BBM ratings for this weekend sports

[calgaryrocks]

It's hockey's turn at the top of the sports ratings again

Now that the CFL playoffs are out of the way, hockey has reclaimed its rightful place as the top audience draw in this country.
While the strength of hockey ratings is seldom a surprise, Friday night did provide one. CBC's coverage of one of the Montreal Canadiens' frequent celebrations of their history drew 1.2 million viewers -- more than the game that followed it.
Maybe it was Viggo Mortensen who kept viewers glued to their seats.
The other shocker was that the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Jimmy ``The Greek" Snyder pulled in an average of 327,000 viewers Saturday night on TSN. That was 124,000 more than the Raptors game that followed managed to attract.
Here are the most-watched sports broadcasts on English-language television for the past weekend, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings.
1. NHL, 5pm MT: Maple Leafs at Bruins, Saturday, CBC: 1,453,000
2. NHL, 5pm MT:Montreal Canadiens centennial ceremony, Friday, CBC: 1,203,000
3. NHL, 6pm MT:Bruins at Canadiens, Friday, CBC: 1,101,000
4. NHL, 8pm MT:Flames at Sharks, Saturday, CBC: 810,000
5. NFL, 2pm MT:Late games, Sunday, Citytv: 633,000
6. NFL, 11 am MT:Early games, Sunday, CTV: 615,000
7. NFL, 6pm MT:Vikings at Cardinals, Sunday, TSN: 539,000*
8. Curling, Roar of the Rings, Sunday, TSN: 524,000
9. NHL, 4:30 MT:Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 523,000
10. NFL, Sunday night pre-game, Sunday, TSN: 457,000*
11. Curling, Road of the Rings, Sunday, TSN2: 333,000
12. Documentary, ESPN 30 for 30 (Jimmy the Greek), Saturday, TSN: 327,000
13. NBA, Raptors at Wizards, Friday, TSN: 219,000
14. NFL, 2pm MT: Late games, Sunday, Sportsnet: 217,000
15. Speed skating, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 213,000
16. NBA, Raptors at Bulls, Saturday, TSN: 203,000
* NBC viewers not calculated
Here's another amazing fact about the Grey Cup: It was the most-watched television show in the country last week and that applied in the Toronto-Hamilton region, where it attracted 875,000 viewers. That was almost double the number who watched last Wednesday's Montreal-Toronto hockey game in this area (454,000 of the 1.4 million who tuned into TSN's coverage.)

[calgaryrocks]

Curling sweeps weekend ratings

While it's a given which sport will draw the greatest number of Canadian eyeballs at the Vancouver Olympics -- that's hockey, if you just arrived from Zimbabwe -- there is equally no doubt about which sports is going to be a close second.
That's curling, which produced awesome ratings for last week's Olympic trials. Sunday's men's final, for example, hit 1.2 million even though the game wasn't exactly a cliff-hanger. TSN calls it a record and even though just about everything is a record under the new ratings system, the audience numbers were impressive.
When curling pre-game shows can attract more than 400,000 viewers, you know you've got something. TSN got an extra benefit from its curling coverage: SportsCentre .
Here are the top-rated weekend sports shows in English Canada, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings: SportsCentre drew 381,000 viewers on the heels of Saturday's women's final.
1. NHL,5pm MT: Caps-Leafs/Canes-Sens/Thrashers-Habs, Saturday, CBC: 1,758,000
2. Curling, Olympic trials men's final, Sunday, TSN: 1,213,000
3. Curling, Olympic trials men's semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 843,000
4. Curling, Olympic trials women's final, Saturday, TSN: 832,000
5. NHL, 8pm MT: Wild at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 818,000
6. NFL, 11am MT: Early games, Sunday, CTV: 802,000
7. Curling, Olympic trials women's semifinal, Friday, TSN: 729,000
8. NHL, 4:30 MT: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show, Saturday, CBC: 641,000
9. NFL, 2pm MT: Late games, Sunday, Citytv: 585,000
10. NFL, 6pm MT: Eagles at Giants, Sunday, TSN: 566,000*
11. Curling, Olympic trials men's final pre-game show, Sunday, TSN: 415,000
12. Curling, Olympic trials women's final pre-game show, Saturday, TSN: 406,000
13. NFL, NFL Countdown, Sunday, TSN: 291,000
14. Skiing, Men's Super-G, Saturday, CBC: 188,000
15. NFL, 2pm MT: Late games, Sunday, Sportsnet: 169,000
* NBC viewers not calculated


its no wonder i didn't watch much sports on tv this weekend, despite the freezing temperatures...

[calgaryrocks]

Peter Puck and hockey talk pull in the viewers - DEC 22


It's pretty much a given that Canadian sports fans would watch hockey games if they were scheduled at 3 a.m., were shot with a cellphone camera and called by a stutterer with a lisp. But, based on last weekend's TV ratings, they've also developed a penchant for watching people talk about hockey.
Saturday's Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show was the second most-watched sports offering of the weekend, attracting an average of 900,000 viewers. Even if they all tuned in to catch Peter Puck, that's a pretty impressive number for a pre-game show. It outdrew every NFL game shown on the weekend.
On Friday, TSN drew an average of 268,000 viewers for an episode of That's Hockey prior to an NHL doubleheader. If you're comparing, that's more than the number who tuned in to Sunday's Raptors game.
Here are the top weekend sports ratings for English Canada, according to BBM Canada overnight calculations:
1. NHL, 5pm MT: Bruins-Leafs/WIld-Sens/Habs-Islanders, Saturday, CBC: 1,876,000
2. NHL, 4:30 MT: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show, Saturday, CBC: 900,000
3. NHL, 8pm MT: Capitals at Canucks, Friday, TSN: 880,000
4. NHL, 5pm MT: Maple Leafs at Sabres, Friday, TSN: 862,000
5. NFL, 11am MT: Early games, Sunday, CTV: 820,000
6. NFL, Colts at Jaguars, Saturday, Sportsnet: 745,000
7. NHL, 8pm MT: Capitals at Oilers, Saturday, CBC: 729,000
8. NFL, 6pm MT: Vikings at Panthers, Sunday, TSN: 510,000*
9. NFL, 2pm MT: Packers-Steelers/Bengals-Chargers, Sunday, Citytv/Sportsnet: 397,000
10. NFL, That's Hockey, Friday, TSN: 268,000
11. NBA, Hornets at Raptors, Sunday, CBC: 255,000
12. NFL, NFL Countdown, Sunday, TSN: 239,000
13. Skiing, Men's downhill, Saturday, CBC: 217,000
14. Bobsleigh, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 191,000
* NBC viewers not calculated




Hockey is king

[calgaryrocks]

Team Canada selection stops the madness, for now

The announcement of the Team Canada hockey roster at noon Wednesday put an end to approximately 376 consecutive days of media speculation on who might be on the team, who might not be on the team, who should be on the team and whether the team should have whole-wheat or regular toast for breakfast on Day 1.
Now we can begin a month of intense speculation on who should have been on the team, who will play with who and which player is most likely to break his stick first.
Lord help us.
That's not to say there isn't interest. Anytime Canadian hockey players skate for this country, millions drop what they're doing to watch. Take the world junior tournament, for example. An average audience of 2.5 million sat through Team Canada's opener on Boxing Day.
This says a lot about Canadians: We love to see international hockey involving our team and we're sadists. The score was 16-0, folks. And still you watched it all.
While TSN is claiming a record for a preliminary junior worlds game, the fact is that under the new ratings system just about everything is a record. Heck, The Score hit 398,000 for its top 50 plays of the year on Christmas Eve.
But the fact is the Latvia-Canada slaughter topped Hockey Night In Canada's Leafs-Habs offering by more than 500,000 viewers. And it was about half of what the Grey Cup drew. If Canada makes the final, the 5 million who watched the Grey Cup could pale in comparison.
Here are the top sports ratings in English Canada for the past weekend, according to BBM overnight figures:
1. Junior hockey worlds, 1pm MT: Canada vs. Latvia, Saturday, TSN: 2,500,000
2. Junior hockey worlds, 2pm MT: Canada vs. Switzerland, Monday, TSN: 2,088,000
3. NHL, 5pm MT: Canadiens at Maple Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 1,934,000
4. NHL, 8pm MT: Canucks at Oilers, Saturday, CBC: 1,304,000
5. NFL, 6pm MT: Vikings at Bears, Monday, TSN: 1,137,000
6. NHL, 4:30 pm MT: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 848,000
7. NFL, 6pm MT: Chargers at Titans, Friday, Sportsnet: 661,000*
8. NFL, 6pm MT: Cowboys at Redskins, Sunday, TSN: 595,000*
9. Junior hockey worlds, 4pm MT: Slovakia vs. U.S., Saturday, TSN: 339,000
10. NBA, Pistons at Raptors, Sunday, CBC: 295,000
11. Figure skating, Grand Prix final, Saturday, CBC: 281,000
12. NFL, 2pm MT: Broncos-Eagles/Jets-Colts, Sunday, Sportsnet: 270,000*
* Viewers for U.S. channels not calculated.
OTHER STUFF: I don't care what the broadcasters say, there's still something unseemly about watching CTV-Rogers Olympic consortium announcers hogging camera time during the torch relay.

[calgaryrocks]

01/12/2010

Weekend's worst: A tie between Jabbering Joes and CBC's fight promoter

So what, exactly, was the worst thing on sports television last weekend? Okay, not counting Jared pushing submarine sandwiches on CBS, which went from embarrassing to abominable when the panel started asking him about his thoughts on the NFL playoffs. (Well, Dan, I think the Cardinals' chances of going to the Super Bowl are thinner than this new low-cal turkey sub.)
Okay, he didn't say that, but he was thinking it.
At first glance, the worst had to be the pairing of Joe Theismann and Joe Gibbs on NBC's broadcast of the Jets-Bengals game. Whoever dreamed up this pairing should be forced to watch this broadcast about 10 times with his hands tied behind his back. (That's a necessary precaution to prevent the malefactor from tearing out his own eyeballs or piercing his own eardrums with darning needles.)
The Joes talked over officials' announcements, talked over each other and talked over play-by-play man Tom Hammond, whose career no doubt flashed before his eyes as he witnessed the verbal carnage. They probably even talked over the commercials.
But as bad as the Jabbering Joes were, you can always count on Don Cherry to set the bar a little lower every week. Following Saturday's early games on Hockey Fight In Canada, which contained some pretty good goals and plays, Cherry led off with the usual: fisticuffs.
After prolonged video of two guys duking it out, Cherry was so moved you could almost hear a catch in his throat: ``They can really throw `em," he gushed. ``Two good guys, two Canadian guys going at it." Makes you proud to be a Canadian, doesn't it?
After a second fight highlight, Cherry actually found time to show a goal by Zach Parise that made every highlight reel. But because Parise didn't throw a punch while scoring, it wasn't good enough for hockey's Don King.
On the ratings front, it was a great weekend for the National Football League on both sides of the border, even though only one of the wild-card games was a thriller. In fact, that thriller was the most-watched sports event on Canadian TV, even managing to top Hockey Night In Canada.
The Green Bay-Arizona corker drew an average of 1.8 million viewers, slightly more than CBC's early Saturday night game. That doesn't happen very often, to say the least.
Wild-card games took four of the top six spots on the weekend, with none drawing fewer than 1.1 million viewers. Compare that with the Canadian Football League equivalent, the divisional semifinals, which drew 1.55 and 1.36 million viewers.
As always, here are the most-watched sports events in English Canada, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. NFL, Packers at Cardinals, Sunday, CTV: 1,800,000
2. NHL, 5pm MT: Pens-Leafs/Habs-Devils/Panthers-Sens, Saturday, CBC: 1,755,000
3. NHL, 8pm MT: Flames at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,607,000
4. NFL, Ravens at Patriots, Sunday, CTV: 1,260,000
5. NFL, Jets at Bengals, Saturday, CTV: 1,140,000
6. NFL, Eagles at Cowboys, Saturday, CTV: 1,130,000
7. NHL, 4:30pm MT: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 619,000
8. NHL, 5pm MT: Leafs at Sabres, Friday, Sportsnet Ontario: 592,000*
9. Curling, Grand Slam final, Sunday, CBC: 522,000
10. Curling, Grand Slam quarterfinal, Saturday, CBC: 492,000
11. NBA, Raptors at 76ers, Friday, TSN: 448,000
12. NFL, Pre-game show, Saturday, TSN: 300,000**
13. NBA, Celtics at Raptors, Sunday, TSN: 246,000
* Ontario channel only
** NBC viewers not calculated

[calgaryrocks]

Hockey Night without the Leafs just ain't the same for CBC

While stories hit the news from time to time telling us that interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs is dropping faster than, well, the Leafs' playoff chances, the fact is the Blue-and-White still drive ratings no matter how bad they are.
Further proof came Saturday night in one of those rare instances when the Leafs are not the main attraction on Hockey Night In Canada. In fact, this Saturday they weren't even playing. Instead, the nation got the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators -- an all-Canadian matchup featuring one team with deep roots across the country.
It was a pretty good game, too.
The result? The lowest Game 1 rating on CBC this season. It drew 300,000 fewer viewers than the previously ratings dog and drew only 130,000 more than a Detroit-Toronto pre-season game.
It was almost beaten out by the Pittsburgh-Vancouver late game and finished behind three NFL playoff games. Actually, it was four because the 1,040,000 who watched Sunday's Jets-Chargers game included only those who tuned in to TSN. The game was on CBS, too.
For those who long for something other than the Leafs on Saturday night, keep longing. Despite the fact the Leafs are horrible, they still bring in the eyeballs.
Speaking of eyeballs, one team not bringing them in is the Toronto Raptors, who bring up the bottom of the weekend list -- behind bobsleigh in one case.
Here are the top English-Canadian sports ratings over the weekend, according to BBM Canada calculations.
1. NFL, Cowboys at Vikings, Sunday, CTV: 1,640,000
2. NFL, Cardinals at Saints, Saturday, CTV: 1,500,000
3. NFL, Ravens at Colts, Saturday, CTV: 1,200,000
4. NHL, 5pm MT: Senators at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 1,169,000
5. NHL, 8pm MT: Penguins at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,085,000
6. NFL, Jets at Chargers, Sunday, TSN: 1,040,000*
7. NHL, Leafs at Capitals, Friday, TSN: 702,000
8. Figure skating, Canadian championships, men's free, Sunday, CBC: 676,000
9. Figure skating, Canadian championships, original dance/women's free, Saturday, CBC: 514,000
10. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 396,000
10. Curling, Casino Rama final, Sunday, TSN: 396,000
12. Curling, Casino Rama semifinal 2, TSN, 388,000
13. NFL, Saturday pre-game show, CTV: 380,000
14. Figure skating, Canadian championships, dance free, Sunday, CBC: 375,000
15. Figure skating, Canadian championships, pairs free, Saturday, CBC: 338,000
16. NBA, Raptors at Knicks, Friday, TSN2: 215,000
17. Bobsleigh, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 208,000
18. NBA, Mavericks at Raptors, Sunday, CBC: 205,000
* Viewers on CBS not calculated

[calgaryrocks]

And this week's ratings winners: the NFL and, no kidding, bowling

You kind of expected that the NFL conference finals would draw some pretty big audiences, especially considering how the late game turned out. Overtime, even one in which a coin toss tends to decide the winner, is a pretty big attraction.
What you don't expect is that bowling would score a top-10 finish.
On the former, CTV scored audiences of more than 2 million for both NFL finals (2.6 and 2.3). For those keeping score, that trumped the CFL's divisional finals, which attracted 2 million for the Western game and 1.35 million for the Eastern blowout. It should be noted that the CFL games were on TSN, which has a smaller reach than CTV.
On the latter, huh? How did bowling draw a bigger audience on a Sunday afternoon than the Raptors did on Friday and Sunday nights? The only possible explanation is that people were channel surfing and came across the sight of a woman, Kelly Kulick, making history by beating the guys.
The other is that people found bowling so exciting, they couldn't turn off their sets. Nah, we'll go with the previous theory.
Here are the most-watched sports events in English Canada over the past weekend, according to BBM Canada ratings:
1. NFL, Vikings at Saints, Sunday, CTV: 2,605,000
2. NFL, Jets at Colts, Sunday, CTV: 2,326,000
3. NHL, Leafs at Panthers/Rangers at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 1,451,000
4. NHL, Blackhawks at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,139,000
5. Curling, Grand Slam final, Sunday, CBC: 600,000
6. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show, Saturday, CBC: 498,000
7. Curling, Grand slam quarterfinal, Saturday, CBC: 388,000
8. Bowling, PBA Tournament of Champions, Sunday, TSN: 373,000
9. Tennis, Australian Open, Saturday, TSN: 356,000
10. NFL, NFC pre-game show, Sunday, CTV: 322,000
11. NBA, Raptors at Bucks, Friday, TSN: 267,000
12. NFL, NFL Countdown, Sunday, TSN: 265,000
13. NBA, Lakers at Raptors, Sunday, Score: 256,000
14. Curling, M&M junior men's final, Sunday, TSN: 249,000
15. NHL, Penguins at Flyers, Sunday, TSN2: 193,000*
* Viewers on NBC not calculated


nice for the NFL to not really have to compete with anything in sports on sunday, and they get to be on ctv so people with only 3 channels can watch it


and bowling? really?

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

nice for the NFL to not really have to compete with anything in sports on sunday, and they get to be on ctv so people with only 3 channels can watch it

Yeah! Damn that NFL for being so popular that a major network wants to carry it! Jerks!

EDIT: I'm guessing those ratings don't take into account the people who watched on FOX and CBS?

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah! Damn that NFL for being so popular that a major network wants to carry it! Jerks!

EDIT: I'm guessing those ratings don't take into account the people who watched on FOX and CBS?

LOL, if they were on tsn they would've gotten near the same ratings as the CFL div finals....so how are they more popular?
the NFL gets to be on CTV because they don't have to produce it, they just air it. TSN usually airs content that it produces (such as the CFL).
I mean, hockey doesn't ever appear on CTV, yet it is infinitely more popular in Canada than the NFL.
yep, NFL is popular, they want to maximize the ratings because they pay alot for them, so they put it on CTV, which doesn't have anything that will compete with the NFL anyways. TSN can then show an alternative, essentially capturing two different sports viewers (3 with tsn2). i guess because they don't pay as much for the CFL (because the CFL has less pop culture cache and there was no bidding for the rights when they signed the deal) also, they aren't as focused on getting it out the most people. CFL fans can only watch CFL on TSN (in Canada), so why would they move it to CTV when all the CFL fans already have TSN (somewhat flawed logic by TSN, as just like in the NFL, some fans only tune in for the playoffs/parties)

EDIT: yea you are probably right about FOX and CBS, what channels were games actually on? im suprised competing networks would be showing the games, also somewhat surprised Canadians would choose to watch the games on american channels instead, not sure why people do that

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

LOL, if they were on tsn they would've gotten near the same ratings as the CFL div finals....so how are they more popular?
The NFL gets to be on CTV because they don't have to produce it, they just air it. TSN usually airs content that it produces (such as the CFL).
I mean, hockey doesn't ever appear on CTV, yet it is infinitely more popular in Canada than the NFL.

Hockey doesn't appear on CTV because CBC outbid them a few years back for the exclusive rights to Saturday night hockey games. It doesn't make sense for CTV to broadcast hockey games during the week when they've already paid the money to broadcast American network shows.

If the CFL was popular enough to justify the time slots and production costs, you can bet your ass CTV would be broadcasting it. CTV and TSN are owned by the same company, so the production costs still get paid by the same people.

yep, NFL is popular, they want to maximize the ratings because they pay alot for them, so they put it on CTV, which doesn't have anything that will compete with the NFL anyways. TSN can then show an alternative, essentially capturing two different sports viewers (3 with tsn2). i guess because they don't pay as much for the CFL (because the CFL has less pop culture cache and there was no bidding for the rights when they signed the deal) also, they aren't as focused on getting it out the most people. CFL fans can only watch CFL on TSN (in Canada), so why would they move it to CTV when all the CFL fans already have TSN (somewhat flawed logic by TSN, as just like in the NFL, some fans only tune in for the playoffs/parties)

You're contradicting your previous post. Wouldn't they want to broadcast CFL games to as many people as possible in order to maximize the ratings? What this tells me is that CTV thinks they're already maximizing their viewers on TSN and couldn't get anymore even if they moved the CFL to CTV.

I think these numbers show that the NFL is drawing at least equal, if not better than the CFL. This was my criticism of this ratings system earlier in the year. It doesn't generate an accurate reflection of the numbers due to the fact that many people watch the American feeds during the regular season because they're airing different games than the Canadian feeds. The ratings also don't take into account the folks with Sunday Ticket or the guys who head to the bar to watch games that aren't being broadcast on the Canadian feeds.

EDIT: yea you are probably right about FOX and CBS, what channels were games actually on? im suprised competing networks would be showing the games, also somewhat surprised Canadians would choose to watch the games on american channels instead, not sure why people do that

The AFC Championship game was on CBS and the NFC Championship games was on FOX. I watch the American channels because I don't get sim-subbed and forced to watch the ######ed Canadian commercials. Not that the American commercials are much better, but at least they're not the same ones repeated 50 times a game.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Hockey doesn't appear on CTV because CBC outbid them a few years back for the exclusive rights to Saturday night hockey games. It doesn't make sense for CTV to broadcast hockey games during the week when they've already paid the money to broadcast American network shows.

kind of, cbc has exclusive rights for saturdays, TSN has wednesdays, big deal. wouldn't hockey beat whatever they show on ctv for ratings? this is Canada after all. I understand they want to show the american shows, why is it different all of a sudden on a sunday night for the NFL playoffs? I don't understand this. when you consider roughly 70% of canadians get TSN, and compare the divisional finals for both leagues, if the CFL were shown on CTV it would work out to about equal ratings.

Originally Posted by rubecube

If the CFL was popular enough to justify the time slots and production costs, you can bet your ass CTV would be broadcasting it. CTV and TSN are owned by the same company, so the production costs still get paid by the same people.

what production costs? CTV has no more production cost to show an NFL game than regular simsubbed shows from the states. with the CFL they would have to hire people to produce it (dunnigan etc) and have the cameras etc for CTV. but CTV doesn't do sports, thus why the CFL is on TSN, which as you know is CTV's sports channel. it wouldn't make sense to transfer all of the CFL people between TSN and CTV back and forth through the season. i guess this is part of the reason hockey stays on TSN, even in the NHL playoffs. they produce it. I understand the costs still get paid by the same company, but it makes so much more sense to use the sports people/equipment/capabilities you already have (I'm sure it saves money).
thing is that if it was on CTV the CFL would likely get the same ratings, AND they (CTV/TSN) pay less for the rights than for the NFL games. financially if they produced the NFL games (ie thier own cameras, commentators, crew) they would keep it on TSN. but they need to pay more money for the rights (you are correct on that). why? again your right, a more valuable product...wait, the CFL also committed to only TSN, there was no bidding for the CFL rights. TSN could choose a low amount and still get the rights. (bad move CFL)
compare that to the NFL, CTV/TSN, global, and sportsnet all got to bid for the rights, and often networks bid more than its worth just to keep another network from having it, plus the NFL is a self-marketing machine, it sells itself, and is popular with people because of the gambling/hype/pools/parties etc, so alot more potential for marketers to buy ads for.

Originally Posted by rubecube

You're contradicting your previous post. Wouldn't they want to broadcast CFL games to as many people as possible in order to maximize the ratings? What this tells me is that CTV thinks they're already maximizing their viewers on TSN and couldn't get anymore even if they moved the CFL to CTV.

Maybe I am, I'm just trying to think of reasons why it is the way it is. Maybe they do think they have maximized the ratings, but I doubt that. I know CFL fans that have stopped watching because they don't have TSN/cable (I know, stuck in the past). I guess it goes back to producing it, It fits better to produce it on thier sports channel. even the NFL spends the reg season on TSN, then jumps over for the playoffs (I think this is the case, correct me if i'm wrong)

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think these numbers show that the NFL is drawing at least equal, if not better than the CFL. This was my criticism of this ratings system earlier in the year. It doesn't generate an accurate reflection of the numbers due to the fact that many people watch the American feeds during the regular season because they're airing different games than the Canadian feeds. The ratings also don't take into account the folks with Sunday Ticket or the guys who head to the bar to watch games that aren't being broadcast on the Canadian feeds.

yep, that’s true rube, it would me great to see those numbers. One things I will note, is that a lot of CFL fans will also watch the NFL, so they build the ratings for both up (great) but for the CFL games the NFL-only fans don't watch. So its possible that the entire audience that watched the CFL division finals watched the NFL division/conference finals, but then the NFL-only fans watched only the NFL games (there are alot of NFL only fans, but many CFL fans watch NFL when the CFL is over, the football fix)

Originally Posted by rubecube

The AFC Championship game was on CBS and the NFC Championship games was on FOX. I watch the American channels because I don't get sim-subbed and forced to watch the ######ed Canadian commercials. Not that the American commercials are much better, but at least they're not the same ones repeated 50 times a game.

fair enough, very hard to estimate how many do this, i agree

[calgaryrocks]

Hockey Day produces big numbers for CBC

While the new television ratings system is making everything look better, rendering comparisons to previous audience numbers irrelevant, the folks at CBC have to be pretty happy with the number of viewers they pulled in for Hockey Day In Canada.
The non-game segments did pretty well, though who knows how many people started watching at noon because they thought CBC was airing Shakespeare. On the other hand, how many were scared off by the sight of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean reciting the bard's best lines?
The games did even better, with all three topping a million and the prime-time match between the Canucks and Leafs drew more than 2 million viewers. Even the pre-game show almost hit the million mark.
Leaf and Flames lovers also helped TSN score big-time. Sunday's trade with Calgary produced the busiest day ever at TSN's website, if you don't count the insanity of NHL trade deadline day. The website recorded more than 800,000 views on Sunday.
Here are the top weekend sports ratings in English Canada, as assembled by BBM Research Canada:
1. NHL, Canucks at Maple Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 2,173,000
2. NHL, Oilers at Flames, Saturday, CBC: 1,036,000
3. NHL, Canadiens at Senators, Saturday, CBC: 1,032,000
4. Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show, Saturday, CBC: 948,000
5. NHL, Maple Leafs at Devils, Friday, TSN: 774,000
6. Curling, Tournament of Hearts (afternoon), Sunday, TSN: 694,000
7. Curling, Tournament of Hearts (evening), Sunday, TSN: 584,000
8. Hockey, Hockey Day In Canada , Saturday, CBC: 464,000
9. Curling, Tournament of Hearts (morning), Sunday, TSN: 438,000
10. Figure skating, Canadian championships gala, Sunday, CBC: 309,000
11. Hockey, Hockey Day In Canada , Saturday, CBC: 283,000
12. TSN The Reporters, Sunday, TSN: 259,000
13. Tennis, Australian Open men's final, Sunday, TSN: 246,000
14. Tennis, Australian Open women's final, Saturday, TSN: 239,000
15. NFL, Pro Bowl, Sunday, TSN2: 230,000
OTHER STUFF: TSN received good news Tuesday when the CRTC approved its proposal for a licence change. While the details are too boring complicated to get into, the changes mean TSN2 is no longer restricted to 10 per cent live sports. That means fewer reruns and more games. ... Speed skating legend Catriona Le May Doan has signed on with the CTV-Rogers Olympic consortium to do the 2012 London Games as well as this month's Vancouver Olympics. She'll be sharing the spotlight with Brian Williams and Lloyd Robertson during the opening ceremony on Feb. 12.

[calgaryrocks]

Super ratings show strength of Grey Cup and World juniors, too

Not surprisingly, the Super Bowl scored big in the ratings Sunday and has become the new high-water mark for Canadian television. It was a game filled with great storylines and featured the two most attractive teams in the NFL.
An average of just over 6 million people watched the game on CTV and another 650,000 saw it on French-language RDS. That's small potatoes compared with the 106 million who watched the game in the U.S., but the Canadian total of 6.7 million is pretty impressive.
But in most respects, the size of that audience highlighted how successful the World junior hockey final and Grey Cup were. The junior final scored 5.3 million on TSN while the Grey Cup audience was 5.1 million. While those numbers are lower than the Super Bowl, remember that they were on TSN and it has a smaller reach than CTV.
In addition, neither of those events benefited from continent-wide publicity. The last I checked, there were no Grey Cup promos or world junior ads on NBC or CBS. The fact that the total Grey Cup audience, including RDS, was 6.1 million is something the league can use against those who say interest in the game is dying.
The only down side to the numbers was what happened in the Toronto-Hamilton region. The Super Bowl drew an average of 2 million viewers there. The Grey Cup audience in that coveted region was 900,000.
That's why reviving the Toronto Argonauts is so essential to the CFL.
But the Super Bowl wasn't the only thing Canadians watched on the weekend. Women's curling scored big numbers for TSN and the NHL's 29th best team drew big numbers for both CBC and Rogers Sportsnet.
Here are the top weekend sports ratings on English-Canadian television, as complied by BBM Canada:
1. NFL, 4:30pm MT: Super Bowl, Sunday, TSN: 6,025,000
2. NHL, 5pm MT:Senators at Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 2,080,000
3. Curling, Tournament of Hearts final, Sunday, TSN: 1,200,000
4. NHL, 5pm MT: Leafs at Devils, Friday, Sportsnet Ontario: 834,000*
5. Curling, Tournament of Hearts semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 800,000
6. Curling, Tournament of Hearts Page playoff, Friday, TSN: 737,000
7. NHL, 5pm MT: Penguins at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 718,000
8. NHL, 1pm MT: Bruins at Canadiens, Sunday, CBC: 646,000
9. NHL, 8pm MT: Oilers at Avalanche, Saturday, CBC: 632,000
10. NFL, 4pm MT: Super Bowl pre-game, Sunday, CTV: 573,000
11. Skiing, World Cup cross-country, Saturday, CBC: 437,000
12. Curling, Tournament of Hearts tie-breaker, Friday, TSN: 393,000
13. Golf, PGA Northern Trust Open, Sunday, TSN: 248,000
* Ontario only
Flames and Lightning didn't even make the list, I bet lots of people didn't want to watch it in SD or didn't realize it was on the local channel, as the HD channel either showed the montreal game or the Toronto game

[calgaryrocks]

dont think i will post updates during the olympics, but the site where i get the weekend ratings the blogger is updating everyday, so go to http://thestar.blogs.com/sportsmedia/2010/02/index.html
for your daily updates

just a note, 6.1 million Canadians watched Canada vs Norway

[calgaryrocks]

ok its update time, ratings for first weekend of march as follows.

No Olympic hangover for curling

When American athletes land in Canada, they inevitably ask the same questions: Who eats ketchup-flavoured potato chips and why is there so much curling on TV?
The first answer will forever remain a mystery, but a look at the weekend ratings might answer the latter question. Even in the post-Olympic funk, with Canada's gold medal champions sitting out, the Brier even managed to beat out Hockey Night In Canada's late game. Sure, it was a 10 p.m. start in the East, but still the Canadiens and Kings aren't exactly bottom feeders.
What's more amazing is that curling drew an average audience of 846,000 on Sunday night -- up against the Oscars. Then again, the curlers put on a better show with fewer lame jokes and no bad dance routines.
While curling is building on its success from Vancouver, the NHL isn't in the U.S. Sunday's Detroit-Chicago game, as entertaining a game as the NHL serves up these days, score a 1.2 rating. That's better than the 1.0 rating NBC recorded a year ago, but down from the NHL's last pre-Olympic game on NBC.
None of those are great numbers, though the weekend NCAA basketball games didn't produce any better for CBS.
1. NHL, Maple Leafs at Senators, Saturday, CBC: 1,812,000
2. Curling, Brier evening draw, Sunday, TSN: 846,000
3. NHL, Canadiens at Kings, Saturday, CBC: 793,000
4. Curling, afternoon draw, Saturday, TSN: 773,000
5. Curling, evening draw, Saturday, TSN: 705,000
6. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show, Saturday, CBC: 695,000
7. Curling, morning draw, Sunday, TSN: 599,000
8. Curling, afternoon draw, Sunday, TSN: 597,000
9. NHL, Maple Leafs at Flyers, Sunday, Sportsnet: 478,000*
10. PGA, Honda Classic, Sunday, Global: 325,000
11. NBA, Raptors at Knicks, Friday, TSN: 322,000
12. NASCAR, Kobalt 500, Sunday, TSN2: 312,000**
13. NBA, 76ers at Raptors, Sunday, CBC: 218,000
* Ontario only
** Viewers on Fox not calculated.



fairly boring weekend, only thing i watched on tv was the flames-wild game

[calgaryrocks]

middle march weekend - 12-14


The Vancouver Effect produces mixed results

The shine from the Vancouver Olympics is having different effects on different sports.
Hockey obviously hasn't suffered in Canada, while things are pretty much (bad) business as usual in the U.S. Saturday's Hockey Night In Canada regional split of the first game drew more than 2 million viewers, proving that Canadians aren't turned off by NHL-style hockey after witnessing the best the sport has to offer in Vancouver.
While you might think the shine would be off the broom two weeks after Canada's medal-winning performances in curling, but the Brier final scored a record audience Sunday night of 1.6 million viewers. That's almost double last year's audience (873,000), though it should be noted that the new ratings system is consistently producing ratings about 20 per cent higher. Still, that's a big increase no matter how you measure it.
The Paralympics are obviously benefitting from the Vancouver afterglow, with the Canada-Sweden sledge hockey game drawing an amazing 390,000 viewers to Rogers Sportsnet.
Sadly, the Vancouver effect hasn't helped all of the events that turned on the country in February. None of the three World Cup skiing events on CBC Saturday afternoon could draw more than 72,000 viewers. And that's a shame.
South of the border, Sunday's Capitals-Blackhawks game drew a 1.0 rating for NBC -- pretty much average. Obviously, the thrill of Vancouver hasn't produced a bump for the NHL there.
Here are the top weekend sports ratings on English-language television, as calculated by BBM Canada:
1. NHL, Bruins-Habs/Oilers-Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 2,168,000
2. Curling, Brier final, Sunday, TSN: 1,600,000
3. NHL, Senators at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,429,000
4. Curling, Page playoff, Friday, TSN: 979,000
5. Curling, Brier semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 973,000
6. Curling, Page playoff, Saturday, TSN: 823,000
7. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 740,000
8. NHL, Flames at Canucks, Sunday, Sportsnet Pacific: 429,000
9. Paralympics, Canada-Sweden sledge hockey, Sunday, Sportsnet: 390,000
10. NHL, Capitals at Blackhawks, Sunday, TSN: 369,000*
11. Golf, CA Championship, Sunday, TSN: 327,000*
12. Golf, CA Championship, Saturday, TSN: 282,000*
13. Auto racing, F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday, TSN: 249,000
14. NBA, Raptors at Warriors, Saturday, TSN: 140,000
15. Track, World indoor, Saturday, CBC: 133,000
16. Hockey, Windsor at London, Friday, Sportsnet Ontario: 100,000**
* Viewers on U.S. channels not calculated
** Ontario only
OTHER STUFF: TSN2 took a beating in the Windsor Star for its production of the women's CIS basketball final Sunday. Columnist Bob Duff knocked the channel for shoddy production and mispronunciation of players' names. ``Come on TSN -- if you want to call yourself Canada’s sports leader, then step up your game -- or leave the amateur sports to networks that really care," he wrote. I caught only the last few minutes of the game, but from what I saw Duff has a point. ... The 3-D revolution continues. The Masters will be shot in 3-D this year and will be available to all those who have 3-D television sets and computers. It's a pretty small market at this point, but it is coming. The World Cup of soccer will also be shown in 3-D.

[calgaryrocks]

for weekend of Mar 19-21





Where are all the hoops fans?

On perusing the list of most-watched weekend sports events, the first thing you notice is that the usual suspects -- hockey and curling -- dominate the proceedings. The next thing that jumps out is that there are only two basketball games in the top 20 even though there's an NBA playoff contender here, the much-hyped NCAA tournament and the entertaining but mostly ignored CIS men's tournament.
Friday's Raptors-Blazers game on TSN averaged 187,000 viewers, not a great audience by anyone's definition. The NCAA? No March Madness on Canadian television, that's for sure.
The most-watched NCAA game on The Score and Sun TV (with the latter simulcasting CBS in the GTA) averaged 187,000 Saturday night when Kansas and Northern Iowa played. The Score reports that 62 per cent of all those watching the tournament did so on the Canadian channel, meaning that the most-watched game drew less than 250,000 viewers in Canada.
The positive here is the fact that The Score's audiences are up 28 per cent over last year, though it should be noted that most ratings are up by about 20 per cent thanks to a new ratings system.
Madness? Hardly.
As for the CIS, as good a tournament as it is, Sunday's final attracted an average of 35,000 on TSN2 -- a 40 per cent increase over what The Score drew last year.
Here are the top-rated weekend sports shows on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:
1. NHL, Canadiens at Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 2,116,000
2. NHL, Red Wings at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 1,273,000
3. Curling, Women's world championship, Saturday, TSN: 884,000
4. Curling, Women's world championship, Sunday afternoon, TSN: 773,000
5. Curling, Women's world championship, Sunday evening, TSN: 753,000
6. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 561,000
7. NHL, Red Wings at Oilers, Friday, TSN: 541,000
8. PGA, Traditions Championship final round, Sunday, Global: 369,000
9. UFC, Vera vs. Jones, Sunday, Sportsnet: 336,000
10. NHL, Rangers at Bruins, Sunday, TSN: 317,000*
11. Crashed Ice, Sunday, CBC: 264,000
12. Auto racing, NASCAR Food CIty 500, Sunday, TSN2: 257,000*
13. NHL, Sharks at Flames, Friday, Sportsnet West: 247,000**
14. Auto racing, NASCAR Nationwide, Saturday, TSN: 231,000
15. OHL, Guelph at London, Friday, Sportsnet Ontario: 211,000**
16. NHL, Senators at Stars, Saturday, Sportsnet East, 204,000**
17. Speed skating, World championship, Saturday, CBC: 203,000
18. Hockey, Abbotsford at Toronto Marlboros, Sunday, CBC: 196,000
19. NCAA, Kansas vs. Northern Iowa, Saturday, Score/Sun TV: 187,000*
20. NBA, Blazers at Raptors, Friday, TSN: 187,000
* Viewers on U.S. channel not calculated
** One channel only
OTHER STUFF: Every few years Australian rules football pops up on television screens, a lot like Kirstie Alley, only slimmer. This time, it's TSN2 bringing the wildest and craziest sport on turf to Canadians. TSN2 will have a weekly game during the 21-game Premier league season, starting Friday at 4:30 a.m. Set those PVRs or alarm clocks or you'll miss the season opener between Geelong and Essendon. ... So how is the NHL doing on NBC in the wake of goodwill created by the Vancouver Olympics? Sunday's Rangers-Bruins game scored a 0.7 overnight rating -- a little better than half of what NBC averaged last season.

[worth]

I dunno, I don't get it. I would much rather watch NCAA basketball over pretty much anything on that list. I guess i'm different.

Fantastic to hear AFL is coming to TSN2. I LOVE AFL! Used to get a few games here and there, and I had Setanta Sports at one point and watched all the AFL I could. It was awesome.

So yeah, I guess i'm not the typical Canadian sports viewer. NCAA and AFL for me. I was even watching some cricket from Mumbai last weekend.

[CrusaderPi]

I watched the AFL final last year and it was fantastic. Hopefully I'm up late or early enough to see some this year.

[calgaryrocks]

AFL is great, i got to go to an AFL game in Sydney a few years ago, and it was pretty cool, a crazy game, though the crowd wasn't as boisterous as i expected. I would rather watch that then curling, UFC or nascar. I'm surprised by the NCAA ratings being so low, I'm not into it, but I figured there are enough former-Americans in Canada to boost the ratings