New GSOC Season Starts with Fresh Look & Viewing Options

Summary:

• The Grand Slam of Curling season kick-started on Tuesday under the ownership of The Curling Group.
• Fresh look and better-viewing alternatives, along with a new logo, an upgraded site, and a new podcast introduced
• The Curling Group will oversee the operations of all five Slam events. 

The much-anticipated Grand Slam of Curling season began on Tuesday with a brand new look and enhanced viewership alternatives aimed at fans, under The Curling Group which took over from Sportsnet in April. 

The fresh ownership made an immediate impact at the HearingLife Tour Challenge, under supervision from the group led by former PointsBet Canada’s chief commercial officer, Nic Sulsky, and Rumble Gaming’s founder, Mike Cotton.

For the first time, live online streaming was made available for all Tier-1 games at the Bell Aliant Centre in Charlottetown. 

The change, which addressed a burning need frequently verbalized by fans of the sport who wanted access to early-round matches and non-feature games, was one of the first visible shifts since the Grand Slam series was purchased by the new owners. 

The Grand Slams, “a Little Stagnant” in the Last 5-10 Years

As explained by veteran skip who won the world title in 2017, Brad Gushue, if the new ownership managed to do “half of what they’re looking to do”, it would be “good for the sport“.

Gusheue also acknowledged the stagnant status of the Grand Slams “in the last probably five or 10 years” while calling the new plans for growth and expansion “good for this generation and certainly for the next generation of top curlers”.

While Sportsnet, which has owned the series since 2012, will remain the domestic broadcaster, The Curling Group will be responsible for overseeing the operations of all five Slam events. 

While major changes may not happen until after the current quadrennial concludes in 2026, the initial updates that have already been put into motion are expected to “attract younger audiences”, as explained by broadcaster Mike Harris who took the opportunity to express excitement about the new direction.

Among the fresh updates, we can mention the creation of a new logo, an upgraded website, and the launch of a new podcast. 

Live music and entertainment at the “Apres Curl’” area will also be available at Slam host venues.

Broadcaster Mike Harris expressed excitement about the new direction, saying,

It’s great to see how much impact these new ideas can have. Curling has always struggled to attract younger audiences, and I think that’s their primary focus.

Minor Hiccups During the First Draw Streamed Live 

However, the first live-streamed draw, a pioneering event for the Slam series, was tackled by the Canadian-based HomeTeam Live service. 

The draw had some issues, such as scoreboard graphics not being updated on certain sheets, player introductions lacking video, and raw audio from ice level rather than player microphones. 

Also, some camera angles missed rock movement, and only one of the four sheets had commentary. Additionally, live streaming was not available for the Tier-2 competition.

Last week, The Curling Group announced raising $5 million in seed funding to invest in innovation and content production to broaden the sport’s global reach. 

A new board of directors with five members, chaired by former Bell Media president Maryann Turcke, was also introduced.

As the season kicked off, top teams battled in the Tier-1 event, with notable performances from Ottawa skip Rachel Homan who defeated Delaney Strouse of the United State (9-3) and Italy’s Stefania Constantini who won against four-time Canadian champion Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man. (6-4), setting the stage for an exciting season.