The Toronto Maple Leafs were the de facto "national team" for most of "English Canada" for about half a century.

No matter how much they suck(ed) and even with the advent of more clubs here and there, there is no way that that won't leave some kind of enduring legacy.

As for Leafs-centric media coverage, I seriously doubt it's part of a sinister conspiracy to turn the whole country into Leafs Nation.

Blame it instead on two factors:

- laziness and the path of least resistance on the part of the Toronto-based national sports media who won't make an effort to look further than their own backyard.

- decent levels of existing interest in the Leafs all over the country (outside Quebec anyway), which is not really reciprocated: there are way more Leafs fans in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver than fans of their teams in the GTA.

Hmm...it sort of explains the Jays popularity outside Ontario, I wouldn't be surprised if the Raptors develop a similar following sometime in the next couple decades.

MLS has a very weak players union. They get benefits and a minimum pay but not much else.

Bottom feeder MLS players only make $50K. There was the one story of a TFC bench player who had to ride his bike to games. There is obviously a big reason owners want to keep quiet how much money is actually swirling around.

MLS has been able to keep a lid on the most expensive costs which are your players' salaries. Other leagues such as the NBA have lots of money but unsustainable salary models where bench players can make $8 million per year.

This is not me being pro owners, but Players have to more collectively with their power and earnings. No reason why a Players union can't set up collective investment funds and other revenue tools solely for themselves just as the owners do.

Nobody cares about the Leafs outside of Southern Ontario. In Sask or Alberta, nobody talks about them.

It is Toronto propaganda that pushes them onto the nation 100%. Leaf fandom here in Toronto isn't normal, the city is indeed obsessed with the team and it spills over into Toronto media which by default ends up being Canadian media.

LMAO!! I rest my case *facepalm*

Transplanted Ontarians (is that a word?) do and if their dads cheered for them they usually do too, I have quite a few Leafs fans at my work, most are from Toronto originally but are west coasters now (except for the Leafs)

Obviously you've never been to or even seen highlights from a game where the Oilers, Flames, Canucks or Jets were hosting the Leafs.

They're also close to being as popular as the Senators in many areas of the Ottawa Valley, and pretty much equal with Montreal as the most popular team in Atlantic Canada.

After reading a couple of these posts regarding the Pan Canadian popularity of the Leafs or lack thereof, I think you're right. Or is Trudeau getting a head start selling the weed.

So which is it, they're either a regional team or not. I took you guys at word that they're popular everywhere in Anglo-Canada, with someone referencing Alberta in particular. Then Osmo chimes in to say no one in Alberta cares about them. If there's no consensus, then clearly it isn't as obvious as you guys claim.

Good post (the whole thing). Regarding this part, Dave Naylor made an interesting comment about the CFL moving it's season ahead that I hadn't considered.

Ad revenues in November (heading into Christmas) are higher than those in June (heading into summer). There are a whole lotta reasons why the CFL shouldn't move the season ahead. Ambrosie is/was recently visiting ESPN, and he has been in talks with the NFL Network. The only reason to move the season is for a lot of money (relatively speaking) because there are a lot of compelling reasons not to.

It's because you have no historical context. They are popular not because they are jammed down peoples' throats, it's because they are an iconic brand that has deep roots. So feel free to post your emoticons and claim victory for whatever the hell you were babbling about but they're anything but a regional team due to a long and storied history.

I simply said, "TSN and Sportnet cover absolutely everything Leafs. Being in the West, to me, gets so annoying."

Watch a Flames or Oilers game and there certainly is a spike in Leafs fans in attendance. Others obviously disagree, as there cannot be a consensus whether there are or are not more Leafs fans in the province of Alberta more so than any other team. I'd be willing to bet there is though, with all the easterners that moved to AB when times were good, there is a spike in Leafs fans in AB. I would say, again, in my opinion, because I dislike alomost all things Toronto, Leafs coverage is moreso than any other team out west, hands down, and to me, it gets annoying.

Thankfully soccer, or MLS for that matter, is not so popular outside the 3 biggest markets in Canada, so the TFC coverage was actually tolerable, in my opinion.

True - but (at least from my Jets games experiences) you get huge (turn-coat) locals wearing the other teams jerseys when the following teams play (in order of visible jerseys, most at the top):

1. Leafs/Habs
2. Bruins/Red Wings
3. Rangers/Hawks
4. Flyers
5. Any of the rest of Canadian teams

There is really no over the top Habs coverage in comparison to what we get in Winnipeg for the Leafs (from HCIN, TSN, SN) - and I would argue the popularity of the Habs here at Jets games is at the very least equal to the Leafs.

This is 100% consistent with what I've seen. Basically the Original Six teams (plus the Flyers who are basically an honourary Original Six team) and the Canadian teams, have noticeable fanbases here.

There is tons of Leafs coverage because the local media has access to loads of cheap, ready-made filler from Toronto. The Habs don't get as much coverage but there seems to be an identity thing at play with them because virtually everyone I know who is identifiably Franco-Manitoban seems to have the Habs as either their 1 or 1A team.

When I was a kid I was a big Leafs fan... I liked them as much as the Jets, but that's because I got to see them on TV practically every Saturday, unlike the Jets. I doubt that's such a big factor anymore... the home team is on TV every game.

Bottom line, I don't think there are tons and tons of Leafs fans, but all the media coverage they get does create an appreciably large fanbase for them in other markets.

The Habs actually have saturation media coverage that is worse (or better, depending on your viewpoint) than the Leafs. It's just that it's inaccessible to most people in Manitoba due to linguistic, technical or other reasons.

There are two 24-hour sports networks (RDS and TVA Sports) who fight over who has the best Habs coverage. Both have their share of actual game broadcasts, and each one broadcasts a 90-minute post-game show after each Habs game whether it's one they are broadcasting or not.

If they're showing some other sport, they'll interrupt that and start the Habs post-game show as soon as the Habs game ends.

When the Habs fired their coach on Valentine's Day this year, not only the two sports networks but also all of the news networks and the three main generalist TV networks (equivalent to CBC, CTV and Global) in French-speaking Canada interrupted their regular programming in the middle of the day to carry the news conference live.

I could give even more examples.

All of this is one of the reasons the Ottawa Senators have so much trouble penetrating the Gatineau market.

One thing doing work on reserves in MB - is that the Habs have a significant and noticeable amount of support within the FN community. I have no idea as to the how or why on that.

~41K is the tickets sold for today's Canada/USA World Juniors game at New Era Field/Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. There should be an official number once the game is completed.

Are they having all the seats for sale for this?

I've been worried overall as it looks like Buffalo isn't all to crazy for the World Juniors this year and many Canadians didn't make the trip over.

I found the outdoor game to be a gaudy idea. Why the exception for USA and Canada in a supposedly legitimate tournament? All seems dumb and quite tacky IMO.

From what I can tell end-zone seats weren't available, along with lower-lower bowl seats.

Yeah, crowds haven't looked too impressive so far this week. We'll have to see what the next week brings. I would have preferred the tournament in St. Louis or Tampa but USA Hockey decided they wanted Buffalo again :shrug:

The IIHF has done this before, though. The Men's Worlds have had groups shifted or changed (or teams kept up in the top division) for hosting or game purposes. This isn't anything new.

For me, the spectacle takes away from what should be an otherwise great game. I would have preferred this game at the Sabres Rink on a Friday night packed to the roof rather than in a mostly-full football stadium in the middle of the afternoon. The event takes away from how good of a game it could actually be. They're banking on another meeting in the medal round between Canada & USA, but it's still annoying. Hopefully Hockey Canada doesn't get a similar idea for future tournaments in Canada. The outdoor hockey games in football/baseball stadiums has been played out to death by now.

44,592 the official attendance. Looked mostly full for what was on sale except for the corners of the uppermost decks.

https://www.google.ca/amp/torontosun...-situation/amp

Couple notes from this interview:

TFC Season tickets will be 24,500 this season

Manning is looking to expand BMO by 5,000. The North End expansion added for last year's playoffs will remain for this season.

84% show up rate for tickets in 2017 was up from 72% in 2015

98.5% STH renewal rate.

Average ticket price of $45 means $1.2M per match in revenue.

Revenue up 30% aince 2015. TV up 200%

MLSE considering tarping upper deck for Argos games.

Argos STH renewal rate was up to 82% this off-season.

I get why... but there are lots of people who do sit in the upper decks because they're the cheapest tickets. Sure they can fit everyone one in the lower bowl, but if they charge twice as much for the lower seats they'll lose a bunch, maybe even some of those who already renewed at their cheap upper deck rate :shrug:

In general though it seems like the Argos are in good hands. Thank god, we need them around to beat up on Labour Day.

The biggest impact of this should be yet to come, when the TV rights are up for grabs again.

Better to hide the empty seats then to broadcast you don't have enough fans to fill them.

What's the capacity of BMO if you take out the upper deck? Must be around 20,000?

Article says the lower bowl seats somewhere around 15K

With Toronto FC booming, top boss Bill Manning looks to improve embattled Argos situation
Kurtis W. Larson Toronto Sun January 24, 2018

TORONTO — If sports juggernaut MLSE can’t right the Argos’ ship, nobody can.

President Bill Manning says the embattled CFL team will have equal footing under his guidance.

The Leafs are the Leafs. The Raptors have exploded. Toronto FC, he said, is shattering records.

“Our plan is to make the Argos just as important,” Manning, who also oversees MLS Cup champs Toronto FC, told the Toronto Sun during an evening sit-down at TFC’s BMO Training Ground. “The Argos are going to be a priority in a lot of ways.”

Manning’s vision for the Argos is to replicate what he has helped establish with the Reds.

“Can we get to the point where we’re selling 25,000 tickets a game and the team is competing for (Grey Cups) year in, year out? That’s my vision,” he said. “How long does it take? I don’t know.”

Manning referred to the Argos’ rebirth as a “long play” – a process that’s certain to take far more time than it took to build Toronto FC into one of the most successful franchises in Canada.

“We’ve gotten to a point where our demand has surpassed our supply – which is a good spot to be in,” Manning said of TFC, adding the club’s season ticket base will balloon to 24,500 this year.

“I say this humbly,” Manning continued, “TFC is hitting on all cylinders, across the board.”

So much so that TFC intends to keep the extra north-end seats it added for last year’s playoffs.

Additionally, Manning said he’s looking at options to expand BMO by as many as 5,000 seats.

“The atmosphere at BMO has just become so electric that it became a really hot ticket,” he said.

Manning explained that an 84% show rate – up from 72% in 2015 – prevented TFC from announcing what would have been considered sellouts in terms of tickets-sold from July through the end of last season.

“You’ll always see empty seats,” Manning said. “That doesn’t mean the seat wasn’t paid for.”

This year, he said, could be even better following TFC’s playoff run. Between season tickets and group sales, MLSE expects every TFC match to sell out within 60 days of every fixture.

“I don’t think we’re going to have many single-game sells at all,” Manning suggested.

The club’s 98.5% season-ticket renewal rate, he said, “is approaching Maple Leafs territory.”

“It’s real money,” he continued. “You look at the gates we’re generating. You can do the math.”

With an average ticket price of $45, TFC brings in nearly $1.2 million in single-game ticket sales.

Toronto FC revenue is up 30% since 2015. TV viewership is up almost 200%, Manning said.

“If you have a good product, everything goes up,” he added. “Same thing with the Argos. Every decision we make is about what we need to do to win, and leveraging that to build our business.”

After averaging 16,380 fans per game in 2016, the Argos lost 38% of their existing season-seat holders before last season. The storied franchise’s renewal rate this off-season improved to 82%, Manning said.

“The one thing I keep challenging myself with is that this is a market with six million people,” Manning said. “Can I find 25,000 people a game, eight times a year, who will come?”

Furthermore, can MLSE convince at least some of the 400,000 TV viewers to get off the couch?

“How do we convince those people to come out to the game?” Manning asked. “What I do know, though, is that the folks at 50 Bay St. are really good. I have a lot of faith in that group.”

The Argos have never had what TFC has: “Arguably one of the most successful sports organizations in the world … saying, ‘We think (the Argos) have legs.’ We’re going to give it the attention it needs and the resources it needs,” Manning explained.

While MLSE doesn’t intend to cross-sell the CFL and MLS, the league’s newest executive expounded on the benefits of bringing the Argos beneath the company’s umbrella.

“We have 100 people who at any given time can shift attention to the Argos or TFC,” Manning said, a benefit of being owned by a company with a database of 13 million prospective fans.

While Manning’s fairly involved in player personnel at TFC, he admits he’s going to leave most football decisions up to GM Jim Popp and coach Marc Trestman.

“I joked with Jim and said, ‘I’m not going to be telling you which wide receiver to sign. I’m going to lean on your expertise and how we can support you,’” Manning said.

Unlike with Toronto FC, Manning doesn’t need to help build a winner in the CFL.

Yet his challenge with the Argos is likely to prove far more difficult.

“How do you continue being a contender and build some buzz in the marketplace so people want to come out and spend some money and buy tickets?” Manning said. “That’s the challenge.”

A DIFFERENT CFL CONFIGURATION AT BMO FIELD?

BMO Field could have a distinctly different look for CFL games in 2018.

New top boss Bill Manning told the Toronto Sun this week he’s considering tarping off the upper deck at BMO to consolidate Toronto Argonauts crowds into the lower bowl.

“We’re going to do what soccer teams do (in football stadiums), when they tarp off the upper decks,” Manning said. “We’re going to do the same thing. It’s going to be a lower bowl. Let’s fill the lower bowl first and then worry about filling the upper deck.”

This after the Argos attracted fewer than 14,000 fans per game last season.

The lower bowl at BMO Field fits roughly 15,000 people.

“Can we add 2,500 or 5,000 paid people this year?” Manning asked. “If we can do that we start building each year.”

Drummondville hosted two outdoor QMJHL games at a popup stadium in Downtown Drummondville this weekend. The two games set season-highs in attendance for the team with 4,284 on Friday and 5,432 on Saturday. These two games raise their average attendance from 2060 to 2260.

http://www.pentictonvees.ca/vees-set...ance-milestone

VEES SET CJHL ATTENDANCE MILESTONE

Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees are proud to announce due to their incredible fan support, they have become the first Canadian Junior Hockey League team to average 3,000 fans per home game.

After nearly setting the record by averaging 2,981 last year, the Vees broke through and averaged 3,055 over the course of 28 games at the South Okanagan Events Centre following the final two games of the regular season.

“As a group we fell agonizingly short of 3,000 last year and committed in the summer to work as hard as possible to make sure it didn’t happen again,” said Vees Director of Corporate Partnerships David Michaud. “Laura Carleton does a fantastic job working with our season members and connecting with local businesses for group sales. The SOEC is a fantastic facility to watch a game in and it’s a great night out for a family or a business. We can’t thank our fans enough for rallying behind the team this year and supporting us they way they do.”

The largest crowd of the season came January 20 against the Trail Smoke Eaters. It was the annual Pink in the Rink night for anti-bullying, and 4,342 fans were treated to a 3-2 overtime win thanks to Jonny Tychonick’s power-play goal.

There wasn’t a single game this season that had fewer than 2,585 fans inside the rink, and 13 of the 28 had crowds over 3,000.

The Vees thank their fans for the unparalleled support over the course of the 2017-18 season, and look forward to even bigger crowds during the Fred Page Cup playoffs which begin Friday as the Vees host the Coquitlam Express at 7:00 p.m

That should probably read Canadian Jr A hockey league team

The national level of Canadian Jr. A hockey is called the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) (WHL/OHL/QMJHL) is the highest level for Major Junior hockey.

http://www.cjhlhockey.com/view/cjhl

Oh I see. Thanks for the info. Did not know!

Nice to see that the Trail Smoke Eaters still exist after all these years. That's a legendary team in the history of hockey.

Yup they won not one but two world championships!
Just 15 minutes down the road from here.

'Amazing atmosphere:' HSBC Canada Sevens rugby tournament draws a crowd
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-n...ws-a-crowd/amp

I believe the tournament ended up at 77k out of the 78k caapcity over two days. Either way there was a very good turnout despite Canada finishing a national-worst at the event.

I think overall our men's teams have to be at an all time low? I stopped watching the last year or so :shrug:

Super excited for Ontario Arrows to join MLR though.

Telus VP: "Stay tuned for an exciting series of announcements that will change the landscape of soccer in Canada forever. Are you ready?! #itsourtimecanada"

https://twitter.com/lorenzodecicco3/...876694020?s=20

DeCicco is involved with the Foothills team in Calgary (they're jersey sponsors). Presumably this has something to do with CPL rollout or sponsorship. Telus likely sees an angle with Bell and Rogers committing to MLS. Good opportunity for them to get more visibility in select markets.

Argos ownership change renews Sportsnet’s interest in the CFL
Joel Gasson 3downnation March 23, 2018

Rightly or wrongly, there’s been a certain perception when it comes to Rogers and the CFL. If you’re reading this, then odds are you probably don’t think too highly of Rogers coverage of the league.

As we all know, Canada’s sports television landscape is dominated by two major corporations. One, Bell, obviously has a very good working relationship with the CFL based on the money they invest in the league every year through the TV rights deal with TSN. There are certainly areas where TSN coverage can improve, but that’s a story for another day. The other company, Rogers, has long been considered by some CFL fans a “hater” of the league.

Whether you like Sportsnet or not, there’s no question they cover the league very differently than their competitors at Bell. That’s understandable when you consider both networks will always favour whatever sports they happen to own the broadcast rights to. That’s how the business works.

But over the last few months, there’s been an interesting shift when it comes to the CFL and Rogers and it involves the Argos. This winter, the team was officially added to the MLSE umbrella. For the last two seasons, the Argos were owned by two of the three entities that own MLSE, Bell and Larry Tanenbaum. Rogers was a holdout but now that’s changed.

This is good news for the league because Rogers now has skin (even if it’s just 33.3% of one team) in the game. The Argos, and by extension, the CFL’s success now matters to the company.

How Sportsnet covers the CFL appears to be changing already.

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie appeared on Tim and Sid on Thursday of CFL Week. Usually, that wouldn’t be all that notable. Tim Micallef is a well-known supporter of Canadian football at every level and the show has been known to discuss the CFL from time-to-time, most notably with 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk.

However, this appearance was different. Some questions that a non-broadcast rights holder could ask, were asked (as they should), but overall, it came across very much like a network that had an interest in the league. It’s a little thing, but both Tim and Sid openly called the week “Marks” CFL Week when they really didn’t have to. As far as we know, they aren’t being paid to mention the week’s title sponsor.

To the league’s credit, they seem to be reaching out to their broadcast rights competitor a little more too. Ambrosie even had a Blue Bombers jersey made with “Tim N Sid” on the back.

With a broadcast deal that could expire in 2021, it is in the league’s best interest to try and get Sportsnet on board as a bidding war is always preferable (having games on both networks would be better for the league, but that’s also another story). Repairing what’s been an odd relationship won’t happen overnight, but it’s not impossible.

None of this is to say that Sportsnet is suddenly going to cover the CFL around the clock but it’s a step in the right direction and it’s all thanks to the Argos.

NHL Quarterfinals Eastern Conference Game 1: Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (NBCSN, 6:57 PM, 169 min.)
– 0.586 million viewers (#54)
– 0.37 HH (#60)
– 0.22 A18-49 (#40)
– 0.21 A18-34 (#32)
– 0.26 A25-54 (#43)

NHL Quarterfinals Western Conference Game 1: Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators (NBCSN, 9:46 PM, 149 min.)
– 0.651 million viewers (#50)
– 0.38 HH (#57)
– 0.29 A18-49 (#27)
– 0.33 A18-34 (#11)
– 0.29 A25-54 (#36)

Maple Leafs-Bruins and Avalanche-Predators doubleheader average: 616,000 viewers
One year ago (4/13/17): Predators-Blackhawks and Flames-Ducks doubleheader average: 602,000 viewers

http://programminginsider.com/thursd...rom-last-year/

NHL Playoff Bonus Western Conference Game 1: Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets (NBCSN, 9:35 PM, 25 min.)
– 0.521 million viewers (#74)
– 0.33 HH (#73)
– 0.22 A18-49 (#44)
– 0.20 A18-34 (#28)
– 0.22 A25-54 (#58)

NHL Quarterfinals Western Conference Game 1: Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights (NBCSN, 10:00 PM, 170 min.)
– 0.603 million viewers (#66)
– 0.35 HH (#69)
– 0.28 A18-49 (#26)
– 0.30 A18-34 (#14)
– 0.26 A25-54 (#46)
One year ago (4/12/17): Blues-Wild 502,000 viewers
Two years ago (4/13/16): Blackhawks-Blues 638,000 viewers

NHL Quarterfinals Eastern Conference Game 1: Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins (NBCSN, 7:04 PM, 151 min.)
– 0.632 million viewers (#62)
– 0.38 HH (#66)
– 0.26 A18-49 (#34)
– 0.25 A18-34 (#19)
– 0.27 A25-54 (#44)
One year ago (4/12/17): Rangers-Canadiens 445,000 viewers
Two years ago (4/13/16): Red Wings-Lightning 612,000 viewers

http://programminginsider.com/wednes...rom-last-year/

Thought this was The Great Canadian Sports Attendance, Marketing and TV Ratings Thread.

Nothing posted for Canadian TV figures yet. These games feature Canadian teams. Can typically take Canadian-team matchups and see how they're relevant to American viewing figures, which are in turn relevant for Canadian viewing figures. :rolleyes:

As an example, NBCSN is up 17% over last year through the playoffs so far in US viewing totals (662K/game). This can be compared to potential Sportsnet/CBC ratings when they're released.

--------------------

Before we get Raptors ratings against the Wizards:

https://www.raptorshq.com/2018/3/13/...ouston-rockets

Raptors-Rockets was the most-watched Raps regular season game in Canada ever

Since we're on the NBA:

Courtesy of Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dal5KCHX4AA-AWp.jpg:large

And the Raptors for those four record-breaking years:

2014-2015: 19,751 (99.8%)
2015-2016: 19,825 (100.1%)
2016-2017: 19,830 (100.2%)
2017-2018: 19,839 (100.2%)

I wonder how many Canadians outside of southern Ontario watch the Raptors?

Local/regional ratings for any sport in Canada are going to be next to impossible to find.

------------------------
@BillBriouxTV
Why Rogers needs Leafs to bounce back:
THURS o'nites
CBC Leafs-Bruins 2304k
SNet Avs-Nash 480k;

WED o'nites
SNet Jets-Min 1169k
CBC Philly-Pitt 580k
LA-Vegas 598k

Can't be that many, 552,000 (most watched Raptors regular season game) was almost exactly (553k) the average rating for a CFL regular season game in 2016. But I guess it's all relative if TFC was averaging 92k for a regular season game. For the most part it is a sports industry wide trend, ratings going down.

Raptors have some people outside the GTA that watch some or most of their games, but for whatever reason, they have not captured the attention of sports fans across the country like the Jays have. There are probably hundreds of thousands of Jays fans on the prairies and the west coast that watch a decent number of games throughout the season. Tens of thousands attend Jays games in Seattle from the Lower Mainland while thousands attend Jays games in Minneapolis from Manitoba and Northwest Ontario.

Outside the playoffs, I suspect the number of people watching Raptors games in western Canada numbers in the tens of thousands while those catching games in places like Minneapolis and Portland might number in the hundreds.

That mass of people in the GTA can really drive ratings. When the Jays were on their run their numbers were fantastic. When they came back to earth so did their ratings. Not sure if they slipped to their pre-run numbers of being behind the CFL. I think they may still be ahead.

That's just because they simply haven't been around as long as the Jays have.

There is no shortage of Canadians from coast to coast, even thousands of km from Toronto, who are keen on living the "big time U.S. sports league" dream vicariously through a "Canada's team" based in Toronto.

With the NBA being a rapidly ascendant sports property stateside (and that effect rebounding :) in Canada), unless the Raptors are horrible both on and off the court, they're very likely to develop a similar cross-Canada fandom like the Jays did.

Just give it time.