Where are all the hoops fans?

On perusing the list of most-watched weekend sports events, the first thing you notice is that the usual suspects -- hockey and curling -- dominate the proceedings. The next thing that jumps out is that there are only two basketball games in the top 20 even though there's an NBA playoff contender here, the much-hyped NCAA tournament and the entertaining but mostly ignored CIS men's tournament.

Friday's Raptors-Blazers game on TSN averaged 187,000 viewers, not a great audience by anyone's definition. The NCAA? No March Madness on Canadian television, that's for sure.

The most-watched NCAA game on The Score and Sun TV (with the latter simulcasting CBS in the GTA)  averaged 187,000 Saturday night when Kansas and Northern Iowa played.  The Score reports that 62 per cent of all those watching the tournament did so on the Canadian channel, meaning that the most-watched game drew less than 250,000 viewers in Canada.

The positive here is the fact that The Score's audiences are up 28 per cent over last year, though it should be noted that most ratings are up by about 20 per cent thanks to a new ratings system.

Madness? Hardly.

As for the CIS, as good a tournament as it is, Sunday's final attracted an average of 35,000 on TSN2 -- a 40 per cent increase over what The Score drew last year.

Here are the top-rated weekend sports shows on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Canadiens at Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 2,116,000

2. NHL, Red Wings at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,273,000

3. Curling, Women's world championship, Saturday, TSN: 884,000

4. Curling, Women's world championship, Sunday afternoon, TSN: 773,000

5. Curling, Women's world championship, Sunday evening, TSN: 753,000

6. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 561,000

7. NHL, Red Wings at Oilers, Friday, TSN: 541,000

8. PGA, Traditions Championship final round, Sunday, Global: 369,000

9. UFC, Vera vs. Jones, Sunday, Sportsnet: 336,000***

10. NHL, Rangers at Bruins, Sunday, TSN: 317,000*

11. Crashed Ice, Sunday, CBC: 264,000

12. Auto racing, NASCAR Food CIty 500, Sunday, TSN2: 257,000*

13. NHL, Sharks at Flames, Friday, Sportsnet West: 247,000**

14. Auto racing, NASCAR Nationwide, Saturday, TSN: 231,000

15. OHL, Guelph at London, Friday, Sportsnet Ontario: 211,000**

16. NHL, Senators at Stars, Saturday, Sportsnet East, 204,000**

17. Speed skating, World championship, Saturday, CBC: 203,000

18. Hockey, Abbotsford at Toronto Marlboros, Sunday, CBC: 196,000

19. NCAA, Kansas vs. Northern Iowa, Saturday, Score/Sun TV: 187,000*

20. NBA, Blazers at Raptors, Friday, TSN: 187,000

* Viewers on U.S. channel not calculated

** One channel only

** Two channels only

OTHER STUFF: Every few years Australian rules football pops up on television screens, a lot like Kirstie Alley, only slimmer. This time, it's TSN2 bringing the wildest and craziest sport on turf to Canadians. TSN2 will have a weekly game during the 21-game Premier league season, starting Friday at 4:30 a.m. Set those PVRs or alarm clocks or you'll miss the season opener between Geelong and Essendon. ... So how is the NHL doing on NBC in the wake of goodwill created by the Vancouver Olympics? Sunday's Rangers-Bruins game scored a 0.7 overnight rating -- a little better than half of what NBC averaged last season.

Comments

[Ryan]

The Raptors aren't playing too well, I'd say that's a big reason why the fans aren't watching. It'll pick up again if they start playing better.

As for college basketball, I'm surprised any Canadian watches. What's the point of watching NCAA?

[mlbfan]

Remember that, presumably, many people watch on CBS to avoid The Score's massive ticker at the bottom of the screen. The ratings you list are therefore not 100% accurate, since US signals aren't measured. That makes it difficult to identify how many people actually watch March Madness.

[Rick Grace]

Is there a more overrated sport then basketball in Canada?
All I keep hearing is how the younger generation just loves it.
Yet TV ratings are pitiful.
The Raptors play to thousands of empty seats a game, even though they're winning.
The Grizzlies folded.
Nobody watches this NCAA thing. Nobody watches CIS basketball.
Our national team can't beat anybody and nobody cares.
The supposed "growing" popularity of basketball the media keeps telling us doesn't exist. In fact its obviously regressing.
In fact if you ask me, this sport is going the way of baseball in Canada.

[JGH]

You're at it again, Rick.
Baseball is a very popular sport in Canada. The Jays have been mediocre at best over the last 15+ and that shows. You can see the ratings spike when they are 'in' the race (for as long as that is)..if this team starts winning for sure, you can bet the ratings will follow. Don't forget that when there are over 150 Jay games on TV, it loses it's "Must see" appeal for sure.

[David Hyndman]

What this shows is how little appeal basketball has for Canadians. The only people who seem to care is this countries sports media which continues to give headline coverage to this NCAA stuff. The media keeps saying their reporting reflects public interest. In reality it reflect their own interests and they continue to ram it down our throats when clearly we just don't care in sufficient numbers to warrant all this excessive reporting. In their world, if it happens in America it happens everywhere. If it happens somewhere else, it doesn't happen. So pity the poor CIS which went virtually ignored last weekend. Yes, CIS basketball is not big in this country, but it does deserve more respect than what it got.

[john]

actually mlb fan, the article does say the Score says 62% watched it on the Score. Yes, the ticker is an eyesore during live events but considering the Score was showing less commercials and moving between games more frequently, there is really a compelling reason to watch the first 2 rounds of the Score.

[Chris F.]

Rick, The Raptors have very good attendance compared to most other teams in the NBA. I believe they're in the top 15 in league attendance and that's for a team that's playing like crap right now. The attendance is even better when they're playing better like during that stretch this season where you could say they were one of the best teams in the league.

The Raptors can't seem to generate TV ratings but the numbers at the gate is nothing to sneeze at.

[Rick Grace]

I don't know about that Chris.
Raptor crowds are papered.
Like they are in Atlanta and Florida for hockey.
When you have the Leafs bringing in gazillion dollars a year,
you can basically give tickets away for basketball.
On their own, without the Maple Leafs supporting them,
the Raptors would not survive.

[Mike]

"On their own, without the Maple Leafs supporting them,
the Raptors would not survive. "
100% False. Thanks for continuing to prove that you know absolutely nothing about sports.

[JGH]

Rick, how many Raptors games have you personally attended?

[Rick Grace]

Thats funny Mike.
Because I think it was in the mid 90's they were owned by John Bitove and Larry Christmas Tree.
And if the Leafs hadn't stepped in to save them, they would have disappeard with the Grizzlies.
Access to the Leafs mega million profits. Plus access to the Maple Leafs season ticket base, and Leafs clout with the networks, had made this Raptors franchise somewhat viable.

And JGH.
I could have gone to a Raptors game last year. A pizza chain was giving away tickets.
But I took the pizza instead.

[DLind]

Rick, please stop. We get it. Raptors have poor national TV numbers. We also get that you seem to feel that Canadians should watch what you think are 'Canadian' sports and not what you think are 'American' sports. You have made those points crystal clear.

But your insistence that the team is somehow a floundering Phoenix Coyote-esqe franchise is completely and utterly wrong. The Raptors are in good shape and have a strong following in Toronto. This is not my opinion, it's fact. So please stop making things up to try to prove your point. All it does is completely de-validate your arguments.

Also, you may be interested to know that the Raptors have the 3rd highest local TV ratings in the NBA behind only the Lakers and Cavs. So, while the rest of Canada is certainly not watching the team, Toronto clearly is - and really that's what's most important.

[Mike]

Sorry Rick, your revisionist history is wrong. The Raptors weren't on the verge of disappearing when MLSE bought them, in fact they were in the middle of building the ACC. You may not remember but the building was going to be home to just the Raptors before they were sold and MLSE decided to move the Leafs out of the Gardens. I've never heard of a team moving while the stadium was being constructed, have you?
As for the Pizza Pizza deal: yes, the chain did give away pairs of tickets to select games. Maybe 5 or 6 games all season and it was only at 4 random locations in the GTA and the tickets were the nosebleeds. That is hardly papered to the level the NHL must or even other NBA teams. And since you love to brag that you don't live in the GTA, I wonder how you were able to turn down the tickets?

[Studmuffin69]

purchasing raptor season tickets allows people to jump the line for maple leaf tickets. that and that alone is why they are in the top 15 in league attendance .

[Rick Grace]

Third highest TV ratings in the NBA?
I think the Raptors include all of Canada as their territory.
So that doesn't mean much.

[DLind]

Well, how can one argue with a guy who has the screen name 'studmuffin69'?

Rick - Third highest LOCAL TV ratings. So no, they don't include all of Canada as their territory. Yes, it is significant.

[Mike]

But but NOBODY OUTSIDE THE GTA CARES ABOUT THE RAPTORS!! At least that's what you keep saying. Now it's the ratings are inflated because Raptors have all of Canada. Can't have it both ways.
And some of the local territories in the States are comparative in size:
MSG (Knicks) is in over 7 million homes, CSN New England (Celtics) is in over 4 million and CSN Chicago (Bulls) is in over 3.5 million and the Superstation WGN carries a bunch of games too that goes out nationally. That's about the size of TSN2 or The Score.

[Studmuffin69]

all the raps games are on national channels. 30 million people is a lot bigger local market than any team south of the border

-- DLind is it my name that you can't argue with or my information about your beloved team

--Rick Grace always good to read your comments

[Rick Grace]

If the Raptors with their 150,000 viewers are the third highest local ratings in the NBA, the NBA is in big trouble.
I mean the Leafs alone do at least 500,000 in Toronto and area.
Nationally they're doing 2 million.
The Habs do big numbers locally and nationally.
Vancouver does big numbers locally and nationally.
You're saying the Raptors and their piddly local/national ratings are top three in the NBA?
I am very underwhelmed.

[Mike]

Studmuffin, no wonder you like Rick's comments, you're as clueless as he is.
30 million is not the LOCAL MARKET!! And its not even 30 million for most games, Remember that's there's 8 million or so francophones in the country that won't usually watch English channels so throw them out of your equation and you're down to 24 million. And the games on TSN2 or the Score are only in about 5 or 6 million homes, which is comparable to the large American markets.

Ricky, don't compare to HNIC. It's pointless. NO ONE is saying the Raptors are on that level and they don't have to be to survive, which they will. I don't know if they are actually 3rd (where’s your source DLind?) but the numbers are strong enough regardless.
Also, you might want to look at all the ratings for the NHL outside of the top 3. For instance, Washington Capitals highest rated local game ever was only 148,000 households and that’s for a 1st place team. BTW noticed, you didn’t; include Calgary, Edmonton or Ottawa. Is that because the Raptors ratings are in fact better than their local numbers? Using your logic, Canada will soon only have 3 NHL teams. Right?

[Rick Grace]

Well Mike.
Calgary, Ottawa and Edmonton do about as well locally as the Raptors do nationally.
Then again they have one fifth of the population size to draw from that the Raptors do.
But Mike.
You're not trying to imply the Raptors are a TV success are you?
Look where they are on that list.
The speedskating and my London Knights drew bigger ratings.
That must mean the KNights would be in the top 3 in TV viewership if they were an NBA team, right?

[DLind]

MIke - I heard the 3rd in the NBA TV info from Jack Armstrong on The Fan, and I also read it in a tweet by the website 'Toronto Sports Media'.

I don't know what their source was, but I assumed they're trustworthy enough (at least Jack Armstrong is) to pass on.

Mike - everything you're saying is exactly right. Nobody is saying that the popularity of the team is even remotely close to the Leafs (and their support is probably well behind the Jays as well), but the idea that this team would fold if not for the Leafs is laughable. People like Rick fail to realize that Toronto is the 4th biggest sports market in North America. Even if the Raptors have something of a niche market here, that's still more than enough support to thrive.

As you say, more people watch local Raptor broadcasts than local Sens, Oilers and Flames games.

[Mike]

Cherry picking pretty much the lowest rating of the season while March Madness is spliting the basketball audience will do that.

[Rick Grace]

Look it up.
Raptors started building the ACC, but didn't have the money to finish it.
Bitove and Christmas Tree were desperate and sold the team to the Leafs.
Leafs bought the Raptors, and finished off the building.
But make no mistake
On their own the Raptors were dead.

And their local TV ratings are pitiful.
Their local number is the national number.
If thats enough to be top 3 in the NBA, the NBA must be in big trouble down there.

[Mike]

"But make no mistake
On their own the Raptors were dead."
No, they weren't. Sorry, I know how hard it must be for you to accept that fact. Really messes up your whole worldview doesn't it?