2015 All Things Lions Marketing & Promotions

[jcalhoun]

We know there's little motivation now beyond filling the lower bowl with the TSN contract in place now and that is all Skulsky is focused on now.

For those with long memories and/or knowledge of the league's history, this is somewhat reminiscent of the mid-1980s when the league had a fairly rich (by contemporary standards) TV rights contract with Carling O'Keefe who in turn sold rights to CBC and CTV. The league fell on some hard times when that money ran out. I don't want to come off alarmist but attendance is down across the board, not just in BC, and those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Yes, the CFN --the Canadian Football Network. Wasn't Joe Galat in the booth in those days?

I'd say the "danger" is that smaller crowds will hand all the cards to TSN and give them more power in negotiations with the league. If ticket revenue is down (or even stagnant) but there is a huge uptick in TV numbers, TSN will be calling the shots. Frankly, that's probably a good thing: TSN is at least a professionally run outfit and knows what they're doing. Individual CFL clubs? I'm not so sure....

I wonder what merchandise revenue is? We all know the Riders could sell a bronzed turd in record numbers if it had a green "S" emblazoned on it (witness this season), but there has to be a correlation between the number watching on TV and t-shirt & cap sales. Out here in the 'burbs, I've been struck recently by the sheer numbers of people I pass wearing new Lions' gear.

Cheers,

James

[Hambone]

I am not a NFL wannabe i have had Seahawks season tickets for 17 years , I also had lions season tickets 007/08/10 too much money to own both I can always get season tickets back again for the Lions but the Hawks there is a huge waiting list . here is my section sec 320 Row I Seat 18 yes they are in the nose bleeds , the prices you see on ticket master are season ticket holders trying to make a huge profit on a $80.00 seat.

i go to every game and enjoy it very much.

So do not accuse me of being a wannabe NFL fan when i have loved the NFL for years , and i also love the CFL right know the cfl is going through a big change , with all the Rules new quarterbacks etc.

Ticket price I used was a regular Ticketmaster seat (blue dot on the map), not a resale seat (red dot on the map).

[sj-roc]

We know there's little motivation now beyond filling the lower bowl with the TSN contract in place now and that is all Skulsky is focused on now.

For those with long memories and/or knowledge of the league's history, this is somewhat reminiscent of the mid-1980s when the league had a fairly rich (by contemporary standards) TV rights contract with Carling O'Keefe who in turn sold rights to CBC and CTV. The league fell on some hard times when that money ran out. I don't want to come off alarmist but attendance is down across the board, not just in BC, and those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Yes, the CFN --the Canadian Football Network. Wasn't Joe Galat in the booth in those days?

I'd say the "danger" is that smaller crowds will hand all the cards to TSN and give them more power in negotiations with the league. If ticket revenue is down (or even stagnant) but there is a huge uptick in TV numbers, TSN will be calling the shots. Frankly, that's probably a good thing: TSN is at least a professionally run outfit and knows what they're doing. Individual CFL clubs? I'm not so sure....

http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/spor ... Years.html

Excerpt:

After accepting $2.1 million from the CBC for the 1980 rights, the CFL signed a record television contract with Carling-O'Keefe Breweries for $15.6 million to cover the three-year period from 1981 to 1983. A factor in the huge contract was Carling's competitor Labatt's Breweries sponsoring the popular Toronto Blue Jays telecasts. Carling sold the games off to CBC and CTV and by the 1983 season, all but three CFL games were televised. The Grey Cup game in 1981 attracted 6.2 viewers, 2 million more than Super Bowl. Only the Canadian premier of the movie 'Superman' drew a higher audience that year.

For the 1982 season, with the demise of the Alouettes, the CFL granted a new franchise in Montreal with the nickname 'Concordes.' The 1982 Grey Cup game attracted the largest television audience in the history of Canadian television. Edmonton won their record fifth consecutive Grey Cup before 7,862,000 viewers. The telecasts were becoming more sophisticated with the networks using 17 cameras in the Grey Cup, as opposed to 10 for a regular season game. In 1983, the CFL signed another lucrative television agreement with Carling O'Keefe Breweries for $33 million over a three-year period from 1984 to 1986. Television coverage on CBC, CTV and Radio-Canada of the 1983 Grey Cup attracted another record viewing audience as 8,118,000 people watched Toronto edge B.C. 18-17. Only the series finale for M.A.S.H topped the Grey Cup ratings. Viewing the Grey Cup game was a part of the Canadian identity made special by an East-West match up. But soon after, ratings for the Grey Cup games began to decline with 6,897,000 viewers in 1984 and down to 5,283,000 in 1985.

In September of 1984, The Sports Network (TSN) debuted and by 1986, with John Wells calling the play by play, the specialty network became a CFL broadcaster. The CFL became an eight-team league in the 1987 season as the Montreal franchise folded prior to the season. The 3-year deal with Carlings that ended in 1986 had guaranteed each CFL team more than $1 million in each of the three years. In 1986, the CFL rejected offers from Carlings, CBC and CTV because they included less money and demands for the lifting of some blackout restrictions.

The CFL then decided to produce its own games by creating the 'Canadian Football Network'. A syndicate of Canadian television stations was formed to produce and televise CFL games airing games on Friday evenings and Sundays after Labour Day. Games were also sold to CBC for Saturday and Sunday telecasts and TSN bought games that were mostly played on Thursday evenings. During this time, the CFL experimented with the TV blackout policy as four games (two in Hamilton and two in Toronto) were televised in the Hamilton-Toronto market. Undoubtedly, the signing of the exciting Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail by new Toronto owners Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy played a part in that change of policy.

CFN lasted from 1987 to 1990 but after the CFL deemed CFN too expensive to operate, the league tried and failed to find a major rights-holder for 1991. Eventually, for the 1991 season, the CBC obtained rights to telecast 25 regular season games with exclusivity for playoff games and the Grey Cup. The CFL also sold rights to TSN for 28 regular season games. Various financial deals between the clubs and the networks enabled some blackouts to be lifted. One such rule had blackouts lifted if 90% of the seats were sold 48 hours prior to the game. Winnipeg played host to the Grey Cup game for the first time in 1991 with Toronto defeating Calgary, and the 3,531,000 viewers made the game the highest rated Canadian TV show that year.

[Qman]

I'd rather have 300,000 (local market) watching on TV and 20-25k in BC place;
Than 0 on TV on 30-35 in BC place.

Its about building the brand, excitement in the community, and fans of the future. Your thinking short term if your back to blackouts. we did that for 30years and lost a whole generation of fans.

[sj-roc]

I'd rather have 300,000 (local market) watching on TV and 20-25k in BC place;
Than 0 on TV on 30-35 in BC place.

Its about building the brand, excitement in the community, and fans of the future. Your thinking short term if your back to blackouts. we did that for 30years and lost a whole generation of fans.

With hi-def's increasing market penetration blackouts are basically extinct now anyway. But blackouts weren't the problem anyway when most road games were still being televised. It's not like the team was completely shut out of any television exposure. We had more impactful blackouts in the Ackles II era shortly before hi-def fully took off and crowds got into the 30k's regularly. So blackouts weren't a problem.

[dupsdell1]

I'd rather have 300,000 (local market) watching on TV and 20-25k in BC place;
Than 0 on TV on 30-35 in BC place.

Its about building the brand, excitement in the community, and fans of the future. Your thinking short term if your back to blackouts. we did that for 30years and lost a whole generation of fans.

Yes I agree Blackout are a thing of the past the lions just have to become so popular were no matter if you watch them on tv or not you want to go to the stadium.

[dupsdell1]

I am wondering if the blue jays make the post season playoffs , and I mean if they do , will this have an effect on lions games in October if they are plating the same night ?

I say yes they will just look at all the jays fans including my self that was in Seattle on the weekend.

[sj-roc]

I am wondering if the blue jays make the post season playoffs , and I mean if they do , will this have an effect on lions games in October if they are plating the same night ?

I say yes they will just look at all the jays fans including my self that was in Seattle on the weekend.

Is there a team out there you're NOT a fan of?

Besides the Lions, I mean.

[dupsdell1]

I am wondering if the blue jays make the post season playoffs , and I mean if they do , will this have an effect on lions games in October if they are plating the same night ?

I say yes they will just look at all the jays fans including my self that was in Seattle on the weekend.

Is there a team out there you're NOT a fan of?

Besides the Lions, I mean.

I am a fan of a lot of teams including bc lions

[Qman]

I am wondering if the blue jays make the post season playoffs , and I mean if they do , will this have an effect on lions games in October if they are plating the same night ?

I say yes they will just look at all the jays fans including my self that was in Seattle on the weekend.

Is there a team out there you're NOT a fan of?

Besides the Lions, I mean.

stop responding to this TROLL *mod edit for language*

[Toppy Vann]

I am wondering if the blue jays make the post season playoffs , and I mean if they do , will this have an effect on lions games in October if they are plating the same night ?

I say yes they will just look at all the jays fans including my self that was in Seattle on the weekend.

Is there a team out there you're NOT a fan of?

Besides the Lions, I mean.

stop responding to this TROLL

Are you guys not posting from the same IP? Your alter ego?

[sj-roc]

Are you guys not posting from the same IP? Your alter ego?

I know you've been on about that several times with those other two posters but seeing as my comment was among what you were replying to (too many layers to quote so I just axed it all) I hope you're not lumping me in with that talk LOL.

[Toppy Vann]

Are you guys not posting from the same IP? Your alter ego?

I know you've been on about that several times with those other two posters but seeing as my comment was among what you were replying to (too many layers to quote so I just axed it all) I hope you're not lumping me in with that talk LOL.

NO definitely not lumping you in there...lol... .

The marketing challenge for this next game is going to be a bit tougher.

But one thing - I actually find Wally B better at explaining crowds than their President.

Somehow the narrative has to get off the facility - is the sky dark or sunny - is the mascot intriguing - and get folks back to talking the game and appreciating that football is a fun game to be at - just to see it live.

I might be blowing smoke as it's a new era.

But one thing they could do is right price those tickets and sell the lower bowl out. Has to wait now til next year but they need to be friend building and community building to get fans back onside.

BUT having said that the game tonight gives annoyed fans a lot of fodder to attack the football on.

Maybe the best marketing for the ESKS game would be to take a page out of the first coach's playbook for BC and ask Ed Hervey and Chris Jones to trash the Lions, the stadium, the crowd etc. Annis Stukus knew his team was in tough vs the Bombers and he got their coach IIRC to trash talk BC and it helped fill the place.

[sj-roc]

I mentioned recently it was getting to that time of year again for Matt Sekeres's annual President's Week series during which each of the five local team presidents from the Lions, Canucks, Canadians, Whitecaps and Giants co-hosts for two hours with MS and takes callers. It's been announced that this year's installment will run from Aug 10-14, i.e., starting a week from Monday. Not sure which day the Lions get their turn but this is shaping up to be perhaps the biggest walk over the coals for Skulsky on this series yet for as long as it's been running.

[Hambone]

Somehow the narrative has to get off the facility - is the sky dark or sunny - is the mascot intriguing - and get folks back to talking the game and appreciating that football is a fun game to be at - just to see it live.

The new TV ads seem to be promoting just that Toppy. At least I think they're new. I don't recall seeing them until just the past couple of days. I give them two thumbs up.