why cant MLS live just show the national broadcast feed.
would NBC still be getting the ad revenue? MLS live can even give them their cut of subscription revenue.
to me, internet services are the future...... being held back by cable companies. everyone under 35 watches something on the internet
The TFC game was also competing against a re-broadcast of the Manchester United - Aston Villa game on TSN1 at the time. Which also accounts for some football fans who might have access to both stations -- and might have watched MLS instead of another program (but not instead of EPL football).
Odd programming decision on the part of TSN. Why not show the live football game on TSN and the replay of the game on TSN2? Especially, that is, if they want to generate some long term interest in the product.
Last edited by Commie Red; 04-03-2014 at 11:29 AM.
Supply and demand?
Honestly, if the Tim L hype show is to be believed showing a Live TFC game would make a lot more sense than a re-broadcast of an EPL game. I obviously don't make programming decisions but that may say everything that needs to be said about the popularity of MLS soccer in this market.
Again, this isn't a knock on TFC. I've followed this team since day 1 from live streams of preseason to the mystical world of GolTV in Standard Definition broadcasts. Toronto, IMO, likes the big leagues and MLS has this perception of being a minor league. For that reason, Defoe or not (to) Defoe, it will always find itself within the 2nd tier of sports along with the Rock, Marlies, and to some extent the Raptors until they become relevant. As long as they show the games, I'm happy.
I agree with most of the Saturday night commentary. I would have thought they'd do better, but really, who knows?
It's the big hoopla around the numbers for the first two games that I'm feeling is unwarranted. As someone said, the game against Colorado on the 12th will be a good litmus test.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
I don't think the whole "big town, big league" argument holds true outside of hardcore sports fan in this city. If you can sell being at BMO field to watch soccer is a cool thing to do, then you wouldn't have problem attracting your average Torontonian to go to the games. We saw this first few seasons and now we're starting to see it again.
TV ratings so far has proven we getting some attention! Montreal or Vancouver can't say the same despite being playoff teams recently. Winning TFC is great for TV ratings for TSN and if we continue winning consistently then eventually TV ratings become much better and respectable.
But you are talking about marginal ratings increases. One of which was a home opener.
Check the sportscasts. Jermain Defoe's injury was reported on one radio station as the last item before they cut out. On one station, it wasn't in the cycle at all. I know as I was driving home trying to get an update.
TFC isn't a big deal in Toronto.
I agree you will get casual fans to go based on some trendy "event hype." TFC has never been able to convert that into viewership. Many issues related to games shown on The Score or now TSN 2 reflect this. If no one wants to pay for the broadcast rights that's what you get. No one wants to pay because other events are in bigger demand.
I am not sure why this is important to some people. We all want the team to do well but this is a MLS problem. How many of us actually watch MLS games that don't involve TFC? How many watch playoff games that obviously haven't involved TFC?
Just as there are EPL fans that snub their noses at TFC/MLS there is a subset of TFC fans that snub their noses at CCL. All of that is reflected in the attendance and as we see here the TV ratings.
Last edited by Pookie; 04-03-2014 at 05:09 PM.
People still listen to radio and watch sports highlights on TV? I know on social media, it was reported by media outlets like CP24 and theScore.
I personally like many younger generation get our news from social media.
TV ratings broke MLS record in English Canadian TV. TFC first two games had better ratings than MLS playoff game involving Canadian teams. That's why we should be glad that interest is there despite lack of success on-field since day 1 for TFC. This is great news and shows TFC isn't dying like some people have been saying over the years.
If one gets their sports info from social media while driving one also gets a big fine.
And the moment I prefer watching a game on my 3" phone over my 56" HD TV , please have my power of attorney start the proceedings to make basic decisions for me. Google it if that reference doesn't make sense.
As for Broke a record, ensco mentioned something about 500,000 for CBC but one reference I found was 301,000 in 2007 for TFC vs LA on CBC. Breaking? More like scratching.
Last edited by Pookie; 04-03-2014 at 05:56 PM.
You said you didn't hear much news about it which I said it isn't true based on social media. I do watch games on TV (I still have cable for now), but there's a lot of people out there who don't have cable and find it cheaper to watch it online on their laptop and phones than paying $100 plus to watch TFC play on TSN2. There's a reason why a lot of people are getting rid of cable these days. Even if they wanted to watch it on their big screen TV, then they can hook up their laptops to TV.
I can't find any source that backs up 500K viewers number either. So I am not going to be believe it unless proven otherwise.
My point is that the mainstream media does not cover it, even though they essentially own it.
A twitter announcement is just like a "ticker" on the bottom of TSN… which I hate too BTW… it gets lost and you have to look to find it. To say TFC is covered in social media is sort of like saying TFC is covered on the Internet.
All I have to say is that many people in the media did not think an MLS team could survive in Toronto and many like the Dave Perkins and Bob McCowan's of the world were saying that an MLS team in Toronto would be lucky to get 3000 a game. Therefore, TFC might not be a big deal in Toronto however, to see the crowds this team has had since day one is amazing considering what some of the soccer haters in the media were predicting for this team. Remember, the Raptors who get so much more media attention still don't get great TV numbers, moreover, Raptor TV numbers are not that much more than TFC numbers, with all the media attention the Raptors get and the fact they play in the best league in the world their TV numbers should be much much more than what TFC gets. I think that all things considered TFC does ok TV numbers .
Let's pick this conversation up after another 10 games and see what the ratings are like then.
Defoe's first game and the home opener were "events". Just like the LAG game in the CCL was an "event". That game showed us that TFC could draw 60k for a game which was hyped, but they couldn't draw 20k for the rest of the season.
And here is a bit about the younger generation and streaming. Once that generation grows up a little bit and starts to have a bit of disposable income - dodging porn popups to watch a low bitrate stream on their 50 inch TV starts to become less appealing than forking over a bit of cash to watch a high definition stream (or cable).
That's why I kept my cable as long as I did. It wasn't until I could get legit, high quality steaming services (which I am paying for) that I ditched my cable.
Worse rating this season so far!
Raptors fans have been complaining about the number of games carried on channels like TSN2 and Sportsnet One, which don't have wide distribution. The lesser channels tend to drag down ratings -- Toronto FC's win over Columbus drew a paltry 53,000 viewers on Sportsnet360 Saturday.
Source: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/great-canadian-ratings-report-blue-jays-bounce-back-214616633.html#more-id
Going up against Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays hurt the ratings big time especially playing away against Columbus without Defoe on lesser channel
Last edited by TFC07; 04-08-2014 at 06:44 PM.
How are those numbers compared to things other then Jays/Leafs games on Sportsnet 360?
Not surprising, there was a lot of competition that game. Next week should be the real test: home game, on TSN, with no other Toronto teams playing. 300k+ would be nice.
Why do you guys feel the need to make excuses?
If Sportsnet One or 360 is in fact a buried channel, that tells you about the demand for MLS soccer. From one of the blogs you posted: Raptors vs Thunder on Sportnet One did 178,000.
It didn't matter to me whether I had fellow fans watching when games were on GolTV. So why the need for excuses? There will always be competitive interests. The fall/winter bring hockey and the NFL. Spring/summer bring hockey playoffs (outside of Toronto) and baseball and football. Every weekend there is golf or NASCAR or simply nice weather.
TFC draws flies. Always has. Maybe always will. And that's ok.
One person's excuse is another's persons fine reasoning.
Its called discussion. The fact that people disagree is part of life on the internet.
Ever since TSN started, (back when it wasn't available to most Canadians) the discussion of how many people watch specific sports has been surrounded by the limits of access. Its not an excuse - its a talking point.
This thread stats out with "record" attendance. Folks point to the resurgence of TFC. Popularity of MLS soccer and the like.
Ratings drop. Apparently that is due to competiting weekend games and the unfortunate luck of being shown on obscure channels that no one watches (except for NASCAR and NBA fans who can seem to find their team).
The hype that surrounds this team isn't real, IMO, it is manufactured. Ratings and programming decisions back that up. Coverage on sportscasts backs that up. This, despite being owned by the major networks.
It is the way it is. MLS is not a big deal in Toronto. Or other major markets like LA or New York. There the team struggles against top flight leagues and the perception of being minor league.
Soccer is huge in Toronto. More kids play it than hockey. MLS? Not so much.
It's ok though. I just don't get why people want it to be the bloody big deal they were told it is?
The fact is one TFC game drew 352 thousand viewers (or flies if you prefer) and two weeks later a game drew 53 thousand. The drop could be attributed to a slowdown of the hype machine, the channel carrying the game, what other programming it was up against etc. I personally am really interested in this kind of stuff so it's fun to talk about.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what the ratings are for the Colorado game. I consider games on TSN to be the true national broadcasts to compare with NBCSN in the States. Seattle-Portland got around 250k I believe.