Hockey interest takes its usual third-round dive

The two-month battle to determine who gets to abuse the Stanley Cup in small towns around the world is indeed a strange creature. For one, it's the only playoff that features players who look like they're either bearded lumberjacks or car-crash victims. It also has to be the only pro sports playoff that sees the public lose interest the more important the games become.

The first weekend of CBC's third-round coverage produced audiences that didn't even match the average for a regular-season Saturday night. In fact, barring a huge surge in interest, the third round won't come close to the second-round average of 1,366,000.

This is, by the way, nothing unusual. It happened last year, too. Basically, as long as there's no Canadian team involved, Canadian ratings will decrease until the final. 

But there is hope for solid ratings in the next round. The thought of the kind of hockey that could be produced in a Detroit-Pittsburgh series should have hockey fans salivating, or at least breathing heavily.

It wasn't much of a weekend for the Memorial Cup final, with ratings off 20 per cent from last season. But last year, the game didn't go head-to-head against a Stanley Cup playoff match.

For those who see some sort of bias against the NBA in this corner, the weekend ratings should silence them. Two conference final games barely broke the 100,000 mark on TSN. Hey, at least the NBA is doing better than Toronto FC.

The most incredible rating of the weekend: 180,000 tuning in to TSN for the NASCAR pre-race gabfest. Of course, they didn't know the race was going to be postponed.

 Here are the weekend ratings according to BBM Nielsen Media Research overnight calculations:

1. Hockey, Red Wings at Blackhawks, Friday, CBC: 1,111,000

2. Hockey, Penguins at Hurricanes, Saturday, CBC: 1,056,000

3. Hockey, Red Wings at Blackhawks, Sunday, CBC: 591,000*

4. Auto racing, Indianapolis 500, Sunday, TSN: 252,000*

5. Hockey, Memorial Cup final, Sunday, Sportsnet: 234,000

6. Auto racing, NASCAR Coke 600, Sunday, TSN: 180,000*

7.  Baseball, Blue Jays at Braves, Saturday, Sportsnet: 168,000*

8. Auto racing, F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Sunday, TSN: 158,000

9. Hockey, Memorial Cup: Windsor vs. Drummondville, Sportsnet: 150,000

10. Basketball, Lakers at Nuggets, Saturday, TSN: 125,000

11. Basketball, Magic at Cavaliers, Friday, TSN: 122,000

12. Soccer, New England at Toronto, Saturday, CBC: 76,000

* Canadian viewers on U.S. channel not calculated

Comments

[Chris Moltisano]

About the NHL playoffs going head to head with the Memorial Cup final. Do you think the NHL would have scheduled a playoff game head to head with the US college hockey final? I doubt it. And maybe its time for the Memorial Cup final to be played at night?
First off you'll get bigger ratings. And second, the NHL will always cowtow to NBC and play in the afternoon. So its a given if you play Sunday afternoon you'll be up against the NHL. So I say schedule the Memorial Cup final at 7:30 and watch the TV numbers double.

[Piker in GP]

1 thing you have to take into consideration though with the ratings Chris. Many of us would MUCH rather watch the US feeds or races & other events that are also on Canadian TV. Why? Because we want to see the entire broadcast without the sloppy production from Canadian networks who can't seem to connect the dots properly & more often than not miss the resumption of the broadcast. Plain & simple, that is why I have had Star CHoice for the last 10 years and will NEVER go back to cable.

[grcooley]

the CHL should def. consider rejigging the sked.
the NHL is increasingly playing on Sunday afternoons in late May but in the 3rd round really don't play on Saturday afternoons or Sunday nights

[cathy]

I would blame Sportsnet for the afternoon Memorial Cup - they had to show their precious ESPN Sunday Night game of the week.

[Mike L]

Cathy, showing Sunday Night Baseball Game of the Week is a contractual obligation, they have to show it.

Major League Baseball is Sportsnet's bread and butter for seven months of the year - even if the Memorial Cup's ratings are higher, it's only a one week event, and its prestige as a property is nowhere close to MLB.

[Zaddups]

"For those who see some sort of bias against the NBA in this corner, the weekend ratings should silence them. Two conference final games barely broke the 100,000 mark on TSN. Hey, at least the NBA is doing better than Toronto FC."

It must be me you are talking about Sir because I brought up the issue that there is always negative talk about basketball ratings from this column. Again I ask Sir...who has these boxes in their houses? Why don't I know ANYONE who has ever has or does have a box. My friends and family and acquantances watch not only basketball but also other programming...and never once when entering their home have I seen a "magical ratings box" in their abodes.
Please do us all a service and educate us on how the ratings system for TV works so I can better understand how these figures are accomplished.
In my opinion they are inaccurate...because if 20,000 fans can fill the Air Canada Center...almost everynight...that means than only 5 more people for everyone attending Raptors games would be watching basketball. You would think that people attending the game would have more than 5 friends who watch the sport that they like enough to attend...some as season ticket holders as well. It just doesn't make sense.
It's too bad "barely" anyone wants to watch Lebron James or Kobe Bryant play basketball.
I will be anxiously waiting your piece on the television ratings system.
Thanks

[Angelus]

Zaddups - basketball (or soccer) in Toronto is like ice hockey in Washington DC - just because the arena/stadium is always full does not mean that the sport is popular amongst the mainstream population or in the TV ratings. It just means they have the same 20,000 hardcore fans showing up every night.

[cathy]

Zaddups - search out Neilsen for info on how ratings are generated - basically a lesson in advanced Stats.

And as Angelus stated just because 20k pack ACC or BMO Field doesn't mean it will translate into high TV ratings. Plus, these are national ratings, you have to look beyond your circle of friends/relatives let alone the city of Toronto.

For Sportsnet Sunday Night baseball, it's ratings rarely ever make it a top 10 weekend viewing. For me, it's largely filler programming since Sportsnet seems to run on the cheap. Unlike TSN who go all out in making their properties big time such as World Juniors or CFL.

Instead, Sportsnet relegates the national junior championship of our so called national sport because of decisions of ESPN programming - only in Canada with stations like Sportsnet & Global would this happen.

[Zaddups]

Sorry Angelus...you don't know what you're talking about.
Trust me there are waaaayyy more than "20,000 hardcore basketball fans" in Ontario buddy!
You are delusional to think the the Raptors/NBA fanbase is the same as the 20,000 fanbase that takes in Chicago Blackhawks games!
What is "mainstream population" to you? Do you account for people from visible minorities or countries that hockey is not played in...which is most other countries". Please lets no assume who or what the "mainstream population" looks like or watches on TV! It's time people like you realize that the population is very diverse in Ontario at least...and particularly Toronto...and to them soccer and basketball and cricket etc. are sports they follow and participate in.
It's disappointing to read comments like Angelus' in which he clearly has no idea about the sport of basketball and he does not understand the changing demographics of this great country!
Thanks and have a nice weekend.

[Eric]

Cathy, I agree with Mike L - even if Sunday Night Baseball rarely makes the top 10 in weekend TV ratings, it is far more prestigious for a sports network to say to advertisers that they carry Major League Baseball, than it is for saying they carry the Memorial Cup. And considering Sportsnet carries MLB for six or seven months out of the year, and they advertise it heavily, it is hardly filler.

[Mark L]

Zaddups - in your last comment, you were mentioning how diverse Toronto is, and how this population supposedly likes basketball. Guess what, Toronto is NOT Canada.

TV ratings are based on the viewership of the entire country, not just Toronto. The GTA's impact on the total English Canada TV ratings is about 15 to 20% of the overall total.

And I also doubt your stereotyping of new Canadians in Toronto preferring basketball. I'm a visible minority (Chinese) who used to live in Toronto, and generally, myself and my friends/family prefer baseball and hockey over basketball.

[Justin]

Memorial Cup would be more presitgious if sportsnet actually cared to give it top billing - as someone mentioned as TSN has done with Juniors and other programming. TSN follows the ESPN strategy of putting everything behind their programs. Sportsnet looks at a programming like a parasite - benefit as much as possible with least amount of effort and cost.

[Kyle H]

Cathy, with all due respect I have to disagree about TSN going "all out in making their properties big time". TSN being the network that simply picks up US feeds of NHL playoff games (sometimes the biased local ones as seen in the first round), has cut back their F1 broadcasts this year to bare bones, and couldn't even be bothered to send their own crew to Boston to cover an important Jays series with the Red Sox a couple weeks ago that aired on TSN2 and used the NESN feed instead. Could you imagine the outcry in Boston had NESN or some other channel decided not to send their crew to Toronto for the series this weekend with the Blue Jays and elected to pick up the Jays feed from Rogers Sportsnet?

As for Sportsnet showing Sunday Night Baseball, maybe it's not a huge ratings generator but as Eric points out, it's about the prestige of Sportsnet being able to say they carry a big time sports property like MLB baseball. And since Sportsnet airs the MLB post-season, maybe just maybe it gives them an opportunity to pick up games featuring teams that will end up being seen in the playoffs to try to generate some interest. As a baseball fan in general, I enjoy being able to see a variety of teams thanks to Sportsnet. I used to subscribe to MLB Extra Innings but cancelled this year since I figured I'll get enough games already with Sportsnet's 4 channels.

[JP]

Mark L: well said. The NBA (let alone the Raptors) isn't even on the radar screen here on the east coast, and I'm sure it isn't in the rest of non-GTA Canada as well. Let's call it what it is: a niche sport.

[george]

if Sunday Night Baseball rarely evers make the top weekend list - especially considering it is on in June/July/August where it faces little (if any) direct live sports programming let alone other TV programs- then Cdns are saying it is filler.

Plus, Sportsnet shows a baseball game everyday.
Fox has a game of the week and if you have digitial - can watch 2 games on many days on the other sportsnet feeds. So, Sunday Night Baseball isn't really special - other than ESPN has better production than the regional feeds and Sportsnet's Jays games.

Memorial Cup can be made as big as NCAA basketball final 4 weekend - if the CHL & Sportsnet do some legwork.

Red Sox games were on TSN2 and Jays aren't a primary property of TSN. TSN takes better care of primary Canadian sports properties such as curling, CFL, and Canada hockey.

Sportsnet seems to only care if there is some synergy with Rogers business line.

[Terri]

George: "So, Sunday Night Baseball isn't really special"

Sunday Night Baseball is considered THE "Game Of the Week" - it's the only game each week that can seen EVERYWHERE by all baseball fans throughout the USA and Canada (and in several other countries - this is one of the baseball games that is consistently exported throughout the world), and it does not face competition from other MLB games in this time slot on local stations. No other baseball game broadcast during the week can say that, not even the Fox Saturday games (which normally have 3 games running simultaneously, split by region).

[Zaddups]

Basketball is not a "niche" sport JP...
In fact worldwide...basketball is the 2nd most popular sport. Worldwide...hockey is a "niche" sport. maybe the East Coast needs to expand their horizons. That's the problem with many people in this country...they can only appreciate one sport. That's why Canada is not great in anything but Hockey. There are other sports and people with other interests than Hockey in this country.
As for Mark L...I didn't stereotype that all new Canadians like basketball...I said that many new immigrants played other sports before they came to Canada.
It's funny...because basketball is growing tremendously in Asia. It's huge there...of course alot has to do with Yao Ming.
I work at a basketball facility here in Toronto and atleast 50% of the players are Asian!
Now like you said...your friends like baseball and hockey...but that doesn't mean there aren't many Asians who like Basketball.
Have a great weekend folks.

[george]

Apparently, only a handful of Cdns like Terri have figured out Sunday Night Baseball is special because as seen by the ratings, no one really watches it on Sportsnet.

ESPN & MLB can try to make it special- but there is a difference between saying it is so and making it so.

Re in several other countries, I can watch live South African rugby league, Aussie Rules football, Colombian soccer action to name only a few on a any given weekend on Cdn tv - so it's actually embarassing that Sunday Night Baseball being only shown in "several" countries.

[Roy Anderson]

Might not it be a factor, in the drop in viewers of the Stanley Cup on TV, that the game has changed drastically in the past few years?
It seems that it wasn't long ago the game was much slower where it was only the puck that couldn't easily be followed. Today, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the players!

Also large numbers of aged viewers, like myself, have decided that the game is just too different, today, from the wonderful game we grew up playing and watching. The days of being able to identify the players and the days when although there was some violence, it wasn't a game where (like American Football) people go out deliberately to injure and maim. The game has progressed as all things do of course, but the latest changes in NHL Hockey have seemed just one step too far - for many of us.

In the 60's and 70's I watched every NHL game I could. Little else mattered. Over the years, changes to the game meant I had less and less pleasure from it. This past year I didn't watch an entire game until the Final Series between the Red Wings and the Penguins. At this stage, I have only seen three entire games this season. For me, it just isn't the game it was - for all the senseless hype and hoopla!