Lions at Saskatchewan July 29, 2022

[Hambone]

The cherry on top of this wonderful sundae was the release of the TV numbers.

700,500 viewers tuned in on TSN to watch the Leos-Riders (God knows how many would have tuned in on CTV had it been available, but that's another story), making the game the largest average television audience of the 2022 CFL season.

Yes, we know all games involving the Riders will draw eyeballs and yes, Rourke is a national story. But I have to think that with numbers that large that people are tuning in here in this market to watch the Lions. It may not immediately translate to "butts in seats" but I think the interest is there.


DH

That Friday night viewership does come with a caveat. Normally that game would have been overlapped by a Jays telecast on Sportsnet. However it was one of 4 Jays games this season that was not available on cable in Canada. It was only available on Apple TV. The diehard Jays fans who are regulars at my local watering hole were none too happy about that. That left the 1 million sets of eyeballs in Canada who normally tune in to Jays games looking for alternative programming. I can't remember what Sportsnet showed in lieu of but think it was another MLB game.