A new stadium would do wonders for that...but that's a whole different ball of wax :D

Better TV windows boost viewership for MLS

By Ian Thomas, Staff Writer

Published November 20, 2017, Page 4

MLS’s television ratings still pale in comparison to its professional league peers, but it can point to another increase in viewership as further proof of the league’s growth.

In total, the 2017 MLS regular season had 26.3 million gross viewers across all U.S. networks, up 4 percent from 2016 and up 41 percent since the 2014 season, according to the league and network figures. It signed its current media rights deal with ESPN, Fox and Univision, which runs through 2022, after that season. Rising ratings have become more rare in sports of late, and MLS says it is the only league in North America to show consistent viewership growth since 2014.

“When we think about the way the media landscape is changing, not just in sports but across the board, we’re really proud that we’re showing growth, and are extremely bullish on that growth going forward,” said Seth Bacon, MLS senior vice president of media.

MLS broadcasts on Fox saw a 5 percent increase and Univision networks an 8 percent increase in average viewership for this past season. The average viewership of MLS broadcasts on ESPN networks was down less than 1 percent, although broadcasts on ESPN and ESPN2 individually had year-over-year increases of 1 percent and 9 percent, respectively. According to MLS, viewership on TSN/CTV and TVA in Canada were both up 8 percent over the previous year, following new five-year deals with both broadcasters in January.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/J...odies/MLS.aspx

Toronto FC success drives up ratings while struggling Jays' numbers drop
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press Aug 8, 2017

TORONTO – Toronto FC and the Blue Jays are currently at different ends of the standings and their TV numbers have gone up and down as a result.

But the Jays’ TV audience continues to dwarf that of the Major League Soccer team.

Canada’s struggling baseball team, from April through July, averaged 706,300 viewers compared to 895,400 over the same time period last season, according to Sportsnet.

Toronto went into Tuesday’s game against the visiting Yankees at 52-59 in the American League East basement.

Toronto FC (12-3-8) is currently leading the Eastern Conference and MLS standings. TSN says TFC games on TSN/CTV are averaging 93,000 viewers this year in terms of total audience, compared to 59,000 over the same time period last season.

The Whitecaps season average is 86,000, compared to 69,000 in 2016. The Montreal Impact are averaging 80,000, compared to 73,000 last season.

All three teams have seen double-digit increases in the 18-34 demographic over the same period last season: Toronto FC up 39 per cent, Montreal Impact up 22 per cent, and the Vancouver Whitecaps up 12 per cent, according to TSN.

Montreal (7-8-6) stands ninth in the East while Vancouver (9-8-4) is seventh in the West.

Soccer and baseball have a way to go to catch hockey when its comes to TV audience.

Sportsnet says last season’s Hockey Night in Canada’s ratings were up 11 per cent from 2015-16 with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers for the 7 p.m. ET game, and up six per cent (821,000 viewers) for the late game.

Sportsnet’s regional Leafs broadcasts averaged 536,000 last season, up 32 per cent from the previous season.

I'm always curious why there's a comparison between two completely different sports. Is there that much overlap between each group, or is it just a way of comparing the very obvious fact that more people tend to watch a winning team than a losing one?

I could see why there might be a comparison between the NFL and CFL - they're pretty similar sports, so I wouldn't be surprised for some overlap. Comparing baseball and soccer is like comparing a sushi restaurant to a steakhouse. They're both restaurants, but I'm not sure the crowds really overlap.

Part of it might be a measure of their popularity, another might be that they just have the numbers available so they're publishing them. I posted it because ratings measurements are more difficult to come by these days and even though it is a few months old it has some specifics that we can draw a few conclusions from. Also the more reference points we have for factual discussion, the better.

Shania Twain is READY for Grey Cup Sunday!
CFL.ca Staff November 22 2017

As you FOR SURE know, Shania Twain is playing the Shaw Grey Cup Halftime Show on Sunday!

We get you pumped with a little Shania/Grey Cup montage action.

Well, it seems like Shania is also getting into the Grey Cup spirit with her very own game ball!

https://i.imgur.com/IEC9uin.png

See you on Sunday Shania…. we CAN’T WAIT ZOMG.

Roughly 5,000 tickets sold for the Canada/Bahamas FIBA WCQ game at the Halifax Metro Centre on Friday night.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPR1dSDW4AAhKve.jpg:large

Ruffles Crunch Time: A change in the Argos Identity

For a while they were stuck at the bottom of the CFL standings but now they find themselves one win away from hoisting the Grey Cup. Dave Naylor looks at why a change in identity has helped turn Toronto's fortunes around.

I guess those numbers are for TSN only, which raises eyebrows in the case of Montreal.

Montreal's TV ratings on TSN seem fairly similar to Toronto and Vancouver's, but Montreal for sure gets another 125-150,000 on francophone networks.

So that means that overall Montreal would be getting maybe three times the total viewers that the other two teams are.

Hard to believe.

^^ I'm always surprised how far behind MLS is from NHL, MLB, NBA, and CFL in television viewers.

Not surprised at all. Nova Scotians love their basketball. Canada Basketball were smart to put their first game there. When Canada faced France at the Air Canada Centre in 2010 only 2,652 bothered to show up. This in a metropolitan area 15 times bigger than Halifax.


https://www.thespec.com/sports-story...hibition-game/

Fath: FC Edmonton will not return in any league unless Edmonton proves soccer can be sustainable
Steven Sandor the11.ca November 25 2017

FC Edmonton has “discontinued” operations. No matter what happens with the ongoing NASL court action against the United States Soccer Federation, the Eddies won’t be back.

Thus ends the run of a team that was part of NASL 2.0 since the 2011 season. Tom and Dave Fath were the longest-standing owners in NASL.

Now, let’s get to what the word “discontinued” means. It’s not quite the same as “folding.” The team is still going to operate its academy program.

“We are no longer a team or a franchise in any professional league,” said Tom Fath. He said that the team will “look at its options” going forward.

But what it doesn’t mean is that FC Edmonton is a slam-dunk entry into the Canadian Premier League, either. That league is expected to get off the ground in 2019, but Fath said if he is to reactivate the professional part of the franchise, he needs to know things will be different.

“Of all the years we have been in the league, how many times did we sell out?” he asked. (A couple of times.)

So, is there a future for the Eddies? This is how Fath looks at it.

“As for the Canadian Premier League, I love the idea, I think it’s important for Canada. But what we require is it to be sustainable. We need to be sustainable. Whatever we do, it won’t be USL. And the NASL is not sustainable in Edmonton.”

Fath said travel costs — it can cost $50,000 per road trip — and the poor exchange rate are factors. When FCE kicked off in 2011, the loonie was nearly at par with the American dollar. Now it’s worth less than 80 cents US. That’s a 20 per cent increase in road-trip costs, and a 20 per cent penalty when you offer contracts to players in Canadian dollars.

If the team is to re-start, Fath says he needs to see better corporate support, and sponsorships. The team had a kit deal with Sears Financial through the first couple of years of its existence, but hasn’t had a shirt sponsor since.

And, if the market doesn’t show that it can be better for soccer, “it won’t happen,” Fath said.

So, what looks to be the message is that if fans want FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League, the Faths need to see clear evidence that crowds will be better. That there will be more corporate support. That maybe someone will want to put a company’s name on the kits. It’s an Edmonton question before it’s a CanPL question.

“This was an unfortunate decision that we had to come to,” said Fath. “But, it was not a hard decision. When you look at the fact that the club wasn’t sustainable, it was an easy decision to make. An unfortunate decision, but an easy one.”

CFL could alter schedule to accommodate NFLN deal
Mike Florio profootballtalk.nbcsports.com November 24, 2017

The CFL could be coming to NFL Network. And as part of that deal, the CFL may alter its schedule to move the Grey Cup from late November to the middle of October.

“I’d like to see the Grey Cup earlier, it won’t happen for 2018, but for 2019 it’s possible,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said Friday, via the Ottawa Sun. “I’d like to see it maybe the third week of October. That week, almost everywhere in Canada is a fantastic weekend. I’ve traveled — we’ve lived in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Oakville, Montreal — the third week in October is amazing. The leaves are changing colors. It’s autumn, it’s not cold.”

Of course, that would require starting the season sooner, which could cause problems with TSN, the CFL’s primary Canadian broadcast partner, given a little something known as the Stanley Cup playoffs. TSN, which doesn’t have Stanley Cup playoff rights, wouldn’t want to put CFL games up against high-stakes hockey games. However, an adjustment to the season would give NFLN game content during the slow months, if a deal can be done between the CFL and the NFL.

“We’ve talked about the idea of what are they doing for programming on the NFL Network, could we be a positive source of amazing content?” Ambrosie said. “I’m entirely on board with sharing our game with more people around the world . . . and I’m not just talking about the U.S. market. We should stop being so Canadian and shy about this. With three downs and a big field and it’s wide open and these are world-class athletes — we’ve got the greatest game in the world.”

The NFL may disagree with that one, but the CFL is good enough to potentially take a spot on the NFL’s platform during the months when NFLN is a wasteland of NFL Films programming, Hard Knocks reruns, and the goofy top 100 player list.

TSN is ready to score a touchdown with Grey Cup coverage
The sports network will employ 40 cameras Sunday including a condo cam with a spectacular view of the stadium and the city
Bruce Garrioch The National Post November 24, 2017

It just feels like football and family go hand-in-hand.

The Canadian Football League estimates one-third of the 36 million people in this country will head to their television sets Sunday night and turn it to TSN so they can take in all—or part—of the Grey Cup being played between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders at TD Place Stadium at 6 p.m.

While the Argos and Stampeders have spent the week in Ottawa preparing, the crew at TSN has been working hard behind the scenes to make sure everything is place so they can score a touchdown with their coverage of one of the biggest events on Canadian sports calendar.

Yes, the stands at the stadium will be packed with 36,000 people, but there will be a far larger audience in living rooms across the country — that can’t be there —and the broadcaster is determined to make those people feel like they’re a part of it all.

“The Grey Cup is that one thing in this country where basically everybody is a fan of the league for that day,” Paul Graham, TSN’s VP and executive producer of live events, said in an interview Friday before heading to the stadium to continue preparations for the weekend.

“Sure, you’re going to cheer for one team or another, and even people that haven’t followed the league all year long or people don’t have a team to cheer for, are going to usually pick one and they’re being to engaged. It’s certainly a special day and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We want to make sure we want to deliver the best product possible.

“Mostly, we want to make sure we don’t screw it up, and we want to make sure we tell the right stories through the day. You never want to sign off at the end of the day and go, ‘Ah, we forgot to talk about that or we didn’t do this’. We want to make sure we cover it all so the people at home get the full ticket.”

TSN has been the CFL’s exclusive broadcaster since 2009 and televise every gam.. This isn’t just another 60 minutes and they’ve upped the ante to make sure people know that. If this were a normal RedBlacks regular season game, there would be 14 cameras in use but Sunday that number will be 40.

The network added “Super Slo-Mo” to its broadcasts this year and they’ll have two of those in place this weekend. The ‘Cable Cam’ that has been part of all the playoff games will be utilized in Grey Cup while they’ve also added more isolation cameras so they can keep a strong focus on benches.

“Sometimes you get lost in gadgets and technologies and it doesn’t help you tell the story,” Graham said. “We’re trying to get more angles that give us better close ups to give us the emotion from the game.

Thats’s because they want to make sure they have every angle covered once the ball is kicked off. The coverage begins with a Grey Cup Saturday show hosted by Kate Beirness and Derek Taylor while TSN will go on the air five hours before kick-off Sunday at 1 p.m. with the pre-game show.

The network, which has more than 200 people working on this weekend, will spend a lot of time in the hours leading up to the game telling the stories about the people plus a feature on the classic 1981 Grey Cup between the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Edmonton Eskimos at Olympic Stadium.

Legendary broadcaster Chris Cuthbert will handle the play-by-play duties with Glenn Suitor. One panel will feature James Duthie with Henry Burris while Rod Smith will be in his usual place with Matt Dunigan, Jock Climie and Milt Stegall to provide analysis before, during and after the game.

Since they know many will turn on their TV’s at 6 p.m., the network will reset to make sure they bring the casual fan up to speed.

“When you tune in as a new viewer at 6 p.m., we’re going to give you a quick recap on four star players on each team – what they’ve done, who they are and why you should watch,” Graham said.

Football is something near and dear to Graham’s heart.

He grew up in Edmonton as fan of the Eskimos and told a story about waiting outside the club’s locker room as a child just so he could get a glimpse inside. It meant a lot to him that he was honoured with the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award Thursday night during the CFL Awards show.

Working with producer Jon Hynes and director Andy Bouyoukos, Graham is always thrilled when the presentation of the Cup is made.

“When you see the Grey Cup, and you know, you’re going to be showing people a very special, emotional moment to these players,” Graham said. “When you get to that point, that to me is always the ‘Wow’ moment.”

Get ready for the ‘Condo Cam’

TSN will provide a different look from Sunday’s Grey Cup at TD Place.

Network technicians spent Friday afternoon installing “The Condo Cam” in one of the penthouse suites at the Lansdowne condominiums that they’ll use during the game between the Argonauts and the Stampeders.

Not only will viewers get a something they haven’t seen before from the West end of the stadium, they’ll also get shots of the city they wouldn’t normally see.

“We have camera on the top floor balcony and it’s spectacular shot,” said Paul Graham, TSN’s VP and executive producer of live events Friday. “I’ve been up there a number of times and it’s a great shot.

“You can see over to Gatineau, downtown and an incredibly different angle of the field. There’s a perfect location for us. I met the owners and spent some time with them going through what it’s going to be like for them. They’re fully engaged and that’s going to be a very unique shot and that will give us many different angles.”

Signs: Drake watches Argos win Grey Cup
Justin Dunk 3downnation November 27, 2017

The Argos started from the bottom, now they’re here (on Drake’s TV.)

Canadian music icon Drake watched Sunday’s Grey Cup with his hometown Toronto Argonauts winning the CFL’s championship game over the Calgary Stampeders.

Drake posted a story on his @champagnepapi Instagram account that included several clips from the TSN broadcast.

Well known as a fan of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors – Drake’s a team ambassador who often sits court side – Drizzy has over 38 million Instagram followers. His inclusion of the Argos on his social media potentially exposes them to a massively important demographic the team is trying to attract to BMO Field.

Drake’s most recent song “Signs” opens with these lyrics: “Champagne with breakfast while I’m yawning.”

The Argos can likely relate.

Grey Cup ratings see double-digit jump in 2017
Drew Edwards 3downnation November 27, 2017

Not only did the snow look cool on TV, it also delivered high ratings for TSN and the CFL.

The Grey Cup game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders, which was played in snowy weather conditions, had an average audience of 4.1 million – up almost 14 per cent over the 2016 contest between Calgary and Ottawa – and similar to the numbers the league saw in 2015.

Last year’s 3.6 million was the lowest since 2006.

The number still falls short 5.5 million that watched Toronto’s last championship win in 2012, which was also the 100th anniversary of the league.

TSN also did well with its pre and post game shows both of which averaged just under two million viewers.

That gave the network the three top-rated TV shows in the country on Sunday. And not just sports: the CFL beat everything from NCIS: Los Angeles to CTV News to the Walking Dead.

The numbers do not include RDS or digital streams from TSN.ca or other sources.

That's fantastic. What I discern from those numbers is that Toronto has a substantial base of fans who will watch on TV while Ottawa, being a relatively newer fanbase, has a much smaller fanbase. In terms of tv audience Ottawa's is probably the smallest in the league.

Grey Cup draws 10% increase in viewership on TSN, RDS
CFL.ca Staff November 27, 2017

TORONTO – Annually one of the biggest events in Canadian television, last night’s snow-covered 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw captivated viewers nationwide, becoming the most-watched since 2013 and growing 10% over 2016, according to overnight data from Numeris. An average audience of 4.3 million Canadians tuned in to TSN (4.1 million) and RDS (220,000) to watch the Toronto Argonauts dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the instant-classic championship game.

Overall, nearly 10 million unique viewers, or almost 30% of Canadians, watched some or all of the Argo’s dramatic 27-24 victory over the Stampeders. The game achieved a 34% share, meaning more one in three Canadians watching television across Canada on Sunday were tuned into the game.

The audience for the 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw peaked at nearly 6 million viewers late in the fourth quarter as Stampeders’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Argo’s defensive back Matt Black, sealing the Argo’s Grey Cup victory.

Fans of the winning team rallied around televisions, with audiences in the Toronto/Hamilton market up +58% on TSN compared to last year’s championship game.

The 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw finished as the most-watched program of the day, with TSN becoming the most-watched channel in Canada on Sunday.

Additional ratings highlights:

• Livestreaming audiences for the championship game on TSN Digital platforms marked an increase of 22% compared to last year’s Grey Cup
• The magical halftime performance by CTV’s THE LAUNCH mentor Shania Twain during the Shaw Halftime Show attracted an average audience of 4.3 million viewers
• A total of 10.6 million Canadians watched some part of TSN and RDS throughout Sunday
• Nearly 2 million viewers tuned in to TSN’s Countdown to Kickoff pre-game show, and an average audience of 1.9 million viewers stayed to watch TSN’s extensive post-game coverage

The 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw caps off a successful CFL ON TSN post-season that saw the CFL’s Western and Eastern Semi-Finals become the most-watched divisional semi-final series in three years. As well, the Eastern and Western Finals delivered an average audience of 1.4 million Canadians, growing +19% year-over-year.

Wow. Remarkable ratings, especially in southern Ontario

The most watched grey cup since, wait for it ...... 2013?!? Wow that’s newsworthy smh

Guess so. You read it and felt the need to comment.

I think a more valuable stat would be to see the last most watched Grey Cup in Southern Ontario, which would, in a way, provide an example of the true interest that region has in the CFL.

Regardless the numbers are quite impressive. Any other sports league in this country would love to have that viewership. It's a positive to see that it has only been since 2013, which shows there is some consistency in these great numbers.

Next year in Edmonton will undoubtedly have a great turnout with 60,000 in attendance.

A lot of positives coming from this past CFL season. Still lots to improve upon of course. Crappy teams in BC and MTL certainly decreases the interest they receive in their respective markets, but put a winning team on the field and support comes back.

If one were to really be critical of one team's support, I'd say look no further than Calgary. They have consistently had great teams, but has been a long long time since they last sold out, even Labour Day classics or Riders games, that used to be consistently sold out, aren't anymore. Even this past West Finals game with Edmonton was 5k short of a sellout.

Nonetheless, a lot of positives for the CFL and its future.

^ Calgary fans take it for granted. It was the same way in Winnipeg for the decade+ that the Bombers were dominant from, say, 84-94. Calgary's run has been even longer than that, basically 25 years of dominant teams except for that short stint when Feterik ran the team into the ground. Fans there don't know any other way.

For the large amount of media criticism the league takes it makes you wonder how each team survived those days and lived to tell the tale. And then people talk of Toronto being in trouble but they have the deepest pockets of all. In those bad ol' days, TannenBell would have been manna from heaven.

That sort of dominance of an 8-team league where you can win your division despite having a losing record is really quite impressive(ish)

Haters gonna hate!

If we're talking those terms then I wish the NHL would disregard any stat and history of the NHL's original 6 era. Talk about a joke of a league back then, and to think it's actually celebrated! Not to mention 16 teams made the playoffs when the NHL had only 20 teams.

6 post troll, so tell us which one, TFC or NFL

The 2010 Seattle Seahawks say hello

Even with this though that Seahwaks team flamed out. You will always get quirks where a sub .500 team makes the playoffs from time to time, but unless they are rolling in hot as fire natural forces will correct and boot them out by exposing whatever flaws kept them sub .500 in the first place. The only caveat would be an injury to a star QB who comes back towards the end of the season to get the team rolling again.

That team actually won a playoff game though too.

The CFL will always be plagued with dominant teams due to how few teams there are. People get used to winning, used to making the playoffs, used to getting to the Grey Cup. Alouettes fans were spoiled for many many years. Now it's Stamps fans.

Adding Halifax will help create more competition and it's a positive to see that upsets do happen all the time. It's not like USports men's basketball where Carleton wins every year.

641K viewers for the TFC game on Wednesday night on TSN.

An additional 223K in the US

Although last year's first leg between Montreal & Toronto garnered 1M on TSN & RDS combined, the 641K from this week would be higher than the TSN-only from last year's first leg (595K). The second leg landed 862K on TSN-only (with another 519K on RDS) last year.

I assume 641k is the average viewers... what was the peak viewership?

From xyvs cfl.ca

Grey Cup ratings on ESPN2 on Sunday were up 88% over last year! They averaged 237,000 viewers in the U.S. over the 4.5 hour duration of the game, pre-game and post-game shows going up against NFL Sunday...up from 126,000 last year.

Looking for confirmation

A nice sports round-up in Friday's National Post, by Tom Mayenknecht.

http://nationalpost.com/sports/footb...4-4ae3c1cb0e26

"Bulls & Bears: Canucks may be rolling, but Grey Cup runneth over"

Bulls of the Week

It’s been a bullish week sports-wise for the country’s largest media market, with the Toronto Argonauts winning the Grey Cup last Sunday. They stunned the heavily-favoured Calgary Stampeders 27-24 in the snow at Ottawa’s TD Place — the best corporately-named football stadium in North America.

Kudos, by the way, to the host Ottawa Redblacks, last year’s champions, who further cemented their bullish reputation as one of the three best-run franchises in the CFL by doing Lord Grey proud.

The Argos’ unexpected windfall came four days before Toronto FC won the Eastern Conference trophy and earned a ticket to its second consecutive Major League Soccer Cup Final.

To round out the week, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won nine-of-12 to earn a 17-9-1 record — the third-best in the NHL — going into a Hockey Night in Canada showdown Saturday afternoon against the host Vancouver Canucks.

Meanwhile, the retooling Canucks have to be happy with a 3-2-1 road trip to go with seven wins in their last 12 games and a surprisingly respectable 12-10-4 record. They’re also celebrating the veteran Daniel Sedin — who joined his brother Henrik in crossing the career 1,000-point mark Thursday, becoming the first brother act in NHL history to do so — and the rookie Brock Boeser, who at 25 points is now tied in NHL scoring with Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

Yet the Bull of the Week is clearly the Canadian institution that is the Grey Cup.

Entertainment-wise, it was an instant classic. Business-wise, it drove a combined average national audience of 4.3 million Canadians to TSN (4.1 million) and RDS (222,000) and peaked at six million viewers in the dying seconds of a remarkable finish. Those were the best TV numbers for the Grey Cup since 2013.

The result was also a big shot in the arm for the Argos, striving under new ownership to rebuild a season ticket base decimated through promotional neglect since their last win in 2012. If last Sunday’s result helps the Boatmen turn around their sagging attendance of the past few seasons, it’s a win for the entire CFL.

Bears of the Week

Football, NFL-style, did not have as good news as the CFL did from the department of television ratings.

After an American Thanksgiving that was a turkey according to the Nielsen TV numbers — down 19 per cent for the holiday triple-header, with slides of 10 per cent on FOX, 19 per cent on NBC and a whopping 25 per cent on CBS — it wasn’t much better the rest of the way for Week 12.

The FOX and CBS Sunday afternoon games fell nine per cent and eight per cent, respectively, and ESPN’s Monday Night Football unravelled to the tune of a 33 per cent drop from 2016.

Only NBC Sunday Night Football showed an increase this week — an incremental three per cent — and even that needed an exciting finish between two marquee brands (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers) to get there. The bearish TV ratings are getting as much attention as Carson Wentz and the 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles, and that’s uncomfortable territory for the NFL

That game — to be hosted once again at BMO Field on Saturday, Dec. 9 — is a rematch of last year’s championship won in penalty kicks by Seattle Sounders FC.

THIS WEEK IN THE CFL - PLAYOFFS & GREY CUP REVIEW
Ratings, Online Traffic, Social Engagement All Strong For Compelling Games
CFL.ca December 5, 2017

TORONTO — The metrics are in on the 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw and the Grey Cup Playoffs.

Here is a look at the numbers:

PLAYOFF AND GREY CUP RATINGS

The 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw in Ottawa had an average audience of 4.3 million on TSN and RDS, a 10% increase over last year and the largest audience since the 101st Grey Cup.
Nearly 10 million Canadians watched at least some part of the game.
The key Southern Ontario market was up 58%.
The next generation of fans tuned in: viewers aged 2 to 17 were up 48%.
Ratings for the Divisional Finals were up 19% from a year ago.
Six million people tuned in to at least some part of the games.
There was growth across adult demographics: 18-34 was up 39%, 18-49 was up 27% and 25-54 was up 16%.
There was growth in Canada’s largest market -- Toronto/GTA was up 115% -- and in Calgary (+39%).
The Divisional Semi-Finals averaged more than one million viewers, up 7% from last year.
With 4.3 million Canadians watching at least some part of the games, they were the most watched Semi-Finals in three years.

CFL.CA TRAFFIC

Through the playoffs, traffic on CFL.ca increased dramatically from a year ago:
Page views +42%
Unique page views +43.5%
Video views +23%
Average time on site +6%

During Grey Cup week traffic continued to surge, compared to 2016:
Page views +19%
Unique page views +22%
Average time on site +2%

On Grey Cup Sunday itself, the numbers jumped again, despite the fact that last year’s game was an overtime thriller:
Pageviews +12%
Unique page views +16%

@CFL: MOST SOCIAL GREY CUP EVER

Twitter results for #GreyCup surpassed 265,000+ on Sunday.
The day after the game produced another 715,000+ Tweets from Canadians discussing the game’s thrilling finish and Shania Twain’s spectacular halftime performance.
The total number of CFL-related tweets during the playoffs and Grey Cup reached almost half a million.
Total engagement (including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) was up 17% compared to last year
Engagement rate (including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) was up41% compared to 2016
The most RT’d tweet from @CFL registered 1,500+ RTs and 4,400+ likes.
The most liked Instagram post was the final score graphic, reaching 8,500+ likes.
Social video (including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) views were up 58% and engagement was up 61%

The top-performing videos from Grey Cup Week:
Ricky Ray to Devier Posey TD - 400,000+ views on Facebook
Bo Levi Mitchell “Saturdays are for the Boys” - 220,000+ views on Twitter
Grey Cup interrupts Marcus Ball Speech - 130,000+ views on Facebook

Facebook streams throughout Grey Cup Week reached impressive numbers:
200,000+ total minutes viewed across all Grey Cup streams
1,000,000+ total people reached
160,000+ total unique viewers

#CFLTHISWEEK

During the season, #CFLTHISWEEK accumulated 1,500,000+ total viewers.
During Grey Cup Week, #CFLTHISWEEK reached 525,000+ total viewers.

CFL FOOTBALL FRENZY

In September, the CFL launched ‘CFL Football Frenzy’, a fast-paced, shoot-out style arcade game aimed at very young audiences and available for download on mobile and tablet devices. CFL Football Frenzy amassed more than 208,000+ downloads and was ranked #1 in the Kids category in the Apple App Store and has been frequently featured in the Google Play store.

About the Canadian Football League

Today's CFL is more than just our great game of football. It's fans sharing their excitement for what they see on the field, and what they experience off it. Stay up to date on all the non-stop action at CFL.ca. And join all of Canada as we celebrate the 106th Grey Cup, presented by Shaw, this November in Edmonton.

If only the Argo's could translate those one night numbers into sold seats.

For the CFL’s Grey Cup director, the big game is a calling
Rachel Brady The Globe and Mail November 24 2017

She's been described by some of her CFL co-workers as a Grey Cup rock star.

When it comes to Canada's biggest yearly football event, she is the overseer of details large and small. The job is sometimes glamorous, such as when she travels to world-class sporting events in search of ideas, welcomes players into the CFL awards gala or deals with the Prime Minister's office to secure his presence at the big game. Other times, the job is gritty, such as packing a U-Haul truck with everything from footballs to banners and computers, and then driving to Ottawa days before most staffers would arrive.

On the eve of the 105th rendition of Canada's favourite football game, Céline Séguin, 31 and Grey Cup director, is in charge of it all. She spent her year planning the CFL's championship event and the party-filled festival that surrounds it.

Since joining the CFL's Toronto office fresh out of university as an intern in 2009, Séguin has been immersed in the planning of several Grey Cups and quickly climbed the ranks from event co-ordinator to this position, which the CFL created last fall.

"I think Grey Cup 12 months a year, so it's funny when people ask me what I do in the off-season," Séguin said. "What's an off-season? We have the planning for at least two Grey Cups going on all times. As soon as this one in Ottawa is done, we continue on with the plans we have going for Edmonton in 2018. I've already done seven site-visits in Edmonton."

The league created the job to add cohesion between the planning of the Grey Cup by the CFL and the Grey Cup Festival by the local committee. There was a need for someone to oversee the dozens of different departments involved and bring a uniform look, feel and polish to it all.

"There was talk about going outside to hire for this position, but it quickly became obvious that she was a natural choice," said Curtis Emerson, director of events and production at the CFL.

"It's a huge job, having to oversee so many different groups and deal with team presidents and local organizing committees who have ideas about the way things have always been done or should be done. She offers fresh perspectives, and she's passionate. I tell her all the time, 'You're going to be the first female commissioner of the CFL'."

Séguin grew up in Elliot Lake, Ont., a town of some 10,000 people north of Lake Huron, between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

"People ask me if I grew up loving the CFL," Séguin said. "Well, not exactly; the only sporting events I ever went to as a kid were my brothers' baseball games or, if I was lucky, maybe a Sudbury Wolves game. But I still grew up loving sports."

She played high-school basketball and then went to Laurentian University to study sports administration before landing the internship with the CFL. She left from 2010-12 to work with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and then in sports sponsorships for S&E Sponsorship Group before Emerson had the chance to hire her back to the CFL.

She's worked on every Grey Cup since.

The Grey Cup is far more than a football game on Sunday. It has a glossy halftime show. It is several days of big media events with the teams. There's an awards gala and the CFL commissioner's annual address to the media.

There's also, of course, lots of fans and countless parties and events. It's a yearly pilgrimage for thousands of Canadians, who arrive in their jerseys, cowboy hats, kilts or helmets made of watermelons. They play their drums and trade pins, and they journey from pub to pub.

And the people behind the Grey Cup are striving to reach new and younger fans.

Séguin looks objectively at every aspect and asks whether things are being done as efficiently and purposefully as possible and whether some are valuable traditions or just old habits. It's something she learned from a highly respected veteran of the industry whom the CFL has consulted at times, Frank Supovitz. He's had senior roles in events for both the NFL and NHL.

"If you struggle to find a reason why you're still doing a certain event or doing it a certain way, maybe it's time to change it," Séguin said. "You can't just apply a cookie-cutter approach to the Grey Cup – each one is different."

This Grey Cup game, slated for Ottawa's TD Place Stadium on Sunday evening, is a highlight in a year of big events in the capital city, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

"Everyone wants to see this Grey Cup raise the bar, and Céline has to keep her eye on the entire thing – not just the football game, but the guest experience, the television experience, and the festival integration," said Patrick Roberge of PRP Productions, which produces the halftime show. "She's our leader. Her new position was a statement from the league saying the Grey Cup is our biggest event. It's what everyone works toward, and we need to give it the attention and support it requires. And it has paid off having her in this role."

Séguin is hardly the only woman working on Grey Cup; the core team working with her every day on includes several females. At a media event this week, Séguin was walking around the room co-ordinating with several key women, such as the CFL director of content, Kelly Shouldice, and the VP of marketing, Christina Litz – when a few media members took note.

"I heard a few people mention it this week, and one male reporter did mention it to me, 'Wow, there are a lot women working on Grey Cup'," Séguin recalled. "It's a great working environment, and I think women have every chance to advance at the CFL."

Séguin and Litz got full access to last February's Super Bowl in Houston, so they could research all aspects of the game and the fan festival. Séguin finds herself taking notes at every sporting event she watches or attends, from an MLS game on TV to a summer vacation at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She's part of a staff always on the lookout for something fresh to add to an event weaved into Canada's sporting culture.

"I've got this amazing group of colleagues that you've seen this week, they're running around and working so hard because they love the game as much as I do," said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie in his State of the League address. "They're energetic and vibrant and they love the game. It's so easy to go to work with people like that."

While Séguin used to be hands-on with many Grey Cup events, now she's the final set of eyes to come in and oversee them all. Ambrosie is the third commissioner with whom she's worked, and she's learned to adjust the commissioner's address to their individual speaking styles – Mark Cohon liked a microphone and tall stool, Jeffrey Orridge preferred a small lapel microphone, and she decided to install a sleek turfgrass floor at the last moment so he could walk across the stage while speaking without his shoes clicking too much.

Ambrosie approached her to ask if he could talk to the volunteers in Ottawa this week so he can thank them all in person. She'll work to make that happen, too.

Although she's 31, Séguin jokes that she's actually more like 25, because her birthday falls during Grey Cup week every year, so it takes a back seat to the full plate of last-minute logistics she's juggling. She spent her birthday Thursday night wearing a formal gown alongside many of her colleagues on the red carpet of the CFL awards night, directing players, coaches, owners and their families.

Her 32nd birthday will be in Edmonton and the planning for the 106th Grey Cup in the Alberta capital is well under way. Within six months, the site of the 2019 Grey Cup will be announced, and all of the hotels and key venues need to be locked in. Séguin says they're working to the point where three Grey Cups are being planned at once.

"We're noticing that more and more big events and conferences are coming to big Canadian cities and there's lots of competition for the best hotels, venues and conference centres, so we want to start booking our sites earlier," Séguin said. "We want to get ahead of that, so we get the best facilities, and we can deliver the best experiences."

Prime Time Sports
What's causing the NFL ratings decline?
November 02 2017

Don Van Natta Jr. joins Bob McCown and John Shannon to weigh-in on the NFL ratings decline, and discuss how protests have hurt the league, other issues that may be affecting fan interest, and why some owners may not be happy with Roger Goodell.

Prime Time Sports
Is there just too much football available?
October 26 2017

Fred Gaudelli, Executive Producer of Sunday Night Football, joins Prime Time Sports to discuss whether there are 'too many football windows', the league's ratings, and how to better engage young fans.

Why should they care and why should we care?

Canadians watch the NFL as entertainment and that is it. It is not our league.

Just another one of those cases where they try and convince us to care about something by pretending we have a vested interest in it.

Good news for all CFL and MLS fans in Canada

Bob McCown signs multi-year deal to remain host of Prime Time Sports
Sportsnet Staff December 8, 2017

Bob McCown will remain on the airwaves with The Fan 590 after signing a multi-year contract.

A pioneer of Canadian all-sports radio, McCown was the original host of Prime Time Sports when the show first launched in 1989 and he remains, to this day, the most listened-to sports radio personality in the country.

“Bob has helped shape the all-sports radio landscape in Canada and very few, if any, can make that claim,” Scott Moore, President of Sportsnet & NHL Properties, said in a press release. “Bob’s body of work is unparalleled in this business and has been for decades. He’s as exceptional a broadcaster as you will ever find.”

Prime Time Sports remains the most listened-to sports talk radio program in the country and is No. 1 by a wide margin for average minute audience for males (12+), average minute audience for males 25-54 and share of audience for males 25-54.

“Bob is the most prominent and revered sports talk radio host in the country for good reason,” said Dave Cadeau, National Format Director for Sports Radio at Rogers Media. “He’s the single best interviewer in the industry. He elicits the most interesting responses from his guests and guides conversations in a way that is relevant to his audience. These are unique abilities and he has mastered them.”

During his illustrious career, Bob was recognized for his outstanding career and contributions to Canadian sports journalism at the Sports Media Canada Awards Ceremony in 2013, and was named North American Air Talent of the Year at the Rick Scott & Associates Sports Radio Conference in 2007. That same year he co-authored his first book, McCown’s Law: The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments, which was a national bestseller.

When asked to comment on his contract extension, McCown insisted: “I would have quit but my wife won’t stop spending.”

I thought they were having Bob retire in 2018 that was being planned for 3 years when he signed in 2015. Bob is a joke he is stuck in the 1970's and doesn't know anything about modern sports at all.

Bob's been past his best-before-date for a few years now, at least. I don't see how CFL/MLS fans benefit from this any more than MLB/NHL/NFL...

Umm, sarcasm? And as a former listener he is definitely past his best before date but he still draws audiences, and amazingly, young audiences.

Dripping with irony

https://i.imgur.com/7KRZTJ5.png

I'm really interested to find out the TV ratings for the TFC game. Didn't they get like two million viewers for the Toronto/Montreal semi-final last year? I imagine the total will be near that.

1.4 (including RDS)