Will New TSN/CTV NFL deal impact CFL coverage?

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1

CTV/TSN (Bell Media) and the NFL announced a new TV deal today that will see two games in each market at 1:00PM (one on CTV, the other on TSN or TSN2), two more in each market at 4:00PM Sundays (one on CTV Two the other one one of the two TSN networks) and Sunday night and Monday night continuing as they are now on TSN.

I'm wondering if that means any impact on CFL coverage with now 5 NFL games combined each Sunday on Bell Media channels CTV/CTV2 and TSN/TSN2 and on Bell's CTV and TSN Mobile platforms,

http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/story/?id=438593


"As NFL audiences continue to rise, Bell Media is proud to provide even wider access to Canadian NFL fans wherever they may be and on whatever platform," said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports. "The National Football League is a brand synonymous with excellence and leadership to both fans and advertisers alike. We look forward to elevating the NFL in Canada to even higher peaks."

2

Maybe CTV/TSN will pressure the CFL to drop Sunday games, they say that the ratings have jumped 75% for NFL games.

3

But I think in Saskatchewan where a lot of people drive distance to get to the games, Sundays is much better for those that are in the agriculture business to go to games.

4

Given that there are two TSN networks and only one NFL game being shown on one of those networks at 1 and one at 4, CFL games can still be played on Sundays.

5

I do not think it will affect or impact the CFL coverage.
There has always been and will always be NFL games on Sundays and it has not impacted the CFL.
TSN has lost its NHL rights and filling some of those hours with NFL is crucial to their viability.
I think TSN has done a great job with the CFL.

6

Please move to Saturdays!

7

I have to say I agree with this, Sat and Fri. Going to the game on Sunday to go into work a wreck on Monday can be tough. Not only do you not have to compete with the NFL for viewership, but it’s a benefit to Fans. Also stop the Thursday night and Monday night games, which pretty much means, get the Argos out of the Rogers Centre.

8

Out of 36 CFL games played after the NFL season started,only 6 were played on a Sunday.

Sept.8…Tor at Mtl
Sept.8…Sask at Wnp
Sept15…Mtl at B.C.
Sept22…B.C at Sask
Sept29…Sask at Mtl
Oct 20…Ham at Mtl

Before the NFL season started there was 4 games played on Sunday’s. So out of an 144 game schedule only 10 games played on Sunday,of which only 6 played after the start of the NFL season. I really can’t see where it would make a whole lot of difference to reschedule only 6 games of our season to impact the viewership of the NFL. It’s not like the league is playing all 4 games exclusively on Sunday’s. If you notice,3 of these games were in Mtl last year,suggesting maybe that Al’s fans preferred that day for home games,it’s not like there was anything else the park was being used for like in Almighty Toronto with the Blow Jays getting first dibs at prime dates.Besides Mikey,not to worry!!!You’ll be seeing lots of Football on Sunday’s when your beloved Bungling Bills of your favourite league set up shop in the Center of the Universe…God’s gift to the world of sports aka Toronto… :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: keep clicking your heels and sing…“.Somewhere over the Rainbow.”…Toronto will get a team and join the BIGBOY League :thdn: :roll: :twisted: any day now!!!

9

Please play more games on Sundays! (in the fall)

10

There are not 144 regular season games. There are 72. You forgot to account for the fact that each game has 2 participants. Not 18x8, its (18x8)/2 = 72.

11

Actually it will be 81 games - 9 teams playing 18 games.

12

DOH!!! yup yer right!!! 72 games…not 144…So revised,it still only leaves 6 games out of 72 games that are played head to head on Sunday against the NFL(10 if you include the 4 played before the NFL season starts,which don’t really matter,when they’re played)So with that being said,the % of games on a Sunday head to head is still pretty low.
It’s like I said before,it’s not like the majority of CFL games are played on Sunday anyway,in reality very few are. :cowboy: :cowboy: Of course,next season schedule is going to have some difficulties with an odd number of teams playing and each team requiring 2 bye weeks as opposed to 1 this past season.In a perfect world scenario there could be your FNF with 2 games on Sat.(Doubleheaders…East/West)and the other game played on Sunday until the NFL season starts in Sept after labor day.After the NFL starts up though alternate the Sunday game every other week with a game on Thursday Night. So one week a game on Thur,game on Fri,2 on Sat…next week Fri game,2 on Sat,one on Sun. You can also sprinkle in the odd FNF doubleheader here and there.The only problem with this is,of course the team from Toronto having to play second fiddle to the Blow Jays when it comes to scheduling.

13

But the overwhelming majority of playoff games HAVE been played on Sundays for the past couple decades, and they have the potential to be a better draw for a larger more casual TV audience that doesn’t necessarily watch all the regular season games. That larger more casual audience is more likely to be caught of guard and find out on the Saturday evening news that the games are over already and they missed them. Even with a big ad campaign (including the obligatory Nickelback cover of "Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting), the Grey Cup itself would likely have a setback in viewership if they moved it to Saturday (at least for the first year). And from a business perspective, holding the Grey Cup on the Saturday decreases the commercial activity, partying and hype leading up to the game. Sure, fewer people would be hung over at work on Monday, but with the current format, it’s essentially a whole weekend party. Moving the game to Saturday would make the Sunday of Grey Cup weekend eerily quiet. That said, I would think they can avoid Sunday regular season games and still hold all the PLAYOFF games on Sundays.

14

Just so you know the numbers NFL viewership in Canada is quite comparable to the CFL. Just some sample ratings from some games this season.

  • Sunday November 10 - 1PM games CFL East semi-final on TSN- 1.4 million - NFL games in that slot on CTV - 490,000 (but that is a playoff game vs a regular season game). A more fair comparison would be regular season games in both leagues.

  • Sunday October 20th - 1PM - Cats at Als game - TSN - 450,000 - NFL games in that time slot on CTV - 710,000

  • Saturday Oct 12th Eskies at Riders - 778,000, the next day NFL games on CTV in 1PM slot - 712,000

Highest rated CFL game weekend of Oct 25 - 27 was Riders at Stamps 771,000, CTV NFL at 1PM game on the 27th - 809,000

Total Canadian viewers for NFL games that are on Sportsnet and TSN on Sundays are difficult to determine because many up here may be watching the same game on American network channel signal and those aren't counted by rating services since cable channels don't get to override with a simulcast like CTV's 1:00PM telecasts do.

15

As the TSN report on the NFL TV contracted stated, viewership is up 75% for the NFL in Canada. You have to wonder why it’s up 75%, is it because NFL games are more exciting these days? The CFL ratings are not suffering they are still up too, so it just could be a general interest in football - NFL and CFL.

16

There seems to be some false and misleading football ratings being posted above. CFL games averaged 760,000 viewers in the 2013 regular season. Here are the ratings with accompanying links (Note: Weekend Top 21 sports ratings with national ranking):

Dec. 6-8/13
7. NFL, Early games, Sunday, CTV: 522,000 (Combined ratings of 1:00 pm games)
8. NFL, Panthers at Saints, Sunday, TSN: 431,000
9. NFL, Seahawks at 49ers, Sunday, City: 400,000
13. NFL, Texans at Jaguars, Thursday, Sportsnet: 258,000
14. NFL, Lions at Eagles, Sunday, TSN2: 214,000
21. NBA, Raptors at Lakers, Sunday, TSN2: 111,000

[url=http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/great-canadian-ratings-report-raptors-tv-audiences-dribbling-145630048.html#more-id]http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-gam ... ml#more-id[/url]

Nov. 30 - Dec. 1/13
5. NFL, Raiders at Cowboys, Thursday, City: 538,000
6. NFL, Sunday early games, CTV: 478,000 (Combined ratings of 1:00 pm games)
7. NFL, Broncos at Chiefs, Sunday, City: 473,000
8. NFL, Giants at Redskins, Sunday, TSN: 375,000
9. NFL, Steelers at Ravens, Thursday, Sportsnet: 324,000
10. NFL, Falcons vs. Bills, Sunday, Sportsnet: 253,000
12. NFL, Packers at Lions, Thursday, City: 230,000
20. NBA, Nuggets at Raptors, Sunday, Sportsnet: 102,000

[url=http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/great-canadian-ratings-report-curling-tsn-hurrying-hard-194751889.html#more-id]http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-gam ... ml#more-id[/url]


Nov. 22-24/13

  1. CFL, Grey Cup, Ticats vs. Riders, Sunday, TSN: 4,495,000
  2. CFL, Grey Cup Countdown, Sunday, TSN: 3,053,000
  3. CFL, Grey Cup Postgame Show, Sunday, TSN: 1,972,000
  4. NFL, 1 p.m. games, Sunday, CTV: 643,000 (Combined ratings of 1:00 pm games)
  5. CFL, Grey Cup pre-game show, Sunday, TSN: 487,000 (average over 5 hours)
  6. NFL, Broncos at Patriots, Sunday, TSN2: 353,000
  7. NFL, Cowboys at Giants, Sunday, Citytv: 326,000
[url=http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/great-canadian-ratings-report-star-power-draws-big-232432659.html]http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-gam ... 32659.html[/url]

Nov. 15-17/13

  1. CFL, West Division final, Sunday, TSN: 1,900,000
  2. CFL, East Division final, Sunday, TSN: 1,700,000
  3. NFL, Chiefs at Broncos, Sunday, TSN: 579,000
  4. NFL, Patriots at Panthers, Monday, TSN: 579,000
  5. NFL, 1 p.m. games, Sunday, CTV: 399,000 (Combined ratings of 1:00 pm games)
  6. NFL, Colts at Titans, Thursday, Sportsnet: 364,000
  7. NFL, 49ers at Saints, Sunday, Citytv: 271,000
  8. NFL, 4 p.m. games, Sunday, Sportsnet: 162,000
[url=http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/great-canadian-ratings-report-cfl-knocks-off-hockey-220529504.html#more-id]http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-gam ... ml#more-id[/url]

(Note: Above ratings include those watching sim-sub NFL games on U.S. cable stations)

[b]Here is Rogers "Bills in Toronto" 2013 news release highlighting their NFL ratings:[/b]

Bills in Toronto games will continue to air nationally on City and Sportsnet, with NFL games continuing to experience growth with Canadian audiences year-over-year. Audiences for the 2012 Bills in Toronto game (Bills vs. Seahawks, Dec. 16) on City and Sportsnet were up 6% over 2011 (404,000 viewers vs. 381,000) and 19% since the inaugural Bills in Toronto game in 2008 (404,000 vs. 340,000). Sportsnet’s average audience for the NFL Thursday night games this season was up 3% over last year (370,000 vs. 359,000), while City’s average audience of the Sunday late game this season was up 3% over last year (361,000 vs. 352,000).


Note: The Bills in Toronto ratings dropped 38% this year to their lowest level in the series history (253,000 from 404,000 last year).

17

Really the only team that plays mainly on sundays in the Fall is Montreal. The Als play their summer home games on thurday nights ant the Fall home games on Sundays at 1:00 with McGill on saturdays ( with the exception if they are the Friday Night football game). I think for the Als in the seats and on TV this have been a pretty good formula and do not think that it has been affected by the NFL.
The rest of the teams along with the CFL are still trying to figure out the best day for the rest.
Aside from Als sunday at 1:00 games in the Fall ( which I love ) the rest of the games may very well become saturday games in the summer at any time day or night and once Hockey starts has been a good late afternoon lead in to the saturday evening.
I think maybe at one time they may have had a thought about sundays due to the CIS on saturdays but with Rogers taking that whole gig TSN or the CFL will be the prime games on saturdays for sure.

18

Nothing false or misleading about comparing ratings on weekends when both the NFL and CFL have regular season games. The numbers I posted were the actual ratings in Canada for those games those weekends in October. NFL playoff ratings for the NFC and AFC finals last year were 1.8 million and 2 million respectively very comparable to this year's CFL Eastern and Western finals which drew 1.7 and 1.9 million respectively. The Super Bowl last year beat the Grey Cup by a million viewers 6.4 million vs 5.4 million.

And remember any rating for Sunday games on TSN and Sportsnet does not take into account people watching those games in Canada on the American network. They don't get counted. I know I watched parts of the Bills - Falcons game on Fox and I often have the Sunday night game on the Buffalo NBC channel and don't even realize it until WGRZ news kicks on after the game. I would not be counted as having watched the NFL games according to Canadian TV ratings in those cases.

So yes some NFL games - especially the Thursday night games on Sportsnet have iffy ratings but the vast majority of weekend time slots have as many watching the NFL as who watch the CFL for comparable time slots when comparing regular season to regular season and playoffs to playoffs.

Remember CFL never has two games at the same time to split viewers otherwise more of their games would be in the 300,000 - 400,000 viewer range for those games. Even looking at the bad Bills ratings on December 1st, once you add however many might have been watching on Fox channels in Canada instead of Sportsnet - an unknown number - and add how many were watching the NFL on CITY at the same time and you still had something over 750,000 Canadians watching NFL games in that 3 hour time slot.

19

It’s not the CFL’s fault the NFL schedules all their games at the same time. Many people DVR the games and watch them later, and are still counted in the ratings, also those watching in a sports bar are counted.

If the CFL scheduled two games at the same time, most fans would PVR the other game, thus the CFL ratings wouldn’t change much, still about double the NFL’s average rating, which already includes ample PVR viewers.

20

BBM only announced last week that they are going to begin to accurately track ratings on a DVR, so none of the ratings posted so far included the new measurement. If you want more info on how they track you can go to BBM.ca.
They can not track bars since the numbers are not known, there could be 100 people in a bar and only 30 or so watching the game! or you could be in a bar where the bar tender keeps turning the channel. It’s impossible to track ratings from a bar. And they don’t track viewers watching on aerials/antennas that can pick up US stations across the border, there are football fans in Southern Ontario that want to watch “other” games on the US channel not the Canadian simulcast channels.

Here is the link to BBM - stating that they will begin tracking Dec 3rd.

http://www.bbm.ca/en/weekly-top-30-tv-programs