canadian football fans after hosting 'Thursday Night Football' for the past few CFL seasons. The show was targeted at a younger football-watching audience and featured live music during football coverage.
Kate Beirness' sports broadcasting career
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Kate Beirness started her career working at Sportsnet, booking travel and completing expenses for their on-air commentators.
The young broadcasting hopeful left the position after being told by her boss that she needed to leave if she wanted to become an on-air broadcaster. She then started volunteering at Rogers TV in the Durham Region while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
After volunteering for two years, Beirness landed a part-time sports anchoring position at the station, which eventually led to a move to TSN in December 2009. In 2013, she became a full-time anchor of the morning loop edition of SportsCenter.
Making history
The next year, Beirness was paired with co-host Natasha Staniszewski, forming SportsCenter's first-ever female anchor team.
Beirness does sideline reporting for Toronto Raptors games on TSN. Earlier this year, she was the host of the Raptors vs Nuggets game, which marked the NBA's first all-female broadcast.
She has hosted several big sporting events over the past few years, including the CBC Olympic hockey game in PyeongChang, FIFA Women’s World Cup, NCAA March Madness and the NBA Draft. She also co-hosted the Grey Cup.
CFL season on the horizon
The 2021 CFL season is set to kick off on Thursday, August 5, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers face the Hamilton Tiger Cats. The defending Grey Cup champions, the Bombers, will be keen to start the season with a victory.
After the last season got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian football fans are eagerly awaiting the start of this season. CFL fans will be eager to see if former Denver Broncos first-round NFL draft pick Paxton Lynch sees any game time at quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders this CFL season.
