The Euros? About 20k higher at 277,000.
I'm not sure what that says, but it is interesting (although I suspect in both cases about 200,000 of those viewers live within 10 minutes of College Street).
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I'm not sure if this means anything, but
It's interesting to note that Euro 2008 is outdrawing the NBA final on Canadian TV. Even with the perfect match-up, TSN only averaged 258,000 through the first two games of the final (and it will get worse as it moves west It will stay the exact same as it goes west since the games start at the same time!).
The Euros? About 20k higher at 277,000.
I'm not sure what that says, but it is interesting (although I suspect in both cases about 200,000 of those viewers live within 10 minutes of College Street).
The Euros? About 20k higher at 277,000.
I'm not sure what that says, but it is interesting (although I suspect in both cases about 200,000 of those viewers live within 10 minutes of College Street).
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16 comments:
Interesting stuff, but I disagree that the Euro audience is all in Toronto: come to Vancouver some time during a major soccer tournament. There's just as much buzz about it out west, and the parties are just as good. Toronto isn't the only multicultural centre in Canada, you know.
Duane, the NBA games all start at 9 EDT, whether in Boston or L.A., so what difference does the location make? The fact that the football outdraws the NBA in spite of being on during the day is much more noteworthy. My suspicion is that the ratings for Euro would be even better if England were involved.
Another interesting thing: the Cristiano Ronaldo effect. You can bet that's why 333,000 tuned into Portugal-Turkey.
Good point Robert, good point.
Andrew, yes I know that there are other multicultural cities in Canada. I've lived in a couple of them. Although likely guilty of hyperbole, my point stands. The VAST majority of both soccer and basketball's audience is in large urban cetres.
Considering the reaction I've seen to the Euro Cup around this city - and then taking into account yes there are other multicultural centres around the country - not at all surprising that it's the better draw! Apparently the basketball hype from down south ran into some trouble at customs ;)
Hey, I never disagreed on the large urban centres bit: just wanted to state that there's at least a couple of those outside the GTA.
That is impressive that it's that close ... although the hoops is a simulcast. One rule of thumb in such cases is to double the Canadian ratings. I would suspect there's 150,000 viewers at least watching the ABC feed (and I'm not saying that just
I'll also say that Canadians seem to have a real attitude problem toward the MLB and NBA. Perhaps it's a reaction to the NBA being "too black," or it's a reflection of anti-American resentment during the era of Bush and Cheney.
The NFL is exempt since football's easier to follow and hey, Toronto's going to steal Buffalo's team inside of the next decade. (It also won't be pointed out that the NHL is an American-based league.)
Seriously, though, the next person who says, "I like basketball, but I don't like the NBA," should get punched in the head. The NHL can be dry, but at the end of the day, why wouldn't you have some time for the sport at its most elite level if you're such a fan?
Neate,
I LOVE the NBA. I prefer it to the NHL. But, like hockey I'm fatigued by the time the finals roll around.
I have been checking in on this and following it through the media, but I have yet to watch a game from start to finish. I likely will this weekend and I certainly will for the clinchers.
I actually don't think there are a lot of sports fans in Canada. Hockey fans, yes, but not sports fans.
Well, no one's ever watched a NBA game start to finish.
I regularly watch NBA games start to finish, but I'm just a sports obsessive...
Ratings are down because the Spurs aren't in the final...Sorry, had to get that in as the only Spurs fan in Eastern Ontario, Argentine and French embassies excluded.
My take is that the NBA is going to take a bit of time to really grow in what has rightly been pointed out is a hockey drenched (and obsessed) sports market. A lot of teenagers that I work with *love* the NBA and eat and breath the game at all levels.
The new multi-star power that the NBA is promoting is taking hold, and CIS and high school hoops is becoming more and more popular. The GTA with its hoops-only facility and the Raps contribute greatly to the movement too.
When these kids buy their plasmas in time, the next generation will tune in...I think the casual fans of the 90s who were 23 obsessed and have drifted are slowly being replaced with more ball fans.
I think soccer and hoops rise (and this blog's focus for instance on multi-sports) is helping to diversify the fan's tastes.
As for baseball...it's gonna take a deep run by those Jays to fireup that sports' bandwagon...
Judging by Sportscentre/Connected, nobody in Canada cares about anything other than hockey. Songs. And coaches. During the offseason.
@ Mikey:
That comment sorta segues into a
post I wrote a year and a half ago about how TV ratings aren't a good guage for the size of the Raptors fanbase ... but you know how newspaper sports columnists never want to change their approach...
" The Raptors' core audience may be on the web more than it's in control of the TV clicker. Imagine a household with a 40-something dad and a 13-year-old kid who likes the Raptors. On Sunday, when the Raptors-Mavs game was up against a NFL playoff game, who wins an argument over what to watch? The dad's probably going to watch the football and the kid is going to retreat to the computer and follow the game on ESPN.com or Yahoo! Sports while chatting about it with her or his friends over MSN, or go to the skatepark (which you could have done in southern Ontario on Sunday before we got all this snow) and then come home later and talk about it on a blog or message board. That doesn't make it into TV ratings which columnists love to fetishize, especially if they may be looking to justify their bias for or against a particular team or sport."
@ Lloyd The B.:
In my friend Carl Kiiffner's words, the media can be "sickeningly transparent" in its efforts to stretch the hockey talk into the summer months.
But come on, Trevor Linden might have been the Conn Smythe Trophy winner if the Vancouver Canucks had actually won the Stanley Cup that year. By the way, Left Coasters, the rest of Canada is so not tired of hearing about the Canucks' run in 1994, just as they're not tired about hearing abou the 1993 Leafs. You betcha.
Neate,
Your point about the TV ratings not fully presenting interest is a valid one. Even more so now that Sopcast and other p2p TV feed sites are becoming better known.
Soccer also suffers in this way. You simply can't measure how many eyeballs are watching an EPL, or out-of-market NBA game online.
That said, it's a struggle sometimes to get pubs/restaurants to put the Raps on when they are in conflict with the Leafs--even in the GTA. TFC? Umm, no. TFC is still at the point where we have designated bars that we all go to so that it's ensured that the game is given top billing (although I did convince a sympathetic bartender in Cambridge once to put a TFC game up on the big screen, much to the horror of the 50 kids waiting to watch that night's UFC show. Of course said bartender had an accent....)
That's another part of it ... the hockey/football fanbases are probably more likely to be home and in control of the clicker... with the Raptors and TFC, their fanbase involves more new Canadians and younger workers -- i.e., people who work evenings and weekends.
Good analysis Neate...thanks for the clipping.
I should start asking students where they are getting their NBA fix. I suspect your theory is bang on.
Duane...don't get me started about bar choice of TV sports content! It's a national problem.
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