Hey Homer, there really is a CFL draft on TV
A few years ago, it was the ultimate joke about the junk sports on television. There was everybody's favourite slug, Homer Simpson, lying on his couch, so desperate to view anything sports-related he was actually watching the Canadian Football League draft. Next to lawnmower racing, could there be anything more unwatchable, less interesting or just plain dumb than the CFL draft -- even if you do have the drama added by the occasional drafting of deceased players?
Well, the joke has become reality. For the first time, TSN will air the draft Saturday morning (11 a.m.) It's not clear whether Homer will be watching, but TSN is hoping a lot of Homers will be tuning in.
``We do the NHL draft and the NFL draft, so it's only right that we should do this," says TSN president Phil King.
But altruism isn't the only motive here. At the league's urging, TSN produced a webcast of last year's draft and was surprised by the interest. While viewer numbers aren't available, they surpassed the channel's expectations and created a few problems for those trying to log on. King called the response ``encouraging."
This year, with the league's support, TSN decided to go all the way. The event was scheduled for 11, mainly not to interfere with any other TSN programming, which would indicate TSN isn't expecting a huge audience.
But it could come close to the much-hyped NFL draft, which was watched by only 107,000 Canadian viewers last Saturday. Half the audience with one-thousandth the hype would be a victory.
Haha. That joke on the Simpsons was in 1990, so it was more than a few years ago.
Posted by: Chris | 04/30/2009 at 11:04 PM
Chris,
E-mail me about golf Monday. Your other link bounced.
Posted by: Mike Dennis | 05/01/2009 at 11:45 AM
You know if you folks in S. Ontario would get over your all things american facination you maybe surprised that there are home grown sporting events that Canadians enjoy.
Posted by: Don | 05/01/2009 at 01:27 PM
Chris,
I'm assuming the 107,000 (NFL draft) measures only TSN viewers. I, and my NFL-loving buddies, watched on NFL Network, since it had more comprehensive coverage compared to TSN picking up ESPN's feed.
Posted by: Peter Brown | 05/02/2009 at 09:39 AM
okay add in another 50 people watching on NFL network - the most boring sports network there is.....
Posted by: Justine | 05/02/2009 at 07:39 PM
Does the article have to be so belittling to the CFL? Alright, the players in this draft aren't household names and the program is obscure and only of interest to the most intense fans. Having said that, only the most die-hard fans of the big American leagues or gambling junkies watch the other drafts.
Be as belittling as you want, the fact of the matter is still that the CFL is easily Canada's second most watched sports league and a major key to success in the CFL is quality Canadian talent. The first round of the Canadian draft is where that talent comes from.
Posted by: Joe | 05/03/2009 at 10:42 AM
All drafts are overhyped these days and generally are hit and miss. But the CFL draft seems to be worse than the others when you consider the following stats. From 02 - 07, a third of the draft picks never dressed for a game and another quarter on top of that are no longer in the league. Only about 1 in 10 actually become starters for teams.
Who really wants to watch hours of coverage when just 4 or 5 players will be remembered 5 years from now?
And Joe believe it or not, but when you count all viewers correctly, the NFL is more watched than the CFL.
Posted by: Mike | 05/03/2009 at 03:20 PM
I thought that the NFL was the second most watched league in Canada, maybe not.
And I'd say more than 50 more watched on NFL Network, it is miles ahead of ESPN, ask anybody who watched their coverage, it was a mess, as usual.
Posted by: Josh O'Donnell | 05/03/2009 at 10:25 PM
The CFL is the most second most watched pro sports league in Canada. Chris Zelkovich can confirm that.
Posted by: ArgoFan | 05/04/2009 at 11:28 PM
WRONG!! The NFL numbers are not counted correctly in most cases and thats why they appear lower at first glance. When they are adjusted, the numbers beat the CFL. And in the playoffs, again the NFL beats the CFL handily.
How long will CFL fans hold on to this tired, and false, argument.
Posted by: Mike | 05/05/2009 at 11:02 AM
The NFL numbers are not counted accurately??? That is a bunch of baloney. When the CFL and NFL go head-to-head in the fall, the CFL wins hands down. Zelkovich has posted the numbers and the proof is in those numbers unlike the phantom ones in your head, Mike.
Posted by: ArgoFan | 05/05/2009 at 09:08 PM
Viewers on American feeds are not counted, they're never counted. Also not considered is the fact that the NFL shows over a dozen games on Sunday, only a few on regular TV. So anyone watching their team on Sunday ticket is also not counted.
Do me a favour, go look up Super Bowl numbers vs. Grey Cup. Than AFC, NFC championships vs. East, West Finals. Then you'll see what happens when the numbers are counted correctly.
Poor CFL fan, still in denial.
Posted by: Mike | 05/06/2009 at 09:29 AM
I think what Mike is trying to say (besides stating a preference for the NFL) is that Canadian ratings figures for NFL broadcasts do not include viewers who watch U.S. channels. If you include this group, he is probably correct in his assumption that the NFL outdraws the CFL -- in Toronto, at least. I suspect it's a different story in most other CFL regions.
Posted by: 2nd Guess | 05/06/2009 at 11:09 AM
Argofan, the problem is that lots of people watch the NFL on CBS and Fox. Personally I almost never watch a game that is on CTV or Sportsnet, and even when it is I watch it on CBS or Fox.
I'm a CFL fan too, but there is no real way of counting exactly how many people are watching the NFL on Sunday afternoons. The Super Bowl gets about 1 million more viewers than the Grey Cup, and I know thats not a fair comparison, but its the only ratings I can find quickly.
Posted by: Josh O'Donnell | 05/06/2009 at 11:26 AM