Good weekend for CFL, F1 and TFC

While hockey and football, as usual, are at the top of the ratings heap, the past weekend was a pretty good one for Formula One racing and Toronto FC. The Brazilian Grand Prix drew  365,000 viewers to TSN on Sunday, which shows what a difference starting in the afternoon instead of dawn can do for audiences.

Playing a do-or-die game also helped Toronto FC, whose victory over Real Salt Lake attracted 229,000 to CBC on Saturday afternoon.

The new ratings system continues to look good on the CFL, which again dominated the non-hockey ratings.

 Here are the top ratings on English-Canadian television for last weekend, according to BBM overnight figures.

1. NHL: Rangers at Leafs/Senators at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 1,718,000

2. NHL: Canucks at Wild, Saturday, CBC: 986,000

3. CFL: Roughriders at Stampeders, Saturday, TSN: 930,000

4. CFL: Lions at Blue Bombers, Sunday, TSN: 893,000

5. CFL: Eskimos at Argonauts, Friday, TSN: 693,000

6. NFL: Early games, Sunday, CTV: 680,000

7. NFL: Bears at Falcons, Sunday, TSN: 586,000*

8. CFL: Tiger- Cats at Alouettes, Sunday, TSN: 522,000

9. NFL: Late games, Sunday, City: 426,000

10. MLB: Dodgers at Phillies, Sunday, Sportsnet; 413,000

11. MLB: Angels at Yankees, Saturday, Sportsnet: 403,000**

12. MLB: Phillies at Dodgers, Friday, Sportsnet: 378,000

13. Auto racing, F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Sunday, TSN: 365,000

14. MLB: Angels at Yankees, Friday, Sportsnet: 304,000***

15. Auto racing: NASCAR Sprint Cup, Saturday, TSN: 303,000

16. NFL: Late games, Sunday, Sportsnet: 243,000

17. Soccer:  Salt Lake at Toronto FC, Saturday, CBC: 229.000

* Viewers on NBC not calculated

** Viewers on Fox not calculated

*** Two Sportsnet channels only

Comments

[willy]

17. Soccer: Salt Lake at Toronto FC, Saturday, CBC: 229.000

i thought soccer was the it sport in t.o. guess not

[john]

haha Willy...I love soccer haters like you. In time my friend, all in good time, soccer will become THE sport in this city, just you wait.

[Peter Brown]

Once again, if we assume that many Canadians watch Sunday night NFL football on NBC, which is my preferred choice, you could easily double the 586,000 rating on TSN, which would make it the highest non-NHL broadcast of the week, higher than any CFL game.

Also, why not include Monday night football in the ratings? Why restrict it to the weekend? A couple of weeks back, the Vikings/Packers Monday night game drew 1.2 million viewers to TSN, which beat any CFL game that weekend.

[moosy]

wow, I like your argument Mr. Brown - based soley on 2 assumptions rather than facts: Cdns prefer to watch Sunday night NFL on NBC and therefore, you can easily double TSN's figures.

[Mike S]

I always watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and not on TSN.........but my provider is Bell ExpressVu and they seem to be simulcasting TSN's commercials on NBC, so maybe people like me are counted in TSN's ratings.........I was always under the impression that only over-the-air channels were allowed to simulcast their commercials so I'm not sure why TSN is allowed to do it on Bell ExpressVu

[Duelfuel]

The Stamp/Rider game was blacked out locally... You can add some numbers there...

[Rick Grace]

No Mr. Brown.
You can't make that assumption.
From what I hear, the Stampeders were blacked out in Calgary.
And Montreal-Hamilton on Sunday doesn;t include the French RDS numbers.
CFL and hockey rule this country.
All the haters out there are spewing smoke.
Because the facts are right there for all to see in black and white.

[willy]

john don't hold your breath waiting for soccer to take over or i'm afraid there will be one less soccer fan in toronto and judging by the low low rating's losing one fan could be the nail in the coffin.

[Peter Brown]

Moosy,

Until BBM Canada figures out a way to count Canadians who watch TV on U.S. channels (that aren't simulcasts), then assuming is all we can do. In other blog postings, Chris has made grand assumptions about how many people watch on NBC versus TSN, so I figure I'm just as qualified to pull numbers out of thin air. I don't think that Canadians predominantly prefer NBC on Sunday nights, just that the number is significantly higher than zero, and it wouldn't surprise me if it's about equal to TSN.

I conducted a small (and of course unscientific) survey of my football-loving friends, and the vast majority watched NBC on Sunday nights, primarily because it's a superior production (Canadian networks are routinely sloppy going into and out of commercial breaks) and because Canadian networks have far fewer unique sponsors than American networks -- so you get to watch the same commercial about 12 times on TSN or twice on NBC.

[Peter Brown]

Mr. Grace,

I agree with half of your conclusion: hockey *does* rule the country. But as long as we have an inadequate ratings-gathering system in this country, we cannot definitively say that the CFL draws more viewers than the NFL. In fact, in recent years, the Grey Cup has even started to fall behind the Super Bowl in total viewership. 2008 Grey Cup: 3.8 million; 2008 Super Bowl (Feb. 2009): 4.3 million.

[Peter Brown]

Mike S., you're correct: the CRTC simulcasting/substitution rules apply only to over-the-air broadcasters (CBC, CTV, Global, etc.) and not to cable-only networks (TSN, Sportsnet, The Score, etc.). Why Bell Expressvu is substituting NBC on TSN, I dunno. They're not supposed to.

[willy]

Peter Brown

in recent years, the Grey Cup has even started to fall behind the Super Bowl in total viewership. 2008 Grey Cup: 3.8 million; 2008 Super Bowl (Feb. 2009): 4.3 million.

why is it all the cfl haters always pick the 2008 super bowl to compare ratings. could it be that was the year that featured a undefeated team and that drew in enough viewers that the super bowl beat the grey cup in ratings.

[Peter Brown]

willy: Actually that Super Bowl (2008 season, played in Feb. 2009) was Steelers over Cardinals. You're thinking of 2007/08: Pats vs. Giants, which was also rated highly. Pitt/Ari was helped out by two big factors: the Steelers are a very popular team, both in the U.S. and Canada, and it was a close, exciting game right to the end, keeping the viewership high throughout. The 2008 Grey Cup was hurt in southern Ontario by the poor performance of the Argos and Ticats down the stretch.

I don't particularly hate the CFL; I actually do watch it, and occasionally get to a game or two; but I'm a huge NFL fan, and my hackles raise when I see spurious arguments about CFL being way ahead of the NFL in either general fan interest or TV viewership. I point out the Super Bowl/Grey Cup comparison only to argue that, while CFL used to be far more popular than NFL, that's no longer true. The Super Bowl consistently equals or beats the Grey Cup in recent years, and big NFL regular season games routinely get ratings well over 1 million, which puts them near or even past the highest rated CFL games of the season.

[Kyle H.]

As a baseball fan, I've been watching the ALCS on FOX as I find their HD broadcast is much sharper and clearer than the "World feed" that is being provided by Rogers Sportsnet. I know that Sportsnet uses the world feed so they can insert their own virtual ads on the green screen behind home plate, but I'd be more inclined to watch their broadcast if they had a better HD picture since the world feed broadcast isn't as gimmicky as the FOX broadcast and notably does not include Tim McCarver. Their HD quality was fine for the TBS simulcasts of the NLCS though.

[chris]

Canadians who are more secure with themselves wouldn't be going around thumping their chests because hockey and Canadian football have higher TV viewers. The insecure ones feel the need to put down other sports with smaller numbers because they fear they will become more popular and that they will threaten the popularity of the NHL and CFL in this country. That's all. Such emptiness in their lives.

[Karel Dvorak]

Do the 365 000 viewers of the Brazilian Grand Prix include the French Canadian viewers? Any idea how many watched the race in Quebec?

[ReadJ]

Chris - I completely agree with you. I am so tired of the 'NHL and CFL are Canadian, so we should watch them, but MLB, NBA and NFL are American so we shouldn't' ridiculous argument. It seems to be an attempt at some poorly thought out idea of patriotism, nevermind the fact that the sport you enjoy has no bearing on how 'Canadian' you are.

Since I grew up mostly a baseball fan, that attitude has really turned me off the NHL.

NHL and CFL may 'rule' the sports interest of the country in general, but it certainly doesn't in Toronto. I wish the Argos well, but they may be the 5th most popular team in Toronto. As well, even with their recent struggles, the Raptors and Jays have sizable and passionate fanbases. If one of them was to actually contend the reaction would be gigantic.

So just relax, let people enjoy want they want, and stop being so defensive! I'm sure hockey will always be huge in this country, but there's plenty of room for other interests. Particularly in a huge city like Toronto.

[Mike]

Chris and ReadJ, so true. There's a real inferiority complex out there, especially among the CFL. I mean, there's people saying "the NHL rules this country" like it's something that's not universally accepted. Wow, and the sky is blue! No one has ever said anything to dispute the NHL's dominance in Canada.

But I gotta wonder what is really meant by "Canadian"? The NHL is 80% American in terms of teams and run out of New York, not Toronto. The CFL has majority American players and a even bigger concentration of the so called "star positions" QB, WR, RD. Even 6 of the coaches in "our league" are from down south.

So is it "Canadian" to watch teams from Canadian cities, like the CFL? Guess not, cause it's "American' to watch the Blue Jays, TFC, or the Raptors. Or is it "Canadian" to sports with Canadian stars in it, like the NHL? Not that either, cause Justin Morneau and Steve Nash have been MVPs of their respective leagues.

So is a "Canadian" sport a completely subjective definition that is modified to suit the user's convoluted and illogical argument? Yes, it looks like that is exactly what it is.

[Tim]

The CFL does amazing in these ratings, especially when you consider that TSN isn't available in all homes because it is a specialty cable channel. The NFL is available in all homes, giving it an advantage.

That said, what's with all the NFL vs. CFL bashing? If you are a real football fan, you could appreciate both without having to put one of the lagues down.

I am a huge Rider and CFL fan, but I can appreciate the NFL as well. I don't need to bash the NFL to death. It's too bad that the NFL fans can't be better people and stop bashing the CFL.

[Rick Grace]

Mike and the rest.
You guys say we have inferiority complexes because we pump Canadian sports?
Well assuming you're Canadian, why are you trying to pump sports from another country?
Adn why do you feel the need to put down those who support Canadian sports?
And to say hockey isn't Canadian? What are you blithering about?

[Mike]

Rick, it is an inferiority complex because you turn it into an "us vs them" argument for no reason, like you're doing right now.
And to insinuate that people who watch sports from other countries are somehow less Canadian is the height of ignorance and frankly insulting to what Canada represents.
Furthermore, I'm not putting down those who support "Canadian sports" because as I've already explained, that term is as meaningless as "real America" is. I am putting down all those who feel the need to use the phrase "Canadian sports" to prove a point. Also, I made clear that I was talking about the NHL, not just hockey generally? Do you bother to fully read any of the posts before you repeat your same nonsense over and over?

[Chris]

It's pretty funny. You can sure pick the Toronto posters out pretty easily. Most would be celebrating how well the CFL is doing -- its our own league with a salary cap that would be equivalent to one decent player on an NFL team. But, because of the quality of the game, and the hometown factor, it does well against the behemoth to the south.

Yet, for some reason, people want to try and poke holes in the rating system to spin how the NFL could be argued to be more popular. Unbelievable.

Rarely does anyone mention that the RDS numbers aren't listed for the Als games -- which would vault those CFL games even higher.

[Dave]

Ever major country has its own sports league, just for that country alone. IE Japan and baseball, soccer in England ETC, yet you won't hear people from those country saying negative comments about their league. To say the CFL is not uniquely Canadian, then that person has never been to a Grey Cup, or has no knowledge of the history of this great league. It's our league enjoy it. It's ok to like both brands of football. In fact you can't claim to be a football fan and not like both leagues. look at the facts the Argos are the second highest rated team in Toronto. Even if you just use Greater GTA numbers, they sttill beat the Jays and Raptors. Soccer does not count for much

[ReadJ]

Dave ... seriously?

We shouldn't criticize the CFL because it's Canadian? You really think people in other countries don't say negative things about their respective leagues? People in the States certainly criticize 'American' leagues. Look, if people don't like it, then they don't like it! Who cares if it's Canadian, American or what.

I like the Argos, and I hope they're always a part of the Toronto landscape, but the Argos are not the second highest rated team in Toronto. I know CFL numbers are bigger than MLB and NBA across Canada - but it has two Canadian home teams to draw from. Also, there's interest all across the county. Jays and Raptor games are pretty much only drawing from the GTA.

Again, I like the CFL - it's very popular around Canada, but to imply it's that big in Toronto would simply be wrong. The Jays and Raptors are miles ahead of the Argos in Toronto in terms of interest. With all due respect, if you really believe the Argos are the second most popular team here then I suspect that you don't live in Toronto. It's that apparent.

Also, Rick, I don't think anyone is trying to 'pump American sports and put down Canadian sports'. Personally, I just not too big on hockey, and I'm a big Jays and Raptor fan. I don't have any problem with people who choose to be huge NHL and CFL fans though - because who in their right mind cares? You however seem to have a problem with someone like me who doesn't like sports you perceive to be 'Canadian' and liking sports that you perceive to be 'American'. Which, I'm sorry, is ridiculous.

I mean, do you go out of your way to watch Canadian television over American television? Do you go out of your way to watch Canadian movies over American? Probably not! I'm sure you wish Canadian film and television the best, but in the end, you like what you like.

It's so silly to try to correlate what sports you're interested in into anything to do with patriotism. It makes no difference to anything. I appreciate that you want to be a good Canadian here, but what sports we prefer makes absolutely no difference to this.

[Chris]

Personally, I just have a problem with people trying disparage CFL ratings. That's all. I don't care if you think the NFL is the best thing since sliced bread. You should be able to look at the numbers and say, 'wow, they do a pretty good job'...and even find some element of patriotic pride.

As for the Jays and Raptors -- well, first off, the Argos have more history than all other Toronto teams combined. So, lets see where the Raptors are 100 years from now. Longevity has to count for something.