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Last weekend's sports tv ratings came out today and the Lions were once again the CFL's ratings champ (how many weeks in a row is this now?***), drawing 576k viewers to land 4th in sports viewing overall (three Blue Jays games on Sportsnet outdrew the Lions), trailed by the Ott-Cgy Saturday game at 484k viewers (5th overall) and the top half of the FNF doubleheader (Edm-Mtl, 454k viewers, 6th overall).

Source: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-ga ... 10377.html

It's probably worth noting that while the Lions continue to lead the league in tv ratings, the league's overall ratings have been dropping the last couple weeks and the quality of the on-field product is likely a large factor in this. The numbers for the top three games over the last three weeks:

Week 7: 576k, 484k, 454k, total = 1.514M
Week 6: 656k, 516k, 514k, total = 1.686M
Week 5: 857k, 830k, 670k, total = 2.357M

***EDIT: I've gone back through all of Chris Zelkovich's ratings articles since the start of the season and the only week we weren't the league's ratings champ was for the Week 2 game in Montreal. That one had a 4pm PT Friday kickoff which no doubt hampered local numbers far below what they otherwise might have been.

I think a lot of it is how bad the east is , if the east was as competitive as the west the ratings would be close to 3 million a weekend.

Lions were once again the league's tv ratings champs for the weekend, and even took the crown for the broader sports category. The Whitecaps were a long way down the pecking order and beaten out by two u-20 women's world cup soccer games on the CBC:

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-ga ... 24605.html

1. CFL, Lions at Argonauts, Sunday, TSN: 820,000
2. CFL, Alouettes at Roughriders, Saturday, TSN: 737,000
3. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Sunday, Sportsnet: 633,000
4. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Friday, Sportsnet: 583,000
5. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Saturday, Sportsnet: 580,000
6. CFL, Eskimos at RedBlacks, Friday, TSN: 547,000
7. CFL, Stampeders at Ticats, Saturday, TSN: 490,000
8. Soccer, Women's u-20 World Cup final, Canada vs. Germany, Saturday, CBC: 461,000
...
10. Soccer, Women's u-20 World Cup, Korea vs. U.S., Saturday, CBC: 247,000
...
15. Soccer, Whitecaps at Chivas, Saturday, TSN: 155,000

Looks like the slide in viewership I noted last week has reversed itself. Hopefully this is the start of the normal interest growth we see every year as the season progresses.

sj-roc wrote:Lions were once again the league's tv ratings champs for the weekend, and even took the crown for the broader sports category. The Whitecaps were a long way down the pecking order and beaten out by two u-20 women's world cup soccer games on the CBC:

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-ga ... 24605.html

1. CFL, Lions at Argonauts, Sunday, TSN: 820,000
2. CFL, Alouettes at Roughriders, Saturday, TSN: 737,000
3. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Sunday, Sportsnet: 633,000
4. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Friday, Sportsnet: 583,000
5. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Saturday, Sportsnet: 580,000
6. CFL, Eskimos at RedBlacks, Friday, TSN: 547,000
7. CFL, Stampeders at Ticats, Saturday, TSN: 490,000
8. Soccer, Women's u-20 World Cup final, Canada vs. Germany, Saturday, CBC: 461,000
...
10. Soccer, Women's u-20 World Cup, Korea vs. U.S., Saturday, CBC: 247,000
...
15. Soccer, Whitecaps at Chivas, Saturday, TSN: 155,000

Looks like the slide in viewership I noted last week has reversed itself. Hopefully this is the start of the normal interest growth we see every year as the season progresses.

Add in the RDS ratings for the Riders vs. Als and that game should be well over 1 million. Great numbers for the Lions vs. Argos as well, especially for an August game with many fans on holidays. The Lions popularity on TV is well documented but the Argos have been a consistent top drawer this year too. Fans in Toronto may be reluctant to attend games live at Skydome but they obviously have many fans who enjoy them on TV.

Very Nice 820,000 I just wish the league could turn those ratings into attendance numbers across all the stadiums.

I am surprised the jays are still in the 600,000 range.

dupsdell1 wrote:Very Nice 820,000 I just wish the league could turn those ratings into attendance numbers across all the stadiums.

I am surprised the jays are still in the 600,000 range.

In TO being only 8 games out of first pretty well means championship season.

OK

Rammer wrote:

dupsdell1 wrote:Very Nice 820,000 I just wish the league could turn those ratings into attendance numbers across all the stadiums.

I am surprised the jays are still in the 600,000 range.

In TO being only 8 games out of first pretty well means championship season.

I know that you are joking but the Rogers media outlets will say that the Jays are in a pennant race and contenders until the day that they are officially eliminated.

Ravi wrote:

Rammer wrote:

dupsdell1 wrote:Very Nice 820,000 I just wish the league could turn those ratings into attendance numbers across all the stadiums.

I am surprised the jays are still in the 600,000 range.

In TO being only 8 games out of first pretty well means championship season.

I know that you are joking but the Rogers media outlets will say that the Jays are in a pennant race and contenders until the day that they are officially eliminated.

Oh we know that, and all you have to do is listen to Donny Taylor's polite recognition on leaving SN TV while he was on the TEAM Radio show. If you can read between the lines, it was all about Rogers holdings.

Rammer wrote:Oh we know that, and all you have to do is listen to Donny Taylor's polite recognition on leaving SN TV while he was on the TEAM Radio show. If you can read between the lines, it was all about Rogers holdings.

Indeed. I stopped watching that network long ago, and I like Taylor.

Remarkably and rather quietly, this is the 7th week out of 8 that the BC Lions have played in either the most watched CFL game or the #1 most watched sports program (period) of the weekend. The only blemish was that July 4 debacle in Montreal.

Now, there have been some mid-week games like Winnipeg/Saskatchewan a couple of weeks ago that could have outnumbered the Lions (they only report weekend games).....or this past Sunday when the RDS numbers are factored in with the 737,000 on TSN (I am guessing there were more than 83,000 French language viewers for the telecast?). Regardless, viewership for BC games have been consistently impressive - leading one to believe there has to be a healthy local interest in the team at the core of this data; it's more than a statistical anomaly.

That streak is likely to continue this weekend against Saskatchewan - two Western teams on a winning streak and in prime time Sunday for many viewers.....


DH

As was already mentioned in another thread from Qman, the GWN game garnered over a million viewers. This made it the top-viewed sporting event of the weekend, and the remaining games garnered three of the next five spots, as per Chris Zelkovich's article:

1. CFL, Roughriders at Lions, Sunday, TSN: 1,026,000
2. CFL, Alouettes at Blue Bombers, Friday, TSN: 679,000
3. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 614,000
4. CFL, Stampeders at Redblacks, Saturday, TSN: 517,000
5. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 505,000
6. CFL, Argonauts at Eskimos, Saturday, TSN: 487,000

Zelkovich sells the Lions short in his analysis by referencing "the instant audience that the Roughriders bring to every game". He reports these numbers every week; you'd think he'd know by now that if any team deserves to be known for this, it's BC.

Where applicable, here's the week-by-week viewing edge the Lions have had over the Riders, from the numbers Zelkovich himself has reported:

1. 29k
2. —2k (Riders edge)
3. NA (played head-to-head)
4. NA (Riders bye week)
5. 27k
6. 140k
7. NA (Riders played out of weekend, ratings unavailable)
8. 83k
9. NA (played head-to-head)

Where numbers are available and applicable for comparison, the Lions have had a clear viewership edge on the Riders in all but one instance. For this lone exception, the Riders edge was barely perceptible and considering the Lions had a 4p Fri local start, it ought to have made this game no match ratings-wise for the one the Riders played the next day.

Maybe we (read the media) need to quit blindly swallowing this codswallop about the Riders being the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Here's the full season so far from the same blogs (excluding this past weekend). Note: the blogger only reports on weekend games (Fri/Sat/Sun) and doesn't include RDS ratings.

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-Canadian television for the past weekend of August 22/23, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. CFL, Roughriders at Lions, Sunday, TSN: 1,026,000
2. CFL, Alouettes at Blue Bombers, Friday, TSN: 679,000
3. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 614,000
4. CFL, Stampeders at Redblacks, Saturday, TSN: 517,000
5. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 505,000
6. CFL, Argonauts at Eskimos, Saturday, TSN: 487,000
7. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 447,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of August 16/17, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. CFL, Lions at Argonauts, Sunday, TSN: 820,000
2. CFL, Alouettes at Roughriders, Saturday, TSN: 737,000
3. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Sunday, Sportsnet: 633,000
4. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Friday, Sportsnet: 583,000
5. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Saturday, Sportsnet: 580,000
6. CFL, Eskimos at RedBlacks, Friday, TSN: 547,000
7. CFL, Stampeders at Ticats, Saturday, TSN: 490,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of August 9/10, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. MLB, Tigers at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 753,000
2. MLB, Tigers at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 671,000
3. MLB, Tigers at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 584,000
4. CFL, Ticats at Lions, Friday, TSN: 576,000
5. CFL, RedBlacks at Stampeders, Saturday, TSN: 484,000
6. CFL, Eskimos at Alouettes, Friday, TSN: 454,000
7. Soccer, Women's under-20 World Cup post-game, Friday, CBC: 428,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of July 26/27, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. CFL, Bombers at Lions, Friday, TSN: 857,000
2. CFL, Argonauts at Roughriders, Saturday, TSN: 830,000
3. CFL, RedBlacks at Tiger-Cats, Saturday, TSN: 670,000
4. MLB, Blue Jays at Yankees, Friday, Sportsnet: 651,000
5. MLB, Blue Jays at Yankees, Saturday, Sportsnet: 570,000
6. MLB, Blue Jays at Yankees, Sunday, Sportsnet: 567,000
7. PGA, Canadian Open final round, Sunday, Global: 369,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of July 19/20, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. CFL, Alouettes at Lions, Saturday, TSN: 717,000
2. CFL, Ticats at Stampeders, Friday, TSN: 692,000
3. CFL, Argos at RedBlacks, Friday, TSN: 673,000
4. MLB, Blue Jays at Rangers, Sunday, Sportsnet One/360: 520,000
5. MLB, Blue Jays at Rangers, Friday, Sportsnet: 518,000
6. Golf, British Open final round, Sunday, TSN: 511,000
7. MLB, Blue Jays at Rangers, Saturday, Sportsnet One/360: 375,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of July 12/13, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. World Cup final, Germany vs. Argentina, Sunday, CBC: 4,930,000
2. World Cup, Netherlands vs. Brazil, Saturday, CBC: 2,300,000
3. CFL, Lions at Roughriders, Saturday, TSN: 819,000
4. CFL, Blue Bombers at Alouettes, Friday, TSN: 615,000
5. CFL, Stampeders at Argos, Saturday, TSN: 562,000
6. MLB, Blue Jays at Rays, Friday, Sportsnet: 555,000
7. CFL, RedBlacks at Eskimos, Saturday, TSN: 549,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of July 5/6, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. World Cup Netherlands vs. Costa Rica Saturday CBC 2,694,000
2. World Cup Brazil vs. Colombia Friday CBC 2,102,000
3. World Cup Argentina vs. Belgium Saturday CBC 1,773,000
4. World Cup France vs. Germany Friday CBC 1,543,000
5. Tennis Wimbledon women's final Saturday TSN 1,100,000
6. CFL Ticats at Eskimos Friday TSN 590,000
7. Tennis Wimbledon men's final Sunday TSN 584,000
8. CFL Roughriders at Argos Saturday TSN 534,000
9. CFL Lions at Alouettes Friday TSN 532,000

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend of June 28/29, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. World Cup Costa Rica vs. Greece Sunday CBC 2,416,000
2. World Cup Netherlands vs. Mexico Sunday CBC 2,157,000
3. World Cup Brazil vs. Chile Saturday CBC 2,076,000
4. World Cup Colombia vs. Uruguay Saturday CBC 1,645,000
5. Hockey NHL Entry Draft Friday TSN 732,000
6. CFL Eskimos at Lions Friday TSN 655,000
7. CFL Ticats at Roughriders Sunday TSN 626,000
8. MLB White Sox at Blue Jays Friday Sportsnet 620,000
9. MLB White Sox at Blue Jays Saturday Sportsnet 469,000
10. MLB White Sox at Blue Jays Sunday Sportsnet 441,000
11. CFL Alouettes at Stampeders Saturday TSN 387,000

Labour Day weekend sports ratings were dominated by CFL games on Sunday and Monday:

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-ga ... 14525.html

The CFL didn't need [TSN's] extra feeds to produce its usual weekend of big audiences. Sunday's Saskatchewan-Winnipeg game broke the million mark and Monday's Labour Day game in Calgary drew a 15 per cent larger viewing audience than the 2013 game with Edmonton.

On the other hand, maybe Toronto FC needs as many feeds as it can get. Its game against New England on Saturday was seen by only 22,000 viewers on Sportsnet360.

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. CFL, Blue Bombers at Roughriders, Sunday, TSN: 1,144,000
2. CFL, Eskimos at Stampeders, Monday, TSN: 885,000
3. CFL, Argonauts at Ticats, Monday, TSN: 796,000
4. Tennis, U.S. Open, Bouchard vs. Makarova, Monday, TSN/RDS: 755,000
5. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 594,000
6. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 579,000
7. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 576,000
8. CFL, RedBlacks at Alouettes, Friday, TSN: 485,000

Will be interesting the ratings now that the NFL regular season has started.