The Great Canadian Sports Attendance, Marketing and TV Ratings Thread - Page 131

thurmas · #**2601** Posted **Aug 19, 2020, 1:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

@michaelgrange

Game 1 vs. Nets was the most-watched @Raptors first-round game ever on @Sportsnet and drew 34% more viewers than Game 1 vs. Orlando last year. Average audience of 1.05 million and reached 2.5-million Canadians overall. Canada loves them some 'bubble' Raps, clearly.

Not surprising with the Leafs quick exit from the playoffs, the Raptors being a very good team and defending champs and the Blue Jays playing like crap and CFL cancelled this year. What I do find anecdotally interesting is the amount of young families in Winnipeg where I live, now so many homes have basketball nets up and so many more kids play basketball than a few years ago and in that same time span I rarely if ever now see kids playing street hokey anymore. It could be a blip like in the early 90's when baseball was huge in Canada from the Jays being back to back world champs and then it died off as the decade progressed and the Expos moved to D.C. or it could be a thing that sticks around for some time who knows at this point.

JHikka · #**2602** Posted **Aug 24, 2020, 10:29 PM**

Via Tom Mayenknecht:

150 pts &100 off the bench are not the only impressive numbers from last night’s @Raptors series-clincher over @BrooklynNets. Game 4 was most-watched 1st-round NBA playoff game ever in Canada, with 1.3M average national audience. Up 67% over last year. Aggregate = 3.2M Canadians.

https://twitter.com/TheSportMarket/s...033798144?s=19

--------

How is Canadian Soccer doing on TV (CBC Aug 15 and TSN on Aug18,21 )? Here are some numbers for. @CanPl vs. @MLS based on AMA (Average Minute Audience 2+).

York9-AtleticO (not live): 64,000;
HFX-Pacific: 86,000
TFC-Whitecaps#1: 95,800
TFC-Whitec.#2: 88,100.

https://twitter.com/KRunitedMedia/st...064127488?s=20

thurmas · #**2603** Posted **Aug 24, 2020, 11:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

Via Tom Mayenknecht:

150 pts &100 off the bench are not the only impressive numbers from last night’s @Raptors series-clincher over @BrooklynNets. Game 4 was most-watched 1st-round NBA playoff game ever in Canada, with 1.3M average national audience. Up 67% over last year. Aggregate = 3.2M Canadians.

https://twitter.com/TheSportMarket/s...033798144?s=19

--------

How is Canadian Soccer doing on TV (CBC Aug 15 and TSN on Aug18,21 )? Here are some numbers for. @CanPl vs. @MLS based on AMA (Average Minute Audience 2+).

York9-AtleticO (not live): 64,000;
HFX-Pacific: 86,000
TFC-Whitecaps#1: 95,800
TFC-Whitec.#2: 88,100.

https://twitter.com/KRunitedMedia/st...064127488?s=20

Interesting as NBA playoff ratings in the U.S. are down 30% this year. Raptors success and Leafs continued lack of success seems to accelerate the decline of Hockey popularity in the GTA.

TorontoDrew · #**2604** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:21 AM**

GTA millenials and younger are NBA fans over NHL. MLB was making here but then we lost all of our fun and cool players. I remember 5 years ago so many little kids dressing like Bautista for Halloween.

elly63 · #**2605** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thurmas

Interesting as NBA playoff ratings in the U.S. are down 30% this year. Raptors success and Leafs continued lack of success seems to accelerate the decline of Hockey popularity in the GTA.

I haven't looked at any statistical evidence to confirm but I'm seeing lots and lots of video headlines about the NBA crashing and burning. They may be losing middle America, so the Raptors may be the kings of a dying kingdom (not helped by the radicalization of ESPN). People want to watch sports to get away from that.

Acajack · #**2606** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

I haven't looked at any statistical evidence to confirm but I'm seeing lots and lots of video headlines about the NBA crashing and burning. They are losing middle America, so the Raptors may be the kings of a dying kingdom (not helped by the radicalization of ESPN). People want to watch sports to get away from that.

Any examples of the radicalization of ESPN?

elly63 · #**2607** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

York9-AtleticO (not live): 64,000;
HFX-Pacific: 86,000
TFC-Whitecaps#1: 95,800
TFC-Whitec.#2: 88,100.

Is it just me, or is that really shouting something. TFC vs the other Canadian teams used to be a good draw

elly63 · #**2608** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Any examples of the radicalization of ESPN?

How a Weakened ESPN Became Consumed by Politics
Wall Street Journal May 24, 2018

ESPN has tried to focus more on sports, but that changed with George Floyd
Ben Strauss Washington Post June 6, 2020

Acajack · #**2609** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

Is it just me, or is that really shouting something. TFC vs the other Canadian teams used to be a good draw

Not that I recall.

TFC has always struggled to get good TV ratings and you might remember that their fans on here would say that it's because their audience is so tech-savvy that they all stream the games - in (allegedly) hugely disproportionate shares compared to any other team.

But in terms of eyeballs in front of TV screens, Vancouver has more viewers than Toronto (certainly relative to the size of the market), and of course Montreal does as well.

Acajack · #**2610** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 12:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

How a Weakened ESPN Became Consumed by Politics
Wall Street Journal May 24, 2018

ESPN has tried to focus more on sports, but that changed with George Floyd
Ben Strauss Washington Post June 6, 2020

Thanks.

elly63 · #**2611** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not that I recall.

TFC has always struggled to get good TV ratings and you might remember that their fans on here would say that it's because their audience is so tech-savvy that they all stream the games - in (allegedly) hugely disproportionate shares compared to any other team.

But in terms of eyeballs in front of TV screens, Vancouver has more viewers than Toronto (certainly relative to the size of the market), and of course Montreal does as well.

I guess what I meant by good draw was not so much the rating itself but the rating vs even worse ratings vs US teams. I seem to recall ratings were better in the early days on CBC and the Caps always outrated TFC, the rating really tanked when they went to TSN. One season TFC had 38k and TSN was talking about cancelling the contract. I think during the championship season they got to a high of 98k (season average) which is still pretty abysmal.

They used to publish the weekly sports ratings and stop at 100k. TFC rarely made the list, Vancouver would be near the bottom but what intrigues me is the proximity of CPL to the TFC ratings. What does that say?

thurmas · #**2612** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:01 AM**

Anyone know if boxing is back on in Montreal these days or is it just the TopRank and PBC fights on ESPN and FOX out of the U.S. still?

Acajack · #**2613** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thurmas

Anyone know if boxing is back on in Montreal these days or is it just the TopRank and PBC fights on ESPN and FOX out of the U.S. still?

They are all still shut down. I don't follow boxing but I did see Yvon Michel of GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel) on the news recently complaining about it. His protégés are fighting in the U.S.

Acajack · #**2614** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

I guess what I meant by good draw was not so much the rating itself but the rating vs even worse ratings vs US teams. I seem to recall ratings were better in the early days on CBC and the Caps always outrated TFC, the rating really tanked when they went to TSN. One season TFC had 38k and TSN was talking about cancelling the contract. I think during the championship season they got to a high of 98k (season average) which is still pretty abysmal.

They used to publish the weekly sports ratings and stop at 100k. TFC rarely made the list, Vancouver would be near the bottom but what intrigues me is the proximity of CPL to the TFC ratings. What does that say?

I believe the Whitecaps are generally in the 75-100k range, and TFC are below that.

L'Impact are generally in the 175-200k range.

All of this pre-COVID of course.

thurmas · #**2615** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:10 AM**

Yeah I am a big boxing fan I love how Montreal respects the sweet science and is such a great fight town. GGG and Lomachenko are my favorite fighters these days.

Acajack · #**2616** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thurmas

Yeah I am a big boxing fan I love how Montreal respects the sweet science and is such a great fight town. GGG and Lomachenko are my favorite fighters these days.

I'd wager Quebec is one of the rare places in North America these days where there is an appreciable amount of water cooler talk about boxing.

It's not ubiquitous by any stretch, but I hear it at the office, at kids' activities when dads are hanging out, etc.

thurmas · #**2617** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'd wager Quebec is one of the rare places in North America these days where there is an appreciable amount of water cooler talk about boxing.

It's not ubiquitous by any stretch, but I hear it at the office, at kids' activities when dads are hanging out, etc.

It is big in Cali with the huge Latino population and New York with the rich boxing history and large Latino population as well. Boxing outside North America is probably at one of its healthiest states it has been in in many many years. In the UK, Germany and especially Russia and the former Warsaw pact countries boxing is huge where they have been able to sell out fights at Wembley Stadium in London and we all know in the Philippines how big the sport is there due to Pacquiao being almost a God there.

elly63 · #**2618** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 1:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thurmas

It is big in Cali with the huge Latino population

This Maritimer made a career out of beating up Mexicans in Los Angeles. And he did it with an unknown (to him) debilitating illness. I was able to download the doc for my collection but don't see it on the web now. Any howser the trailer is linked.

BTW the voices on this trailer are the actual ring announcers and TV commentators, they aren't dubbed script for the movie by a narrator.

thurmas · #**2619** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 2:29 AM**

Canada has a very rich history of great fighters that goes unnoticed at times which is sad from Sam Langford maybe one of the greatest fighters of any era, Lennox Lewis, Donovan Razor Ruddock, Donny Lalonde who almost beat Sugar Ray Leonard in his prime for the championship in 1988, Arturo Gatti, Jean Pascal, Tommy Burns, George Chuvalo, the Hilton Brothers.

Mister F · #**2620** Posted **Aug 25, 2020, 2:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not that I recall.

TFC has always struggled to get good TV ratings and you might remember that their fans on here would say that it's because their audience is so tech-savvy that they all stream the games - in (allegedly) hugely disproportionate shares compared to any other team.

But in terms of eyeballs in front of TV screens, Vancouver has more viewers than Toronto (certainly relative to the size of the market), and of course Montreal does as well.

Toronto sports fans can be a fickle bunch. A few years ago it was trendy to be a TFC fan. Now it's the Raptors. Who knows who it'll be in 5 years.