Tiger's return a hit, but not a smashing one

Those were some pretty impressive ratings produced by the Return of the Prodigal Masters. BBM Canada confirmed Tuesday that the 1.8 million viewers who watched on CBS through Global on Sunday was indeed an all-time Masters ratings record.

But, frankly, considering the hype this is all a bit underwhelming.

Prior to Sunday, the biggest Masters audience in Canada came during the 2005 tournament: 1.6 million. But that was under the old set-top box system that didn't include people watching in groups and at bars and restaurants.

The new personal people meter system, considered far more accurate, is producing ratings about 20 per cent higher. Taking that into account, Sunday's finale might was a ratings success, but hardly the ratings smash that so many expected.

It produced solid ratings south of the border, too, but not a record.

The reason? There were no doubt plenty, but I'm sticking with my theory that a lot of women who normally watch golf were turned off by Tiger's off-course antics.

Speaking of impressive ratings, Monday's Blue Jays home opener averaged 766,000 viewers on Rogers Sportsnet. You can't compare that with last year's home opener -- it did 440,000 on only two channels under the old system -- but it's a promising number. It'll be interesting to see how that holds up if when the Jays start to falter.

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

 1. NHL, Leafs-Habs/Sabres-Sens, Saturday, CBC: 2,298,000

2. Golf, Masters final round, Sunday, Global-CBS: 1,800,000

3. NHL, Flames at Canucks, Satuday, CBC: 1,370,000

4. Golf, Masters third round, Saturday, Global-CBS: 1,044,000

5. Curling, world championship men's final, Sunday, TSN: 607,000

6. Golf, Masters second round, Friday, TSN: 616,000

7. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 538,000

8. Curling, world championship men's semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 477,000

9. Baseball, Jays at Orioles, Saturday, Sportsnet: 457,000

10. Baseball, Jays at Orioles, Sunday, Sportsnet: 425,000

11. Baseball, Jays at Orioles, Friday, Sportsnet: 324,000

12. NBA, Raptors at Hawks, Friday, TSN: 312,000

13. NBA, Bulls at Raptors, Sunday, TSN: 291,000

14. Horse racing, Grand National Steeplechase, Saturday, CBC: 237,000

15. Golf, Masters preview show, Saturday, TSN: 216,000

16. NHL, Capitals at Bruins, Sunday, TSN: 208,000*

* Viewers on NBC not calculated

Comments

[Rick Grace]

Ouch.
The Raptors biggest game in 5 years, and they could only get a few hundred thousand viewers.
In fact the game didn't even sellout the ACC.
Seeing as how the Blue Jays did over 400,000, its obvious what sport the people in Toronto prefer in between hockey seasons.

[JGH]

Rick, please don't forget that your beloved CFL games (though NEVER sold out) always draw from two (Home and Away) Markets...the Jays and Rap's only one...You can disagree with that all you want, but it's fact. It's also why NFL ratings are remarkable with no home or away markets.

[SF]

JGH
Your excuses are getting stranger. Having the whole market to themselves should help the Jays and Raptors. The CFL has 8 teams and that splits the market 8 ways. In any one game two of these fan bases will be represented, but the Jays and Raptors have the whole of Canada as their fan base, in theory anyway. The problem for these teams is that Canadians aren’t very interested in American sports. We’re much more interested in our own.

[john]

in light of the marketing machine and positioning of sports such as NFL, Jays & Raps in the TO market, the ratings aren't that remarkable for the NFL, average for the Jays and below par for the Raps

[Dlind]

True JGH. A few hundred thousand viewers is good for a sports team that only attracts interest in the home market... and despite the fact that it's aired nationally you have to account for that.

Comparing a Raptors or Jays game to HNIC audiences is like comparing audiences of a local team's broadcast to Monday Night Football.

[Lee]

What these numbers actually prove, is people care about teams in their own market. The idiotic notion that Toronto-based teams will have anything other than minor (very minor) relevance in Saskatchewan, BC or any other place outside of the GTA is absurd and should be put to rest for good. The Jays and Raptors aren't Montreal's, Calgary's or Halifax's teams- they're Toronto's teams. Enough with this 'Canada's Team' nonsense. Local junior hockey and university sports are far more important to these markets than Toronto's pathetic pro teams. Every time I see the Raptors marketed as Canada's team it makes me cringe. C'mon TSN, do you really think people outside the GTA really care? How many people in Saskatoon tune in? Raptors and Jays games should be local/regional broadcasts only. Clearly blanketing the country with their games for years has done little to endear them to those outside their home market. Time to end the charade.

[CTV]

Rick - your comment would make a shred of sense if the 8 teams were in local markets only - but you are talking about a national audience for the CFL games.
As far as ratings go, with a national audience, the home and away make up the vast majority of the number - the rest of the 'fans' fill in the rest. While it's easy to say the Jays and Raptors have "all of Canada" as their fan base, it's not really the case. Local support is always number 1 and fan allegiance doesn't transfer well between cities . This is why Raptor ratings didn't increase significantly with the loss of the Vancouver franchise - where did all those viewers go? Probably a bit to Toronto, but most likely another west coast team, which wouldn't be captured in the ratings number. Same goes for the Expo fans - they didn't disappear, they just choose other teams.
This whole thing is also talking about stock prices at the bottom of the market. A competitive Jays and Raptors team would make all the difference in the world. I'm sure we'd all like to see the PPM on the 85-93 Jays - it would rival hockey.
I'm also confused by "our own" sports. I think you might mean "our own Teams" - US Hockey teams don't draw particularly well here, an example would be the Cup Final last year.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

[JGH]

Well said, DLind and CTV - you've conveyed my point in a way that I believe even Rick will understand.

[Dlind]

Lee I think you're right with the current Jays and Raptor teams..

However, if either team actually became good or a perennial contender, then I think they could capture the interest of the whole country (the Jays did a pretty decent job of that in 92/93).

Frankly, when you consider how mediocre the Jays and Raptors have been it's amazing they get the viewership they do. I mean, this is a Jays team that hasn't been close to the playoffs in 17 years, and a Raptor team that has won one playoff series in 15 years.

As CTV said, it would be interesting to see basketball and baseball ratings with actually good teams.

[Rick Grace]

I agree CTV.
If the Raptors are Toronto's team, why inflict them on the rest of Canada?
Its obvious nobody cares.
Why not show Calgary Flame games nationally instead.
I'm sure there'd be more interest in them nationally then the toronot Raptors or Blue Jays.
These people in Toronto who think that all of Canada lives and dies with their baseball teams, and that they're more important then our teams, need to get out more.

[Mike]

Some Calgary Flames games are on nationally, others are restricted by regional territory rights and I fail to see how the solution for showing Toronto teams apparently no one cares about is to show a Calgary team that would have a similar level of disinterest outside of Alberta.

No one says that all of Canada lives and dies with the Blue Jays or anything like that. All you have is the same old straw man argument.

[JGH]

That's an easy one, Rick...if Alberta had 13 Million residents instead of 3.6M, then they would show Calgary Nationally. They have to go where the ratings and numbers are. We already have established that the most of the rating is made up from local viewership, so what do you want? a percentage of 3.6 or 13?

[Josh]

TSN doesn't show more Flames games because they don't have rights to them. They can't just decide to show a Flames game instead of a Raptors game. Its obvious that the Flames draw better, but that is why Sportsnet wants regional Flames games. TSN has pretty much got the maximum number of games that they will get for each Canadian team.

[Rick Grace]

I just have to laugh at all you excuse makers.
Because for years you all beleived that your Toronto teams is what people in Canada lived and died for.
And that the NFL was way more popular then the CFL.
I read it and heard it everyday from the media.
Us CFL and curling fans were made to feel like idiots.
Then the TV numbers started to published, and it showed what you guys were
spouting was 100% wrong.
So make all the excuses you want, but you can't argue with the cold hard numbers.

[JGH]

Rick...No one is saying that Toronto teams are what people live and die for..in fact...WE DON'T CARE... just understand that you're gong to have to live with Toronto teams being on Nationally for the rest of your angry little existence...

[MIKE1]

Ricky, you're the one always making excuses. When the Jays draw well there's a reason..when the NFL playoffs kick the CFL's playoff numbers, more excuses. If you don't like (or most likely have a major envy problem) Toronto's sports teams then: 1. Don't watch them 2. Don't read our newspapers.

[Mike]

Who ever made fun of curling fans in the media?
Honestly Rick, how long are you just going to make up stuff in an attempt to justify your ongoing hatefest?
And our "excuses", I like to think of them as reality checks.

[Rick Grace]

NFL playoffs didn;'t kick the CFL.
First off CTV reaches 5 million more homes then TSN.
And there was no CFL for competetion when NFL playoffs were on.

Still, the numbers were only a few hundred thousand apart.
Mainly because CFL fans were watching the NFL playoffs.
While NFL fans didn't watch the CFL playoffs

And this talk about the Raptors having only one home city to draw ratings from?
Gee, Raptor games go across Canada too. You'd think if anybody cared about the NBA anywhere in Canada they'd watch. But they aren't

Like I say. Enough of the excuses. Accept that you people who enjoy the NBA and baseball are a fading minority.

[Ferrari 512M]

I need some advice on how to be a proper patriotic Canadian in my sports viewing habits, so as not to anger those real Canadians who live outside the Greater Toronto Area. Next Sunday when I make the 45 minute walk from where I live to BMO Field for a Toronto FC game, am I watching a "Canadian" sport, or am I being a traitor who should be scorned for watching one o' them "foreign" sports? TFC is actually required to have a certain minimum number of Canadian players on their roster, unlike, for example, the NHL. Hmm... but perhaps it will be an act of treason as it will be TFC vs Seattle, but maybe not three days later when it's TFC vs Montreal, and then Vancouver on June 2nd?

Despite the tiny TV ratings, for the moment there still seems to be enough Torontonians showing contempt for their country to regularly buy all of the almost 22,000 seats at BMO Field, with a waiting list to be among the 16,000 season ticket holders. Some guy named Brunt, when talking on a Calgary radio station, claims that shamefully the number of Argo season ticket holders may only be 2000, just after about 8:30 into this audio.

http://www.fan960.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20100409_132319_9516

What about motorsports? Am I committing an anti-Canadian act by watching F1, IndyCar, and ALMS, but maybe it's okay when the race is occurring in Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto, or Mosport?

[Rick Grace]

First off, Argos had 14,000 season tickets sold last year.
Not much, but not the 2,000 you say.
And they drew 26,000 a game for a pathetic team.
And second. I don't care what you watch.
Just don't try tellin' me that these American sports are so huge up here.
Thats all I'm sayin'

[Mike]

LOL, Rick you crack me up. I'll never understand where you get your "facts" as you like to call them or the straw men but it always is funny.

[Mullah_Kintyre]

"these American sports"? The NHL is an American sport. Its headquarters are in New York City, and the majority of franchises are based in the U.S.A. -- same as the NBA, etc.

On that Fan960 Calgary station, I like Bob Cole better as a radio game show host than a TV play-by-play guy!

http://www.fan960.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20100416_134113_2488

If you believe the attendance announcements of 26,000 or more at Argo games last year, I've got some bridges you might be interested in buying. And if they had 14,000 season tickets, apparently at most games there were several thousand of them not being used. I heard Mike Wilner a few weeks ago say that the Blue Jays were down to three thousand season tickets, so Mr. Brunt's guess for the Argos does not sound unreasonable to me. There is no incentive to buy season tickets when everyone knows they can just show up any time and buy a seat almost anywhere in the building.

[Rick Grace]

Hey Mike.
I think it was a one Mr. Chris Zelkovich who mentioned the 14,000 season tickets in a recent article.
And don't compare the Argos to a dying sport like baseball.
Maybe you're a fan, but you gotta accept the fact its a dying sport in this country.
I saw a bit of the game on TV tonight and it looked like there wasn't more then 3,000 people in the stands.
Lets see. 3,000 fans with a 68 million dollar payroll?
And some try to say the Blue Jays make money?
Hardeharharhar.

[Brett S]

The Argos do not just make up attendance figures. Their attendance is not based on how many people show up, but how many people purchased tickets to the game. With the loyalty of the average Toronto sports fan, it wouldn't be hard to believe a paid attendance of 26,000 but an actual attendance of around 15,000.

[Mike]

Actually, the 14,000 number was from 2 years ago in 08. That was before they won only 7 games in 2 seasons. Now the team is refusing to release the number, which can't be a good sign. 2k seems too low but I wouldn't be shocked if the number is half that now at 7k. And remember the Argos had lots of giveaways too what with 7/11 and such, don't know if thats continuing or not this year.
LOL, do you know how the business of baseball or sports in general are run?