2015 TV viewership

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Qman
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B.C.FAN wrote:
kenny wrote:Hardly a fair comparison. When the Whitecaps play Portland there is only one market in Canada with direct interest. When the Lions play the Riders there are two markets. If I am the lions I am watching closely what the Whitecaps are doing. IMO they are doing a lot of things right building a strong fan base. It would not surprise me if a Toronto FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps has better TV ratings than some CFL games.
The Whitecaps drew a record 353,000 viewers for the season opener against Toronto but most weeks they draw around 100,000. Chris Zelkovich wrote about the general lack of MLS interest on TV in March.

The Great Canadian Ratings Report: MLS not scoring on television
even soccer bloggers pointed out that 353,000 number is crap. Curling finals (900,000) went 30min into their time slot and had the huge peak. Thats why the number is soooo out of line ... its a BS number.
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fyi


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Lions-Argos friday late game got 583,000 on TSN #FNF #BClions #CFL
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B.C.FAN
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Qman wrote:fyi


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Lions-Argos friday late game got 583,000 on TSN #FNF #BClions #CFL
The Pan Am Games again dominated the sports ratings, and the Blue Jays series in Seattle topped all other sports. For a change, the Lions' game wasn't the top-rated CFL game. Here are the top 10 sports events of the week from Chris Zelkovich of Yahoo Sports. No MLS games made the top 25 (131,000+ viewers).


1. Pan American Games closing ceremonies, Sunday, CBC: 1,605,000

2. Pan American Games prime time, Saturday, CBC: 1,154,000

3. Pan American Games prime time, Friday, CBC: 1,024,000

4. MLB, Blue Jays at Mariners, Sunday, Sportsnet: 718,000

5. MLB, Blue Jays at Mariners, Saturday, Sportsnet: 630,000

6. CFL, Stampeders at Redblacks, Friday, TSN: 589,000

7. Pan Am Games evening, Friday, CBC: 589,000

8. CFL, Argonauts at Lions, Friday, TSN: 583,000

9. CFL, Ticats at Roughriders, Sunday, TSN: 549,000

10. Pan Am Games afternoon, Friday, CBC: 548,000

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B.C.FAN wrote:
Qman wrote:fyi


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Lions-Argos friday late game got 583,000 on TSN #FNF #BClions #CFL
The Pan Am Games again dominated the sports ratings, and the Blue Jays series in Seattle topped all other sports. For a change, the Lions' game wasn't the top-rated CFL game. Here are the top 10 sports events of the week from Chris Zelkovich of Yahoo Sports. No MLS games made the top 25 (133,000+ viewers).


1. Pan American Games closing ceremonies, Sunday, CBC: 1,605,000

2. Pan American Games prime time, Saturday, CBC: 1,154,000

3. Pan American Games prime time, Friday, CBC: 1,024,000

4. MLB, Blue Jays at Mariners, Sunday, Sportsnet: 718,000

5. MLB, Blue Jays at Mariners, Saturday, Sportsnet: 630,000

6. CFL, Stampeders at Redblacks, Friday, TSN: 589,000

7. Pan Am Games evening, Friday, CBC: 589,000

8. CFL, Argonauts at Lions, Friday, TSN: 583,000

9. CFL, Ticats at Roughriders, Sunday, TSN: 549,000

10. Pan Am Games afternoon, Friday, CBC: 548,000

Link
Meh. 589k, 583k, the margin is basically noise. We hold up well considering our game didn't end until 1am ET. Also Cgy-Ott went into OT and presumably ran a little late, so some of that number could have come from those who'd tuned in for our game while that one was still going. Wonder what a 7p ET non-Lions FNF game would draw on its own without a nightcap from us to draw in further viewers.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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last weeks thursday nighter EDMvBC game got almost 600,000

SSKvTOR got almost 900,000 a season high
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FYI



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#bclions v #ticats blowout was the most watched CFL game last week with 592,000 viewers according to @czelkov #CFL
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David
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I pay quite close attention to our TV ratings, and am not happy to report that our numbers appear to have taken a slide. Games involving the Lions used to be in the Top 2-3 in the CFL (out of the 8 or 9 teams) on a consistent basis - in fact, just a couple of years ago we led the league in TV ratings right up until the final 2 weeks of the season.

This does not appear to be the case now. While I don't have YOY data to compare, our games are not garnering good numbers. Last Saturday's game vs the Bombers for example, drew just 445,000 viewers nationally (3rd out of the 4 games tracked) - no doubt affected by the Canucks' home opener. However, the previous week's game against the Riders - historically a lock for the #1 CFL ratings - drew 562,000 (2nd to the Eskimos-Bombers game at 589,000. There were only 3 games tracked). Prior to that we drew 501,000 viewers against the Eskimos (3rd out of 4 games tracked).

Sure, CFL games in general have taken a tumble in the past couple of years (which can probably be attributed to constant flags, long drawn-out games, and the fallout from low scoring games in 2014), but our numbers have apparently fallen even deeper.


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The Lions TV numbers are high because of all the unrenewed season tickets. Ba-da-boom!!

Kidding, but if this thread was started just to go at that who's more popular Lions or Whitecaps thing, then it has to be pointed out that TSN does a lot to try and get viewers to watch CFL games because they spent so much on buying the rights. Game times are manipulated, etc. And that Friday evening slot is golden.

I prefer the CFL over other sports, including the NHL. But the CFL has, in my humble opinion, some serious issues entertainment-wise that haven't been addressed properly. There are quite a few dull games being played these past few years. And you know, I didn't see an Argo-Ticat game in that viewer list. That should be disconcerting. Southern O is the biggest market yet put up no numbers?

Maybe I'm wrong, but the CFL isn't quite the wide-open league it used to be. If the trend continues, will viewership drop? Locally, it looks like we might be in for some interesting football as Jennings gets established, but that Toronto - Montreal game..
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Toppy Vann wrote:The reality is that soccer fans can get EPL and other top league action and don't really get fired up about the MLS as it's not the star studded league the EPL is where you can see players who will appear in the World Cup, etc. I'm not sure of now, but when one of my then young soccer players was on a try out (he turned it down) with Crystal Palace years back, he was saying we got more EPL weekly games in Canada than they showed in the UK - and I think it is still probably true as the games would likely be shown regionally - and Scotland has it own pro leagues.

The TSN numbers are good are for football but still their narrow mindedness at restricting non - cable subscribers or those of us who subscribe but aren't in Canada - is surprising.

But the CFL would have to drive any changes to extend the reach and growth of the game. Maybe they don't need fans in seats but to me that is part of the game experience for home viewers - getting a sense of the crowd and the atmosphere - although I don't want crowd noise drowning out the commentators.


Blue Jays drew almost 6 million for yesterdays game
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dupsdell1 wrote:
Blue Jays drew almost 6 million for yesterdays game
I didn't realize that there are 6 million people in the state of Texas
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B.C.FAN
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Given the Lions' and the Bombers' records, I was happy to see that Saturday's game drew slightly more than half as many viewers as the concurrent Canucks game. The Canucks home opener had a much larger than normal Saturday night audience. I suspect some viewers were flipping back and forth between hockey and football, and that's not a bad thing given that the Lions and Bombers provided some good entertainment.

The combined Saturday night audience of roughly 1.4 million is another sign, though, of what the CFL and all North American sports are up against in the HDTV age. While we diehards pay for tickets, transportation, parking and concessions to be part of the live experience, armchair fans can sit at home in front of their big screens and sample a variety of games and sports while indulging in their own food and beverages for next to no cost.
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B.C.FAN wrote:Given the Lions' and the Bombers' records, I was happy to see that Saturday's game drew slightly more than half as many viewers as the concurrent Canucks game. The Canucks home opener had a much larger than normal Saturday night audience. I suspect some viewers were flipping back and forth between hockey and football, and that's not a bad thing given that the Lions and Bombers provided some good entertainment.

The combined Saturday night audience of roughly 1.4 million is another sign, though, of what the CFL and all North American sports are up against in the HDTV age. While we diehards pay for tickets, transportation, parking and concessions to be part of the live experience, armchair fans can sit at home in front of their big screens and sample a variety of games and sports while indulging in their own food and beverages for next to no cost.
Usually it's pretty easy to look at the ratings and see how they often work like a split vote. No doubt the Jays playing meaningful baseball after Labour Day, for the first time in 22 years, has bitten into CFL ratings bigtime. During the regular season with Jays games usually going at 4:00PDT it's hard not to have a Jays/CFL overlap unless the CFL game is on a Saturday evening. And has this renewed interest in the Jays in turn reinvigorated Canadian interest in the whole MLB Postseason? Personally I could care less about the Jays and was terribly disappointed when Texas decided to play Bad News Bears with their fielding in the bottom of the 7th the other day. As a Giants fan I'm happy the Dodgers are out. My worst fear was a Jays/Dodgers World Series where I'd want both teams to be blown out 4 straight. :wink:

I do wonder if TSN's latest scheduling experiments are not producing the desired results. There was the Thursday night thing up until Labour Day. Since then it's been largely replaced with Saturday afternoon double headers. Are casual fans going to use up 6+ hours of their Saturday afternoons to watch CFL coverage? Or are they going to maybe watch the one of most interest to them then fade off to do or watch something else for the other one?
Last edited by Hambone on Fri Oct 16, 2015 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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SammyGreene
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Hambone wrote: No doubt the Jays playing meaningful baseball after Labour Day, for the first time in 22 years, has bitten into CFL ratings bigtime. During the regular season with Jays games usually going at 4:00PDT it's hard not to have a Jays/CFL overlap unless the CFL game is on a Saturday evening. And has this renewed interest in the Jays in turn reinvigorated Canadian interest in the whole MLB Postseason. Personally I could care less about the Jays and was terribly disappointed when Texas decided to play Bad News Bears with their fielding in the bottom of the 7th the other day. As a Giants fan I'm happy the Dodgers are out. My worst fear was a Jays/Dodgers World Series where I'd want both teams to be blown out 4 straight. :wink:

I do wonder if TSN's latest scheduling experiments are not producing the desired results. There was the Thursday night thing up until Labour Day. Since then it's been largely replaced with Saturday afternoon double headers. Are casual fans going use up 6+ hours of their Saturday afternoons to watch CFL coverage? Or are they going to maybe watch the one of most interest to them then fade off to do or watch something else for the other one?
Great point on the Blue Jays Hambone. This is one huge ratings beast the CFL and Lions have not had to worry about since the early 1990s. Basically the casual CFL fan that might tune into a couple of games over the weekend has jumped on the Blue Jays bandwagon that is full to capacity. And it's been that way since August.

Tough times for the Leos. An inconsistent and somewhat dull product the last 2 or 3 seasons coupled with the Seahawks popularity being at an all-time high in this city and now the Blue Jays being relevant again in a big way.
They can't even lean on their big TV numbers anymore for the smaller crowds and NFL games have now passed the CFL in viewership numbers this season so it's a concern beyond BC.
dupsdell1
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Actually blue jays just heard 11 million across the country for game 5 tonight probably 6 million
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DanoT
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Given that the Lions play boring conservative football on O, conservative, passive on D, and atrocious, inept football on ST and loose more than they win as well as win ugly with little entertainment value, is it any surprise then that fan numbers are dropping for TV and live games?

The play of Jonathan Jennings may spark some excitement and fan interest but he can't do it alone even though he has some very good players around him. The coaching staff needs to pull up it's socks and start producing game plans, play calling, innovations, and game time adjustments that actually help the players play better more entertaining football. This train wreck of a team and the resulting dwindling interest by fans is mostly on the coaches.
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