Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling has TSN locked down in Canada, but Scott D’Amore knows that still leaves a lot of fans on the outside looking in.
While speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, D’Amore was asked if American viewers would have to start hunting for VPNs just to watch MLP. He laughed it off, but then made it clear Maple Leaf Pro is already working on a real solution.
“There’s going to be an announcement coming very soon about how people in the US and other international viewers can follow because we get asked that question all the time.”
That is the big tease here. Maple Leaf Pro is Canadian-owned, Canadian-based, and now headed to TSN, but D’Amore said the promotion is already hearing from fans way beyond Canada.
“We’re a Canadian-based, Canadian-owned, Canadian-operated company that wants to showcase Canadian talent, but we want to showcase it with the best in the world. They want everybody. We love that we get comments from the Netherlands and from Japan and from all over the US and Mexico.”
D’Amore said the goal is simple. If fans want to watch, Maple Leaf Pro wants to make sure they can actually find the show without jumping through hoops: “I want to make sure and we want to make sure that people all over the world can watch.”
He stopped short of naming the platform, but he made it sound like the announcement is close and should solve a lot of the access questions fans have been asking.
“So, we’ll be making announcements soon that’s going to, I think, make everybody happy that they’re going to have easy access to be able to watch the MLP shows.”
D’Amore also had some fun with the VPN question, saying the company wants to give fans a legal and simple path instead of making them search around for workarounds.
“Just like we’re providing a proper legal path for Canadians to be able to go in the US and take part in these events, we’re also going to provide a proper legal path for fans to be able to watch it without the troubles of searching out this mythical VPN you speak of.”
That matters because MLP Mayhem is already set to premiere this July on TSN, with tapings in Windsor, Ontario, and more dates lined up for August. Getting on national television in Canada is a big first step, but D’Amore clearly doesn’t want the promotion boxed in by borders.
He also explained that TSN2 and TSN+ will both play a role in how Canadian fans watch the product, with the show getting a broadcast window, streaming access, encore airings, and another viewing option later on.
“I think national broadcast TV is always going to have a value and it’s still a major, major way of distributing your content. It’s your first step. It still reaches millions and millions of homes. In addition to our broadcast on TSN2, which is a nationally fed channel, we’ll also be on TSN Plus, which is their streaming service. We’ll have our debut broadcast. We’ll have some encore broadcasts on the channel. Plus, it’ll live on the streaming service. Plus, there’ll be a second window where, even if you don’t have TSN Plus, you’re going to have an opportunity to go out there and be able to view the product.”
So Maple Leaf Pro’s Canada rollout is already set, but the next move could be the one that really opens the door. D’Amore isn’t saying where international fans will watch yet, but he is making one thing clear: the company does not want U.S. fans, Mexican fans, Japanese fans, or anyone else stuck watching from the sidelines.
Do you think Maple Leaf Pro’s upcoming streaming announcement will help the promotion grow outside Canada? Let us know in the comments below.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
