CFL 2023 season

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Zoinks!

I just got this. :

[craner]

^Yeah - I just noticed that today too
Very well done by HIMS.

[ScreamingViking]

The 18 game schedule began in 1986. The Ticats were basically a 0.500 team (they had one tie) and went on to decimate the strong Eskies in the Grey Cup, which they finally won in their third consecutive appearance and 4th in the 1980s to that point.

In my tenure as a fan, aside from 1986 and 1999, the Ticats have had lots of poor-to-middling seasons and in their winning ones have been just good enough to break my heart.

But the monthly ticket payments go on and on...

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Seems that way. He wasn't happy, but I doubt the result would have been any different had he played more. The Als were making the plays they needed to, the Ticats weren't.

Still, you don't say stuff like he did fresh off a tough loss.

Personally I'd rather see the Cats retool and let Powell develop.

Can't believe we didn't try putting him in sooner. The D played pretty well until it got away at the end, but I was shocked they didn't switch to Bo at halftime.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

The 18 game schedule began in 1986. The Ticats were basically a 0.500 team (they had one tie) and went on to decimate the strong Eskies in the Grey Cup, which they finally won in their third consecutive appearance and 4th in the 1980s to that point.

In my tenure as a fan, aside from 1986 and 1999, the Ticats have had lots of poor-to-middling seasons and in their winning ones have been just good enough to break my heart.

But the monthly ticket payments go on and on...

They sure do lol. Hosting these two Grey Cups have kept me on board, and I've already paid for my 2024 tickets, but after that I think I'll drop off of being a STH unless there's a promising rebuild of sorts. Feel like this year was a last-chance, chuck-spaghetti-at-the-wall to get us over the hump.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Firmly cheering for Montreal this week.

[thurmas]

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/07/the-t...auts-ticket-sales-reach-seven-year-high/

The Trews to play East Final as Toronto Argonauts ticket sales reach six-year high

Canadian rock band The Trews will play before and during halftime at the East Final on Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts host the Montreal Alouettes at BMO Field.

Ticket sales for the event have already surpassed 23,000, making this the best-selling CFL game in Toronto since 2017. Attendance for last year’s East Final was 21,331.

The Trews were founded in 1997 and hail from Antigonish, N.S., though they are currently based in Hamilton. The band’s first three albums went gold in Canada with hits Not Ready to Go and Yearning reaching No. 1 on the Canadian rock music charts.

The band also performed the national anthem at the 98th Grey Cup in Edmonton in 2010 and headlined the Grey Cup tailgate party in 2021. They have received six Juno nominations, most recently for Rock Album of the Year in 2019.

Toronto tied the record for the best regular season in CFL history this year with a record of 16-2. Saturday’s game, which is slated for 3:00 p.m. EST, will be the club’s first meaningful game since Sept. 15 when they clinched first place in the East Division.

The Argonauts swept the three-game regular season series against Montreal by a combined score of 97-57. They also prevented the Alouettes from earning a berth in the Grey Cup last year, winning the East Final by a score 34-27.

[thurmas]

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/07/engli...turday-after-games-switched-from-sunday/

The Canadian Football League had a slight dip in ratings for its Saturday semi-final doubleheader.

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie stated at the 109th Grey Cup that the CFL would move from Sundays to Saturdays for the division semi-final and final games. That switch could have helped boost English television ratings for the East Semi-Final but not its West counterpart due to stiff competition.

The Alouettes’ 27-12 win over the Tiger-Cats in La Belle Province, the exact same matchup from the same playoff round last year, had a 10.9 percent increase in average viewers with a notable French number on RDS.

TSN was able to hold 409,900 people for its pre-game show from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET leading into the Stampeders and Lions postseason tilt. Just like in the East, Calgary and B.C. met in the same elimination game as one year prior. The key difference this time around was competition from Hockey Night in Canada.

The Maple Leafs lost to Buffalo 6-4 with 1,451,300 Canadians tuned in, including 521,400 in the 25-54 age demographic. The Canucks’ 2-0 win against Dallas, which drew 910,600 overall and 343,300 in the 25-54 age demo, didn’t start until 10 p.m. ET after the Leos had already clinched moving on to the West Final. The Oilers’ 5-2 loss to Nashville that started at 3 p.m. ET had 333,200 onlookers. Hockey Central Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet posted 522,400 across the network.

From 2009 to 2022, the CFL played all of its postseason games on Sunday. In 2022, the East Semi-Final drew 516,200 watchers, while its West counterpart drew 753,500 for an English-language average of 634,850. Prior to this year, 2008 was the only time the three-down league tried playing its division semi-final and final games on Saturdays.

According to former Toronto Star reporter Chris Zelkovich, the East Semi-Final between Edmonton and Winning brought 610,000 to TSN that year, which was 38 percent less than CBC drew in 2007. Out west, B.C. and Saskatchewan garnered an audience of 862,000, which was 15 percent lower year-over-year.

2023 CFL Semi-Final TV ratings:

Saturday
Hamilton at Montreal — TSN 572,700 and RDS 271,000
Calgary at B.C. — 644,800

Total CFL Semi-Final average: 608,750 (French included: 744,250)

[thurmas]

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/03/cfl-r...increase-over-11-percent-in-2023-on-tsn/

CFL regular season television ratings increase over 11 percent in 2023 on TSN

The Canadian Football League had growth in its television ratings this season, increasing 11.9 percent year-over-year from 2022.

The league’s 81 regular season games drew an average audience of 483,900 on TSN over the course of the 2023 schedule, not including French-language broadcasts from RDS or streaming.

TSN’s highest single-game rating of 975,000 occurred when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visited the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the annual Labour Day Classic. The lowest rating of 200,900 came when the Montreal Alouettes visited the Ottawa Redblacks on September 30.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders had the strongest English-language ratings on a team-by-team basis, followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions, Edmonton Elks, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal Alouettes. When French-language figures are taken into account, the Alouettes place third-best television for TV audience in the CFL.

Last year, the league’s regular season games drew an average audience of 432,300

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by thurmas

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/07/the-t...auts-ticket-sales-reach-seven-year-high/

The Trews to play East Final as Toronto Argonauts ticket sales reach six-year high

Canadian rock band The Trews will play before and during halftime at the East Final on Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts host the Montreal Alouettes at BMO Field.

Ticket sales for the event have already surpassed 23,000, making this the best-selling CFL game in Toronto since 2017. Attendance for last year’s East Final was 21,331.

The Trews were founded in 1997 and hail from Antigonish, N.S., though they are currently based in Hamilton. The band’s first three albums went gold in Canada with hits Not Ready to Go and Yearning reaching No. 1 on the Canadian rock music charts.

The band also performed the national anthem at the 98th Grey Cup in Edmonton in 2010 and headlined the Grey Cup tailgate party in 2021. They have received six Juno nominations, most recently for Rock Album of the Year in 2019.

Toronto tied the record for the best regular season in CFL history this year with a record of 16-2. Saturday’s game, which is slated for 3:00 p.m. EST, will be the club’s first meaningful game since Sept. 15 when they clinched first place in the East Division.

The Argonauts swept the three-game regular season series against Montreal by a combined score of 97-57. They also prevented the Alouettes from earning a berth in the Grey Cup last year, winning the East Final by a score 34-27.

Are The Trews that big a draw so as to drive a surge in ticket sales based on a short performance? I wouldn't think so...

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Are The Trews that big a draw so as to drive a surge in ticket sales based on a short performance? I wouldn't think so...

No I think the Argos 16-2 season, defending a Grey cup from last year and the other major league toronto sport teams having disappointing seasons are helping the Argos have some modest bounce back in fan support this year.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by thurmas

No I think the Argos 16-2 season, defending a Grey cup from last year and the other major league toronto sport teams having disappointing seasons are helping the Argos have some modest bounce back in fan support this year.

Toronto average attendance was last in the league again at only 14,311 but that's up 2,435 from 2022. I've definitely noticed larger crowds and bigger tailgates this year. The 3 year contract Chad Kelly signed is another positive going forward. Attendance and interest in Toronto is still worryingly low but at least it's trending in the right direction.


2023 CFL Average Attendance
​

Winnipeg Blue Bombers---------30,449 (+1,807)
Saskatchewan Roughriders------27,649 (+217)
Edmonton Elks-------------------24,774 (+988)
BC Lions--------------------------23,208 (+2,821)
Hamilton Tiger-Cats--------------22,877 (+613)
Calgary Stampeders--------------21,698 (-1,760)
Ottawa RedBlacks---------------- 18,902 (-1,273)
Montreal Alouettes----------------17,670 (-12)
Toronto Argonauts----------------14,311 (+2,435)

LEAGUE AVERAGE-------------22,393 (+649)



https://stats.cfldb.ca/league/cfl/attendance/2023/

[elly63]

Originally Posted by thurmas

The lowest rating of 200,900 came when the Montreal Alouettes visited the Ottawa Redblacks on September 30.

I have always been doubtful of these Ottawa numbers. Ottawa didn't use to be a metered market before the team came back into the league IIRC

However, despite the Redblacks getting off to a fantastic start as a franchise and having popular players like Burris, Sinopoli and Ellingson, and the Lumberjacks, they have always posted outlier ratings numbers. I continue to believe there is something not right there and even it was a French/English thing they would have decent numbers on RDS.

I can understand the numbers would be low now that they hit the skids but they had a lot of good years and numbers weren't great then either when the stadium was packed.

[UrbanClimate]

Bombers buck Jets trend, aim for fifth straight full house

Winnipeg Sun, November 3, 2023
https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/...-trend-aim-for-fifth-straight-full-house

"We’ve covered the Winnipeg Jets attendance crash at length in this space, but today we’ll turn our attention to the other end of the spectrum. After averaging 28,652 fans last season, the Bombers saw an average 30,449 roll through the gates this year. The Bombers have now pushed their average crowd up by nearly 5,000 over the last two seasons. This season also marked the first time they sold out four games in a row. Can the first-place team in the CFL West fill the place a fifth straight time for the division final on Remembrance Day?"

[elly63]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Toronto average attendance was last in the league again at only 14,311 but that's up 2,435 from 2022. I've definitely noticed larger crowds and bigger tailgates this year. The 3 year contract Chad Kelly signed is another positive going forward. Attendance and interest in Toronto is still worryingly low but at least it's trending in the right direction.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers---------30,449 (+1,807)
Saskatchewan Roughriders------27,649 (+217)
Edmonton Elks-------------------24,774 (+988)
BC Lions--------------------------23,208 (+2,821)
Hamilton Tiger-Cats--------------22,877 (+613)
Calgary Stampeders--------------21,698 (-1,760)
Ottawa RedBlacks---------------- 18,902 (-1,273)
Montreal Alouettes----------------17,670 (-12)
Toronto Argonauts----------------14,311 (+2,435)
LEAGUE AVERAGE-------------22,393 (+649)

There's a lot that can be learned from this. Considering the horrendous recent past the Edmonton number has to be a win. The Lions show that by actually doing some promotion and working at it results will come. The very fact that the Argos are showing growth shows the market isn't dead. a BC like effort with promotion would greater improve numbers. Even with stable ownership I'd like to see the Als showing better. It's a strange market, some games seem to market better than others. I'm not panicked about Ottawa or Calgary that some better results wouldn't cure. Ottawa is also looking at some improved facilities in the future and that should help.

[isaidso]

As a long time football fan, it's been heartening to see the incremental gains in Toronto. The games have been fun, the atmosphere outside the stadium good, and fans seem far more are focused on the team than the level of support. That's a refreshing change.

BMO Field really is a fabulous place for the Argonauts. You get awesome views of Ontario Place and the lake when tailgating, you can see the skyline from the west stands, you're close to the action regardless of seat, and the stadium is small enough that it still has energy with 15,000 in the stands. The game they schedule during the CNE is extra special. You've got a giant fair right next door and 1000s of people who don't know the CFL get exposed to it when they visit the CNE. Those on the gondola can see right into the stadium.

This last season has given me a degree of optimism about the long term prospects for the CFL in Toronto. Hopefully, we can achieve another incremental gain in 2024 and another in 2025. We'll need the growth as BMO Field will undergo an expansion for the 2026 FIFA WC. The last thing the Argonauts need is 15,000 fans in a 45,736 seat stadium (the new capacity in 2026).

[elly63]

Originally Posted by isaidso

The last thing the Argonauts need is 15,000 fans in a 45,736 seat stadium (the new capacity in 2026).

Which I believe is temporary.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by elly63

I'm not panicked about Ottawa or Calgary that some better results wouldn't cure.

Calgary's numbers have trended downwards despite being a historically competitive team. It seems like there's no one cause for the Stamps' woes and therefore no easy fix since CSEG doesn't seem to want to spend significant money on the gameday experience.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

no easy fix since CSEG doesn't seem to want to spend significant money on the gameday experience.

And that seems to be where the "successful" make advances.

Even before having a new stadium with the premium seats and premium bells & whistles, I think Young's gameday improvements helped Hamilton fans come back to watch the Ticats. Could the same work in Calgary? I don't know enough specifics to speculate.

[thurmas]

Argofans fan forum posting i saw this morning that over 26,000 sold for east final. Would be best Argos crowd since 2013 east final.