Quote:
Originally Posted by Reaper
I have a weird feeling that this could be a general market test for Southern Saskatchewan in terms of television market. I can't imagine that the Jets are content with their exclusive television market being just Manitoba. Yes, they do share Northwest Ontario with the Leafs and Saskatchewan, NWT, & Nunavut with the Oilers & Flames but having such a small exclusive market doesn't allow for much protected fan building. It would be easier to grow the Jets fanbase with fewer NHL alternatives in the same market, I think.
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Winnipeg had some odd TV deal way back when in the 80s. Something to do with the production company that didn’t play nice with CBC. Just like the Flames when they still had a TV deal with Mostar, and the Oilers were on TV twice as much as the Flames a few years back in the 2000s.
They were almost never on HNIC and even more rarely at home.
Now they’re with TSN, whereas every other Canadian team west of there is in Sportsnet. Now, Jets may want Sask and it’s viewers to convert to TSN regionally, but not sure if Bell really cares about dominating that market.
I don’t see this as a fan development thing by either team trying to convert. Allegiance to the Oilers or Flames for the better part of last 20 years after the Jets left has a whole generation having had to choose between one or the other... never mind front running Sask fans who had already picked the Flames or Oilers in the 80s while Winnipeg was fodder for the most part...and any benefit of the doubt to choose a Winnipeg team for Sask fans is gone, is as much a hated rival in football.