The Great Canadian Sports Attendance, Marketing and TV Ratings Thread

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by elly63

TV ratings: Bombers, Riders yields largest CFL Finals number in recent years
Justin Dunk 3downnation November 18, 2019

The Farmers’ Almanac was right: Winnipeg and Saskatchewan produced a high yield.

It was the first West Final between the prairie rivals since 1972 and the Bombers scored a 20-13 win against the Riders in a game which came down to the final play — drama helps boost audiences. Forget sports it was the highest rated English language program on television Sunday, November 17.

Division Finals Sunday TV ratings 2019:

Edmonton at Hamilton — 898,400 (not including RDS)
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan — 1,631,900 (not including RDS)
Average: 1,265,150

I would guess that RDS probably wouldn't add any more than 50-100,000 to those totals at the most.

Also wouldn't be surprised if the Vanier Cup on Saturday gets higher ratings in Quebec than the Grey Cup does on Sunday.

In other news, RDS tweeted today that their Alouettes TV ratings were up a whopping (at least I think it's "whopping") 20% this season compared to the last.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Acajack

In other news, RDS tweeted today that their Alouettes TV ratings were up a whopping (at least I think it's "whopping") 20% this season compared to the last.

Montreal had a compelling team this year, they were fun to watch, the ratings increase doesn't surprise me at all. I think the upcoming years will be kind to the Als after so many bad news years.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

In other news, RDS tweeted today that their Alouettes TV ratings were up a whopping (at least I think it's "whopping") 20% this season compared to the last.

That would get RDS numbers back up to what they were around 2015. 29% decline in 2016 in addition to a 5% increase in 2018.

[elly63]

Vanier Cup, Grey Cup pairing in the works; must happen for future growth
Justin Dunk 3downnation November 21, 2019

The Vanier Cup and Grey Cup need to be paired again for the betterment of football across Canada at the university and professional levels.

Fortunately, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie feels the same way. After Ambrosie was installed as commish in July 2017, discussions surrounding the unification of football country-wide accelerated. A major focus has been bringing the USports national championship and the CFL title game back together on the same weekend.

The league wants to align the dates of its schedule with the Vanier Cup and plans are being made for the Grey Cup to move up one week in 2020. That means USports and its conferences would have to move accordingly to match with the CFL.

If the proposed partnership (which is currently in progress) moves forward and is finalized, the Vanier Cup would be played in Saskatoon the Saturday of Grey Cup weekend (November 21, 2020). Discussions between the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are serious with multiple meetings having already taken place to go over the details.

Griffiths Stadium was the venue for the last Vanier Cup on the prairies in which Laval University defeated Saskatchewan by a score of 13-8 to win the 2006 national title. The Grey Cup took place at old Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg that year with the events planned by the CIS and CFL, respectively.

The difference in the new incarnation would see the Riders take the lead on planning how the Vanier Cup integrates with their vision of Grey Cup week across Saskatchewan. The long-term success of the Vanier Cup hinges on guaranteeing a built-in football audience: the same people who attend Grey Cup every year.

The exclusive CFL broadcast rights holder — TSN — are an integral component of the partnership between USports and the pro three-down league. When TSN last produced Vanier Cup broadcasts the ratings increased exponentially.

An average national English audience of 660,000 watched the 2011 game at B.C. Place Stadium with close to three million tuning in to watch at least part of McMaster’s double overtime victory over Laval. In 2012, there were 502,000 viewers with the French average audience checking in at 408,000, a combined total of 910,000.

Based on the pure numbers, TSN has proven the network can grow interest in USports football. If the deal comes to fruition, the Vanier Cup would return to TSN along with Bowl games while conference championships and select events could be brought to TSN’s digital platform.

It’s a very comprehensive partnership from all sides, even getting down to the field level with USports schools using the CFL stats platform. TSN and the CFL recently agreed to a six-year contract extension on their rights deal that runs through 2027. So it’s only common sense to pull the two entities together on the football hungry network.

Conversations are ongoing in Quebec City and Calgary as the partnership works towards becoming finalized. For football to continue growing in Canada, it’s beneficial to be tied together at all levels.

[Acajack]

Media are reporting sluggish ticket sales for the Vanier Cup in Quebec City this year.

[esquire]

Not shocking with Laval out

[Prometheus]

I noticed this bit in the article:

Originally Posted by elly63

Vanier Cup, Grey Cup pairing in the works; must happen for future growth
Justin Dunk 3downnation November 21, 2019


TSN and the CFL recently agreed to a six-year contract extension on their rights deal that runs through 2027...

That's news to me.

The extension is longer than the original deal of five years (which was extended by an additional two years a couple years later). These extensions sound like TV revenue stability but also TV revenue stagnation.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

I noticed this bit in the article:



That's news to me.

The extension is longer than the original deal of five years (which was extended by an additional two years a couple years later). These extensions sound like TV revenue stability but also TV revenue stagnation.

I thought the CFL and TSN announced an extension of their deal a few months ago? Guess it was a Mandela effect.

The fact they aren't releasing the financial details does suggest stagnation, which is bad for the league. With attendance dropping TV revenues need to grow, and small international deals probably aren't going to cut it.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

I thought the CFL and TSN announced an extension of their deal a few months ago? Guess it was a Mandela effect.

The fact they aren't releasing the financial details does suggest stagnation, which is bad for the league. With attendance dropping TV revenues need to grow, and small international deals probably aren't going to cut it.

Deal is for $300 million it was announced earlier this year but I think they did the more formal announcement this week during grey cup for more media buzz. The clubs will get $1.5 million more annually per year out of the new agreement.

[Djeffery]

We had Randy Ambrosie speak at a company function last month. Really cool guy, lots of good football stories. Liked when he said "I got up in the morning and I wanted to hit someone". Boss didn't like when I said out loud "I hear ya" lol.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by elly63

Vanier Cup, Grey Cup pairing in the works; must happen for future growth
Justin Dunk 3downnation November 21, 2019

The Vanier Cup and Grey Cup need to be paired again for the betterment of football across Canada at the university and professional levels.

Fortunately, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie feels the same way. After Ambrosie was installed as commish in July 2017, discussions surrounding the unification of football country-wide accelerated. A major focus has been bringing the USports national championship and the CFL title game back together on the same weekend.

The league wants to align the dates of its schedule with the Vanier Cup and plans are being made for the Grey Cup to move up one week in 2020. That means USports and its conferences would have to move accordingly to match with the CFL.

If the proposed partnership (which is currently in progress) moves forward and is finalized, the Vanier Cup would be played in Saskatoon the Saturday of Grey Cup weekend (November 21, 2020). Discussions between the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are serious with multiple meetings having already taken place to go over the details.

Griffiths Stadium was the venue for the last Vanier Cup on the prairies in which Laval University defeated Saskatchewan by a score of 13-8 to win the 2006 national title. The Grey Cup took place at old Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg that year with the events planned by the CIS and CFL, respectively.

The difference in the new incarnation would see the Riders take the lead on planning how the Vanier Cup integrates with their vision of Grey Cup week across Saskatchewan. The long-term success of the Vanier Cup hinges on guaranteeing a built-in football audience: the same people who attend Grey Cup every year.

The exclusive CFL broadcast rights holder — TSN — are an integral component of the partnership between USports and the pro three-down league. When TSN last produced Vanier Cup broadcasts the ratings increased exponentially.

An average national English audience of 660,000 watched the 2011 game at B.C. Place Stadium with close to three million tuning in to watch at least part of McMaster’s double overtime victory over Laval. In 2012, there were 502,000 viewers with the French average audience checking in at 408,000, a combined total of 910,000.

Based on the pure numbers, TSN has proven the network can grow interest in USports football. If the deal comes to fruition, the Vanier Cup would return to TSN along with Bowl games while conference championships and select events could be brought to TSN’s digital platform.

It’s a very comprehensive partnership from all sides, even getting down to the field level with USports schools using the CFL stats platform. TSN and the CFL recently agreed to a six-year contract extension on their rights deal that runs through 2027. So it’s only common sense to pull the two entities together on the football hungry network.

Conversations are ongoing in Quebec City and Calgary as the partnership works towards becoming finalized. For football to continue growing in Canada, it’s beneficial to be tied together at all levels.

Sounds like National Media is trying to build off of Saskatchewan, Canada's football Hotbed, by make the most of Grey Cup in Regina next year and having Vanier Cup to integrate with by planning the USports Football Championship in Saskatoon next year as well.

The strong football culture in the Province in the last couple of weeks include:

University of Saskatchewan's Huskies playing in Hardy Cup last weekend...

...plus the Saskatoon Hilltops continued their Dynasty of Championships by winning their sixth consecutive Canadian Bowl (& their 9th Championship win in the last ten years) by beating the London Ontario Beefeaters 51 to 1 as well as winning the Championship game against the Langley Rams in the 112th Canadian Bowl last weekend.



https://www.ckom.com/2019/11/16/hill...canadian-bowl/

[EpicPonyTime]

Having the Vanier Cup in Saskatoon defeats the purpose of including it as part of Grey Cup Week, IMO. If these events share the same audience, either that audience will remain in Regina for the Grey Cup Festival (which the league places a huge emphasis on now) or they'll leave what is usually the biggest night of the Festival to drive three hours to Saskatoon.

I'm all for the Riders branding next year's Grey Cup as a "Saskatchewan" event, but the logistics don't work out for this. If it's part of Grey Cup Weekend, it should be in Regina aling with the Festival.

[UrbanClimate]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

Having the Vanier Cup in Saskatoon defeats the purpose of including it as part of Grey Cup Week, IMO. If these events share the same audience, either that audience will remain in Regina for the Grey Cup Festival (which the league places a huge emphasis on now) or they'll leave what is usually the biggest night of the Festival to drive three hours to Saskatoon.

I'm all for the Riders branding next year's Grey Cup as a "Saskatchewan" event, but the logistics don't work out for this. If it's part of Grey Cup Weekend, it should be in Regina aling with the Festival.

Totally agree. Congregate all football fans of Canada in one city for one weekend. Put the Vanier Cup in Regina on the Saturday night before Grey Cup, as they did very successfully in Vancouver a few years back. Saskatoon does not have a suitable stadium for a championship game. Mosaic Stadium in Regina can showcase university football in a bigtime stadium and easily attract a crowd of 20-25,000, followed by 35,000 for the Grey Cup.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Watching the Vanier Cup on CBC Gem's streaming service. Decent game so far with UofC Dinos leading the UofM Carabins 13-7 at half time.

With streaming, there should be a natural fit with USports and CBC. The universities could use their own A/V folks to produce the games and run the PBP during the regular season and then get the professionals in there for the championships. The reason why there is no real following of USports is because there is no exposure of the games during the regular season and therefore we have no idea who these players are.
And the CBC doesn't have to concentrate only on football, they could show all the sports that USports produces. This would also fit into the CBC mandate.

[elly63]

Keith Urban looking forward to Grey Cup, wants to put on high energy halftime show
tsn.ca November 24 2019

Before he takes the stage at halftime of the 107th Grey Cup, country music superstar Keith Urban spoke to the media about his excitement for Sunday, what the fans can expect from his show, what he's learned about the CFL and more.

Urban seems like a good guy, should be a good show
Calgary at present: 6 degrees, wind 14k, 30% chance of showers

[Acajack]

I heard attendance for the Vanier Cup was around 8700. Pretty disappointing.

Not really a good idea to hold it two years in a row in the same city.

And this was with Montreal playing with their campus just 220 km away.

Imagine if it had been Calgary vs Acadia.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I heard attendance for the Vanier Cup was around 8700. Pretty disappointing.

Not really a good idea to hold it two years in a row in the same city.

And this was with Montreal playing with their campus just 220 km away.

Imagine if it had been Calgary vs Acadia.

that might dampen the idea of Quebec city being a viable CFL market in the future.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by thurmas

that might dampen the idea of Quebec city being a viable CFL market in the future.

I wouldn't think so. (Not that I think a team is coming there anyway.)

[elly63]

I get the feeling this could be a popular GC. My TSN streams keep going down and that usually doesn't happen, I'd say they are busy. Turning down my resolution to stay connected, I'm likin' the pregame band (especially the funky drummer) .

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by thurmas

that might dampen the idea of Quebec city being a viable CFL market in the future.

The only time a CFL city hosts a game with the home team not participating it's the Grey Cup. QC can support CFL and would imo.