I heard someone say that there are a number of Redblack games on RDS. Can someone comment on what CFL has for games on RDS. A large number of Redblack games would help solve the conundrum of their low TV ratings (compared to other teams)

Most REDBLACKS games are on RDS (or at least they used to be) and IIRC they usually draw between 25-50K, which would line up with them drawing roughly a quarter what the Alouettes would typically draw on the same network. Been a while since i've seen any numbers, though.

Much like with the Sens, I would imagine the appeal of Redblacks games on RDS is somewhat limited geographically... there are probably not many people watching beyond, let's say, about 100 km from downtown Gatineau.

I would say that there would have to be a sizeable number of government workers whose first language is French and that they would likely be watching RDS.

I think there has been something behind the Ottawa numbers since the very beginning. Not only were they a curiosity when they first re-entered the league they weren't a bad team from the getgo. There was a lot to like about them, the vibe was good but their TV numbers didn't reflect that as compared to other teams.

The numbers can be deceiving, look at Mtl/Wpg, add RDS and you're looking at 700-800k a damn good number.

^ Ottawa is weird. The team seems to be popular and draw well, but as you point out, their TV numbers are typically not all that great relative to other CFL teams. And in terms of away fan presence, at least at IG Field, they are basically tied with Montreal and Toronto for bottom tier.

I've never noticed that RDS does anything special with respect to showing Redblacks games as opposed to games with other CFL teams (except for the Alouettes of course - they get the royal treatment).

Most Redblacks games are on RDS but that's only because most (but not all) CFL games are on RDS.

It's not really like the Senators which get a "second home team" coverage. Far far behind the Habs of course, but still more than any other NHL team, including the other Canadian ones.

Even though they don't show all their games, Senators games are branded as "Le Hockey des Sénateurs", whereas Redblacks games get no such branding.

I think Redblacks appeal in general is probably fairly limited geographically, and you don't have many fans either anglophone or francophone, in either province, outside of that radius from Ottawa.

I think this probably explains the low TV ratings more than anything related to francophones.

Incidentally you have the same thing going on with the Senators as well, with relatively little fandom outside of Ottawa's immediate catchment area.

I would say that number is probably fairly typical for CFL games on RDS not involving the Alouettes.

The Redblacks are probably on the high end of that average, for reasons we've discussed. Games not involving them or obviously the Alouettes will all be on the lower end of the scale.

I believe the Grey Cup in recent years has been in the 100-150k range on RDS. If the Alouettes were there, it would go over a million though - but they haven't been there in a while.

Ottawa is just always a poor draw for tv both cfl and nhl. They don't really have much of a fan base in visiting cities either i have never seen people wearing sens or reblacks gear outside of Ottawa. Going to bombers games i see sometimes some tiger cats or edmonton gear on fans but never Ottawa.

I should also mention that lots of francophones likely watch Redblacks games in English on TSN. This is especially true of Ottawa- and Ontario-based francophones who are a quarter to a third of all francophones in the Ottawa-Gatineau metro. These people would already be showing up in the TSN numbers.

That's the answer I was looking for, I didn't know if RDS showed just the Als, all the games like TSN, or what. So most of the CFL games would have an additional x number of people watching on RDS. I wasn't asking if they get special treatment just how many CFL games air on RDS.

The next question is how many people watch teams other than the Als on RDS, that could be a fairly significant number, 20k, more? And would Ottawa be above the average of the other teams (excluding the Als) That would explain a lot.

Edit: Just seeing the previous posts, my personal anecdote is that I used to go out with a French girl who later moved to Ottawa, she watched French TV exclusively. She was watching French soaps etc rather than let's say Friends which was popular among her per group at the time. Just my observation of one person, but my French was pretty good when I was with her and I would never watch French TV so I would wonder why someone would watch TSN over RDS. I know people do but I am sure a significant number (if they were interested in CFL) would watching something more geared to them.

Interesting to note, the resurgent popularity of OTA (Over the Air) TV. There was some conversation in this thread almost two years ago (Sept 2020) and the number of people using an antenna to access their TV has risen from around 13/14% to upwards of 30/33% in the US.

With the advent of ATSC 3.0 and much better selection and reception, this may help spur on those numbers.

Some US markets offer over 40 channels OTA (traditional networks and now numerous subchannels such as Decades, Laff, MeTV, Buzzr etc)

Many Canadian areas with a decent antenna are able to pick those up. I just watched an interview where a guy in Kingston (Robbie Strike, below) was receiving 40 US channels.

This is real cord cutting and I am curious how many guys here would be in areas to do this. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver all could likely get these kind of results. Have to say I am jealous of you guys for that, because it's a fun hobby (cord cutting) and I access most of my channels another way (legally) via streaming.

Remember the antenna signal is not compressed, it is better than what you are getting on cable and there is no such thing as an HD antenna. An old antenna from the 50s would do the same job.

Further information
Interview with the Antenna Man ! His origin story, choosing the best antennas and more
Robbie Strike and Antenna Man Interview

Here in Halifax I pick up CBC, CTV and Global crystal clear off the air using a plug-in digital antenna I picked up at Princess Auto for about $15.00. These three channels for local news programing along with Netflix and Crave streaming, there's no need for cable. I cut the cord more than 5 years ago and don't miss it at all.

Yeah, that's the problem with not living close enough to the border, that's all you're going to get, unfortunately. But if you can get local news and weather and supplement that with content you want, that's all you need.

When I was a kid there was CBC, CTV and Radio Canada (no Global) in my area. It was amazing what they could jam on those two English channels. I can't think of too much great or popular American content that wasn't on either of those two channels at that time.

There are some really good free services available: Tubi, Pluto TV, CBC GEM, Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Distro TV and Xumo. You'd be surprised at the quality of some of the channels.

CBC will be launching a new streaming channel this fall. Last October Sportsnet launched SN NOW Free, available 24/7 at no charge, beginning Oct. 12 with select live events every week. SN NOW Free also includes next day replays, VOD, and original content such as Plays of The Month, Gotta See it, NHL’s Best, and Kes’ House. Don't get your hopes up about Rogers giving away something decent (but hey it's free content)

Remember, you don't need a special HD or digital antenna that some makers might advertise (there's no such thing) If you live close enough to a transmitter a paper clip would work for you but don't try that (safety issues)

I could pick up Spokane Washington tv channels pretty easily.

This station has an interesting relationship with Canada. KVOS-TV, is a Heroes & Icons owned-and-operated television station licensed to Bellingham, Washington, United States. It is part of a duopoly with Seattle-licensed MeTV owned-and-operated station KFFV, channel 44 (which KVOS simulcasts on its third digital subchannel). While KVOS-TV is nominally part of the Seattle–Tacoma market, it can be characterized as a border blaster, as it primarily serves an audience in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, including Vancouver and Victoria.

This station has six very good subchannels:

https://i.imgur.com/tlUS7NO.png

This is just an example of what might be out there free for the taking (save the small cost of an antenna) if you are in the right location.

I will say, if someone just wants local news, I'm fairly sure that some of the network apps (Global, CTV, etc.) carry those shows on demand. So with an internet connection you could probably get by on pure streaming, although I guess there is something to be said for the sheer simplicity of turning a television set on.

Which is one of the reasons Onesoccer is trying to get on Rogers Cable

Going from memory as the article is now behind a paywall, Onesoccer recognizes that most customers want most of their services available in one place and don't want to be using a bunch of individual services in different places.

I read somewhere where the modern generation doesn't want to know about anything before 2005 so they find the concept of OTA TV almost like a scam for those who even know about it, while most don't know its existence and history.

Cf montreal sold out their game yesterday against New England 19619 fans. That's 40000 combined between the Alouettes and CF montreal games on the same day.

Putting a challenge out there to anyone who can figure out where this is and what these con men (Rogers) have done or are trying to do.

Here's some clues

Are there any events to watch for free on SN NOW?

Yes.

Sportsnet NOW has a 24/7 free channel that is available to stream.

The channel includes select free games from around the world of sports, including hockey, tennis, curling, Sportsnet original programming and more.

To get started, proceed to the webplayer page and click on the tile titled, SN NOW FREE.

For a full schedule of the free channel, click here.
_____________________________________________________________

You have to create what they call a Rogers Media Profile with them first but unfortunately they don't make it very easy to find.

You do it through this link

All of the other links on their website send you through an endless loop of picking one of the paid plans.

Even after you do it this way even though it creates an account it still tries to push you to buy a subscription and nothing on their FAQ talks about the free plan.

It's like they released the press release saying you could have a free account but no one told the website developers and if they do have UX team no one has checked.

Once you create an account via the website you'll be able to log into the app. We were and were able to watch some of the free streams.

You won't get any kind of email or confirmation though. The whole thing is very badly implemented.
_________________________________________________________

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find this free channel stream (without using any of your Rogers cable account info or Sportsnet logins) after all it is supposed to be free

You get a limited amount of podcasts and highlights. It's such a limited offer that you're better off following Sportsnet on YouTube.

I knew, it being Rogers, there would be crap content like you stated but that's not really how they were selling it. They said "The channel includes select free games from around the world of sports, including hockey, tennis, curling, Sportsnet original programming and more." Now knowing how scummy Rogers is I figured that would be day old games which would be better than nothing.

But instead they direct you to an entry tile (click on the tile titled, SN NOW FREE) that doesn't exist (or hasn't been found yet) and a schedule that doesn't work. If by tile they mean one of the many tiles on the site with clips/games etc then that isn't any type of free channel stream which might also explain why the schedule doesn't work

As a cordcutter, it still interested me, so I had nothing better to do today and got hold of their help line. Had an agent looking at it, she elevated to a higher tier who told me SN Now isn't free. Then I told him I knew that and directed him to the Rogers propaganda announcing the SN Now Free service, he said he would direct me to customer care, where (of course) I was cut off.

Announcing this probably had something to do with the license, I think I am going to keep pursuing it, for a laugh. :)

It's interesting to do this sort of mental exercise when a number of teams play simultaneously in downtown Toronto. I think there was a Jays/TFC back-to-back combining for close to 80K last week or the week before. There have been days where there's been something at Scotiabank, SkyDome, and BMO on the same day IIRC.

If not for the recent Rogers outage, there would have been concerts at Rogers Centre, Scotiabank and Budweiser Stage that night.

Yep. Downtown is back to being pre-Covid busy once again.

All of this sounds 100% on brand for Rogers.

To add to the saga, I emailed their Share a Concern" complaint department, they did get back to me passing the buck to the "Escalations Team/Management Office which is best equipped to address your concern"

I think the Escalations Team was the second place i was sent to. And of course the email account that sent me the email was outgoing only. They really are greasy bastards, aren't they? :)

^ Not exactly shocking. They either want you to spend money or scram. I guess every business is like that for the most part, but few are so nakedly obvious about it as Rogers... I mean, drug dealers and the mafia are on the same page I guess, so there's that :haha:

I pointed it out Moreso as the first glimmer of hope that cf montreal and the alouettes are finally climbing out of their recent attendance struggles that past few years

I see RedBlacks fans at Tim Hortons Field, even a few when we're playing non-Ottawa teams, but of course being only 6 hours away makes it a much more feasible road trip.

I'd say its relatively even with the amount of Als fans I see.

In terms of the away fan presence in Winnipeg I'd divide it into the following groups:

1. Saskatchewan, by far... they are the only team where you will see entire rows in the opposition colours. Although in recent years the level of Rider Pride on display has quieted down somewhat ;)

...huge gap...

2. Calgary and Edmonton... you will see a good handful of people wearing these team colours when they come to town.

3. BC and Hamilton... the numbers will be smaller, but there are some. Hamilton is the only eastern team with any kind of critical mass of away fans, which I find kind of weird.

...gap...

4. Toronto and Ottawa... very few people wear this gear at IG Field, but there's always some guy.

5. Montreal... hardly anyone, really. I'm sure a few Als fans are friends or relatives of Brock Gowanlock who played for the U of M Bisons. But there are always a couple of guys in old Calvillo jerseys and I am curious about their stories, haha.

If I were to organize it like that for THF I'd say:

1. Toronto far and away, for obvious reasons. Probably ~20% of the crowd at rivalry games.

gap

2. Saskatchewan. They sure do travel well / come out to represent their home if they've moved away

3. Ottawa, Montreal. Expect to see a few, might be a large group or two somewhere.

4. Rest of the West. I want to say slightly more BC but that might also just be because bright orange sticks out... Bombers might have the edge here lately.

https://3downnation.com/2022/10/02/o...rd-panda-game/

A massive crowd of 23,078 was on hand at TD Place Stadium on Saturday to watch the Ottawa Gee-Gees defeat the Carleton Ravens in the 53rd Panda Bowl by a score of 37-7.

The score was 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter before two field goals from Campbell Fair and two touchdown runs from Jean-Paul Cimankinda blew the game wide open to secure the victory for the Gee-Gees.

Ottawa’s offence moved the ball seemingly at will, generating 572 yards of total offence. Third-year quarterback Ben Maracle completed 20-of-23 pass attempts for 354 yards and two touchdowns, while fourth-year running back Jean-Paul Cimankinda rushed 31 times for 166 yards and two scores. Third-year receiver Nicholas Gendron was Maracle’s favourite target on the day as he caught eight passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.

The Ravens struggled to move the ball throughout the game, generating only 215 yards of total offence. Fifth-year quarterback Tanner DeJong completed 10-of-16 pass attempts for 125 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while fourth-year running back Josh Ferguson carried the ball 16 times for 62 yards.

The crowd was larger than any the Ottawa Redblacks have drawn to the same venue this season. The Panda Game is known for its raucous atmosphere, which spilled out into the Sandy Hill neighbourhood following the game.

The police issued a statement indicating that as of 1:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, seven people had been arrested for reasons including public intoxication and mischief. They described the behaviour they witnessed as “unacceptable, dangerous and, in some cases, criminal.”

The first Panda Game was played in 1955 and carries the name of the trophy that is handed out to the winner, Pedro the Panda (pictured). The Gee-Gees hold a 36-17 all-time record in the rivalry contest with Carleton’s most recent win coming in 2017. The game set a new attendance record in 2019 with a crowd of 24,600.

Since no-one comments on Canada's baseball team much, I'll report that 44,000 fans enjoyed the sunshine on a gorgeous October day as the Jays eeked out a 10 to 0 victory over Boston... the day after their 9 to 0 squeaker over Boston.

The Jays are on track to secure home field advantage in their wild card post-season series (DoG willing).

Jays actually do an excellent job of fan engagement and attracting fans both male and female, young and old and all backgrounds since their 2015 playoff run they do a much better job than the MLSE run teams. Their game presentation always looks very well done and high end.

I decided to take in a Regina team with a winning program. So I went to a UofR Rams vs UofA Golden Bears game at Liebel field. Great atmosphere and fair turnout of Alberta fans. The quality of play on the field was very good. Canadians are missing out by not watching these kids playing their hearts out.

^nicely done.

I miss going to UofA Bear games, but since they moved to the south campus the atmosphere is lacklustre and there are no walkable pubs pre/post.

The Rams had a beer garden. Leibel field is the right size for USports but its located in Wascana Park and there is no pubs or eateries anywhere close.

I live close to the U of M campus so I'm there quite often for sports (CFL, WHL). But Bison football is a tough sell for my family. I took my son to a couple of games last year and this year, and both of them were boring losses with small crowds even by Bisons standards (say, around 1,500 as opposed to the 5,000 homecoming crowds when you actually get a bit of fan atmosphere). So I think he's pretty well done with it... there is no comparing Bison football as an event compared to Bomber games which in my opinion are unparalleled by anything in this province when it comes to fan energy and atmosphere.

My son loves hockey so I'm sure we will go to a few Bison hockey games this season, but that's it. Even there it's kind of comical how few people attend, anything north of 200 fans is a good crowd. There are roughly as many people at a Bison hockey game as there are at my daughter's Timbit ringette games. It's always been that way, though... there are vintage Bison hockey youtube clips from the 80s (I think isaidso may have posted them?) when there was the same 100 people in the stands for games even back then. And this is when the arena was new and there were no AHL or WHL teams in town to compete for hockey fan attention. I guess the U of M is OK with that.

Our universities seem to have it as a badge of honour that nobody comes to their games. It seems that they are so scared that varsity sports will be like it is in the states (there is no real reason for that POV) that they do everything to ensure there is no widespread popularity of USports games.

I don't think that is the reason. Please tell me if you think I am wrong but I've never lived anywhere where I felt welcome on a university or that they encouraged the community to be there. I am sure there must be some that do but I am fairly well traveled and haven't seen it.

Case in point, when I was a kid i used to go the university to skateboard on their hilly paths but unlike just being in another neighborhood I just felt like I shouldn't be there and didn't belong, like a club where you're not a member.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying they try to make people feel unwelcome, I just get the feeling that they have their own private space and want to keep it that way.

Do universities reach out to the general public to encourage them to come to sporting events? It's not that I think they are against it, they just don't do it (in my experience) Personally, I have never felt the local university to be a part of the community, they just seem to be like an enclave on the edge of town or a Hutterite community where I couldn't go. (Big Hutterite fan here)

They don't seem to have that vibe like in the US, maybe because of the proliferation of state colleges and so many alumni who are still attached to it that live in the community. Where I l grew up, most people went out of province to university.

Maybe I have it all wrong and probably didn't word it very well, you tell me. Also, maybe big city universities seem more open to the public than small town universities, I don't know :)

43,500 or so watched the Jays complete the sweep of the Red Sox (6-3) on yet another gorgeous cloudless October day.... but the roof was closed (bizarre).

Teo-OSCAR had two homers and someone won more than $3.5 million in the Jays Care Jackpot (an MLB record by a large margin for this year at least... I think).

The Rays lost so no chance of the Jays having to a play wild card series in front of 10k-15k disinterested Tampa fans.


Teoscar wearing his Blue Jay homerun jacket... again. :cheers:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeFyp9dW...name=4096x4096
Link

I don't get the local newspaper anymore but I remember Western used to advertise several sporting events on a regular basis. They do advertise football games on the radio very frequently.

As for the Panda game, my daughter and some friends went. They partied hard on Friday night, she came home at 8am, had a short nap, then went to the game. Then they were at another party last night where the police were patrolling "30 wide, across the street" as my daughter described it. Her and her friends were in the backyard of the house that one of her friends lives in and the police actually came back there and told them to go inside the house. So they walked around the front of the house and went inside. Then they went back out the back of the house into the backyard again and one of the officers actually came back and told them to get inside or they would be arrested. Severe overreach it sounds like, but I wasn't there.

On the university sports thing, the only one locally in Winnipeg that draws any kind of decent crowd on a regular basis is Bison football. But even there the crowds are pretty sparse, generally in the 1 to 5 thousand range in a large stadium, with the lower end being common for bad-weather games and the higher end being common for homecoming or playoffs.

I find it very surprising that Bison hockey doesn't draw better than it does. Most of the players have elite backgrounds (typically major junior or junior A, some even have pro experience) and the hockey is exciting to watch. In terms of female hockey, the Bisons are the highest end program that exists in Manitoba. Production is pretty good, the Bisons bring mascots and in-game hosts, there's music and there is a jumbotron for replays. There's a concession stand serving up food and drinks. In short, it basically has what you would expect at a major junior or pro hockey game. Prices are super reasonable. Yet a Bison hockey game typically has a hundred or so people rattling around an 1,800 seat rink. You would think that friends and family of players plus maybe some interested alumni could get the crowd to at least 500.

USports is missing out on some large revenue for the product it produces. I don’t see any advertisements in Calgary, yet the level of hockey is 2nd best in the city next to the Flames. As said, it’s all former Major Junior and Jr A kids who are now that much bigger, stronger, more mature and over just better hockey players.Evwn for USports to try to advertise and get the student population out to the games, let alone the general public, they could make some serious dollars off of beer sales alone. It should almost be like a degree projector for those graduating with a marketing degree to market USports athletics.

The only time I see university hockey advertised in Calgary is the game when UCalgary plays Mount Royal, and they get over 10,000 in the stands.

^ 10,000 for university hockey in Calgary? That is impressive, I don't think the Bisons have ever pulled numbers like that.

The funny thing is that every year the UM Bisons play an annual exhibition game 2.5 hours down the road in North Dakota and it's a 12,000 person sellout every time. So the Bisons go from playing here to playing in front of 150 people at home...

https://www.theralph.com/assets/img/...8c365f14dc.jpg

They've been reasonably successful with the Carleton-UOttawa Capital Hoops Classic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Hoops_Classic

Aside from this, both teams draw flies (like 150 people) to their other home games.

Even Carleton which has generally been a powerhouse basketball program for ages, and measures up well to some pretty good NCAA colleges when they play them in exhibition games.

I wonder if a main reason USports has failed to take off in any meaningful way is that, with exception of a handful of games like the Panda Bowl, there simply isn't a culture of students/alumni travelling with their teams in any meaningful amount? Thinking back to my own experience at USask, you'd be hard pressed to identify any supporters from a visiting school. Having that presence helps games feel more high stakes and helps people feel more invested. No real easy solution to it, either; not sure any amount of marketing would convince UBC students to come to Saskatoon for a game, or vice versa.

In my experience, almost no alumni attend the Panda Game. It's not that type of atmosphere.

The crowd in the stadium is 99% comprised of current, young students.