Quote:
Originally Posted by Prometheus
Of course there were. Both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC played that weekend. Here is the full list:
*Toronto FC doesn't ever get enough viewers to register in the Weekly Top 20. For context, three weeks ago TFC attracted 22,000 viewers nationwide. And most of those were from Saskatchewan I believe. |
A good chunk of TFC viewers stream games on MLS Live. I have the full Rogers sports package but only tune into games via the MLS Live app (only $64 flat for a full season), it's a trick I learned from local fans since it's near impossible to watch all the TFC games without subscribing to 3 different sports channels that don't all come with the standard cable plan. You get HD streaming from anywhere on an Android device with repeats and highlights of all the games this year, including live stats detailed news, etc. from all MLS teams. It's fun watching home games with the commentary from the opposing team's pundits
especially when they get thrashed...let's not talk about the last 2 games however...
One of the reasons that MLS fans watch games through the app/online rather than the networks is due to the random way they're broadcast with unusual hours/days and on different channels. One week it will be on TSN during a weekday early afternoon, then the weekend on TSN2 at around noon, then 4 days later then next game is on a weekday late night on a third channel. You have to be pretty hardcore at following schedules, with subscriptions to 3 different cable channels just to follow your home team!
The bottom line is that with a weak TV contract, minimal promotion on the networks and a very new product, TFC are able to sell out stadiums week after week and sell millions of dollars in merchandise. They would be quite profitable too but for their recent addition of $100 million in player contracts. Once they finish expanding their stadium capacity in a year (the stadium roof will take another year to complete after that), they'll be profitable again. No CFL team comes close to them in terms of fan support to finance a $30 million and growing annual payroll. Once the new TV money kicks in and the salary cap increases (expected to double this year) with an additional designated player slot, you can fully expect the new stadium to sell out requiring a further expansion. This is not the mark of a team or league without massive support.
I went for a walk around town yesterday evening and saw 3 different people with TFC gear and about a half dozen with Blue Jays gear, all within a couple hours. I have yet to see someone wear Argos gear in this city after 20+ years of living here. Please continue to minimize the opinions of Torontonians who insist that there's hardly anyone here who follows or watches the Argos. The Jays, Leafs and TFC are common water cooler talk, the Argos are nowhere to be seen but in these interpretations of media stats from CFL fanboys on this message board...
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