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]

All I know is the Expos died and they were drawing bigger crowds then the Blue Jays.
These people who try to say what a cash cow baseball is for Rogers?
Gee, I'm gonna buy a baseball team then.
Becuase even if nobody shows up, you still get rich!
Surprised there isn't a lineup of billionaires forming already!
But why isn't there?