NHL TV ratings are down across the board on average for Rogers

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by polak

Really, you guys think its production value?

I don't think anyone chooses to or not to tune in to their favorite team playing cause of the quality of the intermission BS you don't pay attention to anyways...

Probably has to do with the crappy teams in Canada and the warm weather.

I avoid the snet broadcast if I can. If it wasn't for Ball and Hrudey I would never watch it.

So yeah.

[Lumby Lager]

Rogers went into this thinking that Canadians would put up with anything as long as it was hockey, if they had the only game in town it was win, win, win! They got it wrong! I work night shift and subscribe to GCL so I can watch games at 4 am. Every other teams broadcast is better, I watch 100% of the US feeds because the HD and sound is on a level that Rogers just simply can not match. Lucky that we have Ball and Hrudey, I watch only flames feeds when playing a Canadian opponent because all options are complete crap at that point since the only choice is Rogers.

[Huntingwhale]

Just another thing ruined by the NDP

[East Coast Flame]

Originally Posted by polak

Really, you guys think its production value?

I don't think anyone chooses to or not to tune in to their favorite team playing cause of the quality of the intermission BS you don't pay attention to anyways...

Probably has to do with the crappy teams in Canada and the warm weather.

For me, it has no effect on the Flames games. I am watching those regardless.

It's the other games that make a difference to me. I am much less inclined to tune into a random game than before because of how terrible the overall product is.

[N-E-B]

There was something special about tuning in to CBC to watch the Leafs at 5 and then the Flames/Oilers/Canucks at 8. Didn't matter who was playing, I always watched. Now it just feels like I'm watching two regional broadcasts. I think a lot of that has to do with them using the same set. They should create a new set exclusively for HNIC to give it that unique feel, and only have the old CBC people on. No more John Shannon on HNIC. Oh, and for the love of God stop interviewing all those awkward teenaged still-going-through-puberty minor hockey kids! Cringe worthy television.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

For me, it has no effect on the Flames games. I am watching those regardless.

It's the other games that make a difference to me. I am much less inclined to tune into a random game than before because of how terrible the overall product is.

yup.

That's what I meant earlier... hockey is now a regional sport.

NFL is the only national sport in north america now.

[polak]

I'm guess I'm not as hardcore of hockey fan. I never really cared about the other teams. If I didn't have something else to do or watch then I'd watch other teams, other than that, the Flames is all I watched, regardless of production value.

Sports highlight shows or Sports analysis shows is where the production value counts. I'll usually watch Sportcenter over Sportsnet Central.

[GirlySports]

I don't know how Rogers can see the work Healy has done over the years for CBC and hire him as the 3rd guy on their 1st team. Stuff like that really turns people off.

The others are ok. Hughson I don't like him but most do.
Randorf has turned into a decent PBP guy.
Romanuk was hired for name recognition from the past and was a good idea.
But he can't see anymore. After 2 years, gotta get rid of him.

And I'm a Romanuk fan.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by polak

Really, you guys think its production value?

I don't think anyone chooses to or not to tune in to their favorite team playing cause of the quality of the intermission BS you don't pay attention to anyways...

Probably has to do with the crappy teams in Canada and the warm weather.

Its both, but yeah your first two paragraphs are why whenever I can I'll watch on GCL and not tv

[pylon]

I'm not watching as much anymore, because the game is just too non-physical.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by pylon

I'm not watching as much anymore, because the game is just too non-physical.

But you're still watching all the flames games right??

[1991 Canadian]

I think a part of the decline is cord cutters. A tv package that includes sports channels costs at least $50/month. 153,000 people cut their cable subscriptions in the first 9 months of 2015.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by FBI

But you're still watching all the flames games right??

When I can, but I'm not going out of my way and moving stuff around in my schedule to do it. I used to never miss a game, now I might watch 50% of them.

I like hard hitting hockey. That aspect of the game is just dying out.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

I was watching a game probably 10 years ago, and there was a technical glitch on the broadcast.

There was no PBP, no commentary, just rink noise. This went on for most of a period before they fixed it.

Best hockey broadcast I've ever seen. If it was an option, I'd watch all the games that way (unless I'm there in person).

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

I was watching a game probably 10 years ago, and there was a technical glitch on the broadcast.

There was no PBP, no commentary, just rink noise. This went on for most of a period before they fixed it.

Best hockey broadcast I've ever seen. If it was an option, I'd watch all the games that way (unless I'm there in person).

If you have surround sound, just unplug the centre speaker and you get this for every game.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by pylon

When I can, but I'm not going out of my way and moving stuff around in my schedule to do it. I used to never miss a game, now I might watch 50% of them.

I like hard hitting hockey. That aspect of the game is just dying out.

Bummer. Well ferland and bouma still try hard in that category.

[memphusk]

Originally Posted by pylon

When I can, but I'm not going out of my way and moving stuff around in my schedule to do it. I used to never miss a game, now I might watch 50% of them.

I like hard hitting hockey. That aspect of the game is just dying out.

Isn't that the truth. The game is getting so soft.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/rogers-early-season-tv-ratings-down-sharply-for-nhl-maple-leafs/article27702912/

Now I want the league to prosper so this isn't exactly great news but I certainly don't feel bad for Rogers as they brought this upon themselves when they offered that ridiculous deal to the NHL. I'm sure the success of the Blue Jays have played a role in the lower Toronto ratings although they are down pretty significantly. The fact that all the western teams have been pretty bad probably doesn't help as well but these numbers are pretty alarming.

The numbers do not lie as the ratings are down, however, the article is written by David Shoalts and he writes for a newspaper owned by Bell which is a bitter rival of Rogers. Someone on Calgarypuck posted this fact about a month ago in another thread. He only mentions on how the ratings have decreased even though there have been some increases. I will give Shoalts credit in that he mentions TSN's ratings are also down.

Here is a fairer article on the same subject from Chris Zelkovich.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/rogers-still-struggling-to-get-tv-ratings-up-for-nhl-221517546.html#more-id

From Rogers Media release, which is exactly the opposite of Shoalts article.
http://media.sportsnet.ca/2015/12/sportsnet-delivers-double-digit-television-and-digital-audience-growth-in-november/

In the release, "the average audience for Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey is 833,000, up 19% in comparison to last season."

[Maritime Q-Scout]

In today's day and age, do we really need regional restrictions?

I didn't buy GCL, mostly because about half the Flames games are on national TV anyway. However, because I'm in the habit of not watching every Flames game, when they are on, I'll miss games and not think twice about it, as I didn't see the last one anyway.

If all the games were broadcast (which they basically are, and I'd get if I bought GCL or Centre Ice) then I'd watch pretty much every game.


That said, I agree that every game feels like a regional game. What's sad is that regional games have a negative connotation to them when really they should be better than the national games as the regional ones should be geared specifically to the regional (ie: Flames context geared for Calgary) whereas nationally it would be more general (ie: some info about both teams and more analysis on the game itself rather than the teams).

Regional broadcasts should have their own "quirks" if you will, where the broadcast teams do segments that they enjoy or are their own ideas rather than cookie cut every one.

For example, the local junior team's pbp interviews media from around the Maritimes, talks about "this day in history", and will interview pbp guys from across the CHL to give perspective from the OHL and WHL. Other teams aren't doing this but our guy is. Why can't the Flames regional broadcast have different interviews and segments from the Oilers and Canucks? Give the reporters the freedom to do their own stories.

[browna]

Originally Posted by polak

Really, you guys think its production value?

I don't think anyone chooses to or not to tune in to their favorite team playing cause of the quality of the intermission BS you don't pay attention to anyways...

Probably has to do with the crappy teams in Canada and the warm weather.

Add the Blue Jays in there for a few weeks as well, the poor Canadian teams start, and online numbers.

Intermission pieces (SNet, TSN, HNIC) are and have always been terrible the last 5+ years, trying to get all the talking heads to give their 25 seconds of hyped up analysis, all trying to sound more important and knowledgeable than the others.

I've said before, I really enjoy the current Snet post HNIC game, where that forced analysis doesn't exist as the time restriction doesn't exist, so Kypreos and Hrudey expand on some old stories and casual conversation, and Friedman adds intelligent conversation.

I tune in to watch the Flames. Intermissions are for doing other things.

Doesn't Snet have a bunch more choices? Back with HNIC, there was one, the odd time, maybe two games to split the country for the early game. Now, there's always at least 2, if not 3 early games that split the country. So more people were forced to watch less games. Shoalts is mainly just referencing the Leafs game numbers and ignoring the other games.

And, just a reminder, this is another media drive by, by disgruntled former Snet employee, who now works for a Bell Media competitor, in Shoalts.