Ratings not good for Saturday games

[firstdown45]

yes correct, the 1999 Western Final here (the infamous as J.P. McConnell described it, "Damon dropped the ball" game) only drew 26,000; heck they didn't even fill the lower bowl for that one...

comparing attendance in a stadium that only holds 30,000 versus a stadium the size of Olympic is not a fair comparison...

if the Riders draw 30,000 in a 30,000 seat stadium, that's nothing to crow about. If you draw only 25,000 in a 70,000 seat stadium one week before the Big Dance, you've got problems.

The economy has a lot to do with it too... the NBA just laid off 80 staffers in New York due to smaller ticket sales across the league

[zark]

When Damon went to TO, attendance dropped. My cousin, who used to take his family to AFTERNOON games stopped as well. Damon was a Pinball buddy and every one knew it. They won a Grey Cup but if your fans don't come, who cares. while the media was saying that Damon had a few more years left in him, the fans were saying NOOOOOO!
What happened when Damon finally left here? I started coming back.

[Lionheart]

Since when does kids soccer take precedence over LIONS PLAYOFF GAMES????

[Hambone]

Since when does kids soccer take precedence over LIONS PLAYOFF GAMES????

How many kids do you have Robert?......that you're aware of?

[Lionheart]

It doesn't matter. Once per year (or less) they would be introduced to Lions playoff football.

[Rammer]

It doesn't matter. Once per year (or less) they would be introduced to Lions playoff football.

Darwin's theory of evolution seems to be passing with flying colours here.

[SammyGreene]

Eastern and Western Final TV numbers .....

Globe and Mail:

TSN audience woes

TSN continues to struggle for CFL postseason audiences.

Viewership for the East and West Division finals on Saturday was down 33 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, from the CBC's numbers in 2007.

TSN drew 716,000 for the East game, Edmonton Eskimos-Montreal Alouettes, at 1 p.m. EST, compared with the CBC's 1.066 million for Winnipeg Blue Bombers-Toronto Argonauts a year ago. The West game, at 4:30 p.m., B.C. Lions-Calgary Stampeders, was watched by 1.045 million, compared with the CBC's 1.571 million for Saskatchewan Roughriders-Lions in 2007.

The good news for TSN was the viewership for the East final on its French-language channel, RDS. The telecast drew 516,000, compared with 123,000 in 2007.

Why the low TSN numbers? Saturday afternoon is a weaker time slot than Sunday afternoon, which was when CBC aired the games. The absence of the two Ontario teams in the playoffs has hurt the numbers. TSN has a smaller distribution than the CBC, nine million households compared with CBC's 13 million.

[No Ordinary Joe]

I can't say I'm surprised by this. Saturday is just not a good day of the week for people. Sundays are for relaxing and unwinding after the week. Saturday is spent running errands, not to mention a lot of people are starting their Christmas shopping and that's usually the best day to get to a mall. And then, there's people like me who work every Saturday. Hopefully the switch is made next year. No more Saturday playoff football!

[Lions4ever]

I can't say I'm surprised by this. Saturday is just not a good day of the week for people. Sundays are for relaxing and unwinding after the week. Saturday is spent running errands, not to mention a lot of people are starting their Christmas shopping and that's usually the best day to get to a mall. And then, there's people like me who work every Saturday. Hopefully the switch is made next year. No more Saturday playoff football!

[Big Time]

When Damon went to TO, attendance dropped. My cousin, who used to take his family to AFTERNOON games stopped as well. Damon was a Pinball buddy and every one knew it. They won a Grey Cup but if your fans don't come, who cares. while the media was saying that Damon had a few more years left in him, the fans were saying NOOOOOO!
What happened when Damon finally left here? I started coming back.

Bob Ackles said it very well in his book when he said that "Damon may have once been a great QB but he couldn't draw flies". Fact is, the only truly consistent aspect of Damon Allen's career is that he has bred apathy in every market he has played in. He was so aggravating as a player because you just didn't know if you were going to get the good Damon or the bad Damon on any given night. That inconsistency only turns off a fan base. It's very interesting to parallel Damon's era in BC to the Argos. It is virtually identical in terms of underperforming teams, streaky play, lucky championships and total erosion of the fan base.

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

Maybe it's time to extend friday night football to the postseason?