TV ratings

[argos1873]

The simulcast rules have changed, that will no longer be the case:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1801096/cr...e-of-local-tv/

Ok well that's good news for the CFL, in only that you will probably see NFL games forced to TSN, and then see more comparable Canadian TV numbers between the leagues. There will be no reason for Bellmedia to keep the games on CTV when that rule comes into effect. Although I don't expect it to happen right away.

[argotom]

If a person was a conspiracy theorist, as ludicrous as it might sound it's almost like Bell has made a conscious decision to keep the league "down" on the cable network only in favour of the NFL being mostly on the main network?

[Fumblitis]

If a person was a conspiracy theorist, as ludicrous as it might sound it's almost like Bell has made a conscious decision to keep the league "down" on the cable network only in favour of the NFL being mostly on the main network?

Absolutely...if anyone thinks that Bell doesn't view the NFL as bread and butter and the CFL as pocket change is delusional. If push came to shove and Bell had to drop one of them for some reason, it wouldn't be the NFL.

[OV Argo]

Absolutely...if anyone thinks that Bell doesn't view the NFL as bread and butter and the CFL as pocket change is delusional. If push came to shove and Bell had to drop one of them for some reason, it wouldn't be the NFL.

Yep; and the CFL has faced an uphill battle against all the wannabes in the media up here for a long time; sad & pathetic that the storied, historic football league (CANADIAN football; i.e. not American football) gets treated like a 2nd class citizen in it's own country. Bell & Rogers however are, after all, "world class" / "major league" leaders in their country; as are all the hype sucking, all-american fawning sports "commentators" up here who like to dis or mock the CFL - provide your own name of said @rseholes = so many examples.

[Fumblitis]

Yep; and the CFL has faced an uphill battle against all the wannabes in the media up here for a long time; sad & pathetic that the storied, historic football league (CANADIAN football; i.e. not American football) gets treated like a 2nd class citizen in it's own country. Bell & Rogers however are, after all, "world class" / "major league" leaders in their country; as are all the hype sucking, all-american fawning sports "commentators" up here who like to dis or mock the CFL - provide your own name of said @rseholes = so many examples.

Your right and I don't think that Bell is absolved of this simply because they own the Argos and CFL television rights. If an NFL team ever came knocking on Toronto's door Bell would have their dish out for a cut of the pie as much as Rogers would.

[Invader]

Ok well that's good news for the CFL, in only that you will probably see NFL games forced to TSN, and then see more comparable Canadian TV numbers between the leagues. There will be no reason for Bellmedia to keep the games on CTV when that rule comes into effect. Although I don't expect it to happen right away.

Bell Media said they wouldn't even bid for Super Bowl rights when this new ad policy comes into effect in 2017. So the Super Bowl would likely only be available on U.S. networks via cable, likely resulting in a considerable drop in ratings. Canadian TV networks and advertisers should instead be supporting Canadian programming, not just simulcasting American programs with Canadian ads spliced in. Three cheers for the CRTC who finally found some backbone...if only to allow Canadians their inalienable right to watch American SB commercials. Next, they should apply this policy for all American programming. This would be a huge shot in the arm for Canadian culture but perhaps not for Rogers which lost 6.1% of it's cable subscribers last year.

[Neely2005]

Absolutely...if anyone thinks that Bell doesn't view the NFL as bread and butter and the CFL as pocket change is delusional. If push came to shove and Bell had to drop one of them for some reason, it wouldn't be the NFL.

They pay more for NFL rights so that provides more incentive to make their NFL programing successful. They pay so little for the CFL rights that it's an afterthought.

Bell Media said they wouldn't even bid for Super Bowl rights when this new ad policy comes into effect in 2017. So the Super Bowl would likely only be available on U.S. networks via cable, likely resulting in a considerable drop in ratings. Canadian TV networks and advertisers should instead be supporting Canadian programming, not just simulcasting American programs with Canadian ads spliced in. Three cheers for the CRTC who finally found some backbone...if only to allow Canadians their inalienable right to watch American SB commercials. Next, they should apply this policy for all American programming. This would be a huge shot in the arm for Canadian culture but perhaps not for Rogers which lost 6.1% of it's cable subscribers last year.

Rogers losing cable subscribers has very little to do with content. It has to do with the delivery method. People are watching on the Internet now and on services like Netflix and Shomi.

[argotom]

Yep; and the CFL has faced an uphill battle against all the wannabes in the media up here for a long time; sad & pathetic that the storied, historic football league (CANADIAN football; i.e. not American football) gets treated like a 2nd class citizen in it's own country. Bell & Rogers however are, after all, "world class" / "major league" leaders in their country; as are all the hype sucking, all-american fawning sports "commentators" up here who like to dis or mock the CFL - provide your own name of said @rseholes = so many examples.

Absolutely.
Not only on TV but there is no other better example then what they have done to TSN radio in various cities.
All or vast majority of US sport coverage only spewed on the radio waves made by some snotty general manager or producer when the vast majority of the public are not be US wannabes.

[R.J]

Simulcast rules are only changing for the Superbowl, nothing yet about regular programming.

[Argo57]

Yep; and the CFL has faced an uphill battle against all the wannabes in the media up here for a long time; sad & pathetic that the storied, historic football league (CANADIAN football; i.e. not American football) gets treated like a 2nd class citizen in it's own country. Bell & Rogers however are, after all, "world class" / "major league" leaders in their country; as are all the hype sucking, all-american fawning sports "commentators" up here who like to dis or mock the CFL - provide your own name of said @rseholes = so many examples.

It does amaze me that we treat our own league as second class but it falls in line with the medias "love me daddy" approach to anything American, kind of shameful and embarrassing.

[argolio]

They pay more for NFL rights so that provides more incentive to make their NFL programing successful. They pay so little for the CFL rights that it's an afterthought.

Do we know that for sure? Can't find anything online as to how much Bell pays for NFL rights.

[ArgoRavi]

It does amaze me that we treat our own league as second class but it falls in line with the medias "love me daddy" approach to anything American, kind of shameful and embarrassing.

Unfortunately, this is the Canadian way. How often have you heard someone denigrate a Canadian cultural product such as a movie by implying it wasn't any good or it won't be any good because it is Canadian? I have heard that a lot during my lifetime. The reality is that there are lots of good Canadian films made along with many bad ones - not any different than what we see south of the border - but, of course, hardly anyone gets to see the really good Canadian films anyway.

The CFL gets treated similarly but at least the product can be seen on a widespread basis although, sadly, not as much as the NFL in Canada now (the CFL being only on cable vs. the NFL being over-the-air as well as on cable).

[1971GreyCup]

In my lifetime, the Toronto media has always made it impossible for Canadian culture! If you move to Hollywood you've abandoned your roots. If you don't, you're not good enough. John Candy face this contradiction in his time.

[ArgoRavi]

The latest numbers are very interesting as the East numbers were strong while the West numbers were a bit weaker: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh...202016791.html

Keeping the hockey numbers in mind too, we may be seeing a decline in all sports and TV ratings as Zelkovich suggests as more and more people cut their cable. Nevertheless, I would expect both division final games this weekend to surpass the 1 million mark in viewership.

[Gill The Thrill]

The latest numbers are very interesting as the East numbers were strong while the West numbers were a bit weaker: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh...202016791.html

Keeping the hockey numbers in mind too, we may be seeing a decline in all sports and TV ratings as Zelkovich suggests as more and more people cut their cable. Nevertheless, I would expect both division final games this weekend to surpass the 1 million mark in viewership.

It's a shame that the CIS games, the OUA final Yates Cup on CHCH, and the Hardy Cup on Global weren't there, but one can't be surprised since CIS football had not been on all year. They deserved to have 150,000 which would have put them in top 25...would be nice to know what their numbers were.

The CFL has to work in partnership with the CIS to ensure some fans continuity and to improve the overall popularity of Canadian football as a whole, and not just their game. That alone would increase CFL numbers. In the past it was argued that they didn't have the funds to worry about that as they were in survival mode, but now they are not in survival mode. For example, TSN was a much better broadcaster for the league when they had CIS football coverage, and made those connections between CIS-CFL and the CFL amateur draft.

[Invader]

Yep; and the CFL has faced an uphill battle against all the wannabes in the media up here for a long time; sad & pathetic that the storied, historic football league (CANADIAN football; i.e. not American football) gets treated like a 2nd class citizen in it's own country. Bell & Rogers however are, after all, "world class" / "major league" leaders in their country; as are all the hype sucking, all-american fawning sports "commentators" up here who like to dis or mock the CFL - provide your own name of said @rseholes = so many examples.

Ironically Bell/Rogers have their markets protected from American competition while the CFL is fair game to be squeezed out of existence. With upwards of 50% of our major cities being foreign born, what are new Canadians supposed to think after listening to sportscasters who continually fawn over the NFL and other Americian sports while belittling anything Canadian?

[Neely2005]

It's a shame that the CIS games, the OUA final Yates Cup on CHCH, and the Hardy Cup on Global weren't there, but one can't be surprised since CIS football had not been on all year. They deserved to have 150,000 which would have put them in top 25...would be nice to know what their numbers were.

The CFL has to work in partnership with the CIS to ensure some fans continuity and to improve the overall popularity of Canadian football as a whole, and not just their game. That alone would increase CFL numbers. In the past it was argued that they didn't have the funds to worry about that as they were in survival mode, but now they are not in survival mode. For example, TSN was a much better broadcaster for the league when they had CIS football coverage, and made those connections between CIS-CFL and the CFL amateur draft.

I agree, it can only help the CFL if fans are familiar with players before they reach the CFL.

[Rich]

Unfortunately, this is the Canadian way. How often have you heard someone denigrate a Canadian cultural product such as a movie by implying it wasn't any good or it won't be any good because it is Canadian? I have heard that a lot during my lifetime. The reality is that there are lots of good Canadian films made along with many bad ones - not any different than what we see south of the border - but, of course, hardly anyone gets to see the really good Canadian films anyway.

It used to be the same for the Canadian music industry too. 45 years ago, Canadians made fun of Canadian artists. But then the government mandated a certain percentage of Canadian music had to be played on Canadian airwaves. Over the years it helped the Canadian music industry get stronger to the point now where it is respected not just in Canada but worldwide.

Maybe the government should step in and require a that certain percentage of football broadcast over-the-air must be Canadian.

[argolio]

Maybe the government should step in and require a that certain percentage of football broadcast over-the-air must be Canadian.

I doubt the feds (regardless of party) would ever go there, though it would be nice if they at least required that the Grey Cup must be on over-the-air TV. I think the UK mandates that with the FA Cup final.

[Invader]

I doubt the feds (regardless of party) would ever go there, though it would be nice if they at least required that the Grey Cup must be on over-the-air TV. I think the UK mandates that with the FA Cup final.

For several decades there was an Parliamentary Order which required both national networks (CBC, CTV) to televise the Grey Cup game live. There were some areas of Canada which received the CTV signal only while others got the CBC only...so our government decreed that no Canadian should be deprived from watching the Grey Cup game. Not sure why they dropped that provision which perhaps coincided with CTV dropping the CFL and over 90% of Canadian households getting cable TV.