2014 TFC TV ratings

[BeachTory]

Have a look at this article in trade journal Sports business Daily

Ratings corelate to every metric cited in the article. Recall the Tim L. Said his ambition included being the first MLS club to reach $50M in revenue



Toronto FC Sees Spike In Ticket Sales, Ratings After Blockbuster Offseason Signings


By Adam Stern, Staff Writer


Published May 21, 2014




Fans returned to the club in droves after the signings of Bradley (r) and Defoe (l)
Since signing star players Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley in January, Toronto FC has seen such considerable upticks in business metrics that it is on track to be MLS’ top grossing club by next season, says MLSE Chief Commercial Officer Dave Hopkinson. The club has yet to make the playoffs eight seasons into its existence and, after a string of lackluster campaigns, had nowhere to go but up. Still, fans returned in droves when MLSE President & CEO Tim Leiweke recruited the players after stints in Europe. Before the signings, only 62% of the team’s season-ticket holders indicated that they intended to renew for ’14 -- a figure Hopkinson called “cataclysmic” and described as the lowest he had seen in his 22-year career as a sports exec. After the signings, however, the club grew the renewal rate to 95%, which was a franchise high and led the league this offseason. The club also sold more than 3,500 new seats, leading MLS in new sales. Season-ticket sales at BMO Field were capped at 17,000 and the waiting list for season tickets is currently at 1,800 -- the first time the club had a waiting list of any kind in four years. With an average of 22,591, the club has increased attendance this season by 18%, the second-best figure in MLS. Hopkinson said every home game this season will be sold out. These figures help comprise a laundry list of positive trends that seemed unlikely before the signings. Hopkinson said MLSE execs at the end of last season were considering whether they were “teetering on the brink of this franchise failing.” While Leiweke in March admitted the club is currently not profitable and will lose money again this year after the $100M outlay on players this offseason, Hopkinson said for now, the signings “just put this enthusiasm back into the club.”




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Toronto FC
UP ACROSS THE BOARD: TFC has seen TV ratings on TSN jump by eight to ten times as much as last year, and its home opener this season was the most-watched MLS game ever in Canada. Elsewhere, sponsorship sales are up 35% year-over-year, with new partners including Unilever (Dove Men+Care, Vaseline, Axe brands), Canadian Tire (also includes Sport Chek, Marks), MasterCard and Cisco. Hopkinson said the new deals have generated "millions of dollars" in new sales since the last campaign. In many merchandise categories, sales are up by percentages that are well into triple figures. For example, sales of crested TFC jerseys -- as opposed to those without player names -- are up 948% from last season, with Defoe jerseys making up the majority. The club also is selling a lot of jerseys for G Julio Caesar, which is atypical in MLS for a goalkeeper. Merch sales at BMO Field are up 175% and merch sales overall are up 125%. Hopkinson said TFC is on pace for its best season yet in the merch category. TFC also is seeing concession sales jump at BMO Field, where beer sales are up 40%. On the digital front, the club since ’13 has tripled its number of followers on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. TFC also posted a record high in visits to its website last month. Hopkinson: “Everything is taking a material step forward, which had to happen for us to make this investment in the roster that made sense. ... We had to do something pretty dramatic.”

[Pookie]

They are pulling data from the season home opener which was up about 50k over previous high and ignoring the rest.

Since then it has been a massive tumble.

91,000 vs NY on a Saturday, main network, Henry vs Defoe... that's not good. TFC hasn't been able to convert the blip into sustainable viewership.

[Pookie]

Anyone care to take a stab at viewership for the Sporting KC match? On the positive side, it is on the main TSN network. On the negative it's at 8:30pm on a Friday. Can't see it being over 35,000.

If they get 35,000 on the main network... I don't think they will be on the main network much longer.

I am going to bet about 75,000.

[TFC07]

One thing I notice is that early afternoon sport games aren't good for TV ratings. Good example is Montreal Canadien game where their Monday night game had 1.2 million more viewers than their Saturday afternoon game. Also, I notice World Hockey Championship ratings are well below average for typical Canadian national hockey game.

So I wonder TFC playing more games during evening would help their TV numbers.

[Pookie]

^ We'll see. 8:30 on a Saturday on the main network.

Their big ratings games this year though were in the afternoon. 4:30 for both DC and Seattle.

[OgtheDim]

As an aside: as part of my job, I am watching a few trends out there vis-a-vis spending and activity.

I'm beginning to believe that the length of our winter without a break, including for us in Toronto no real recovery temperature wise from the large pyschic shock that was the ice storm, is causing Ontarians to do a lot of "I'm going outside" stuff whenever possible. Even if that is just going to the mall, in house activity is not a priority for people who spent a LONG time in the house this winter, without the usual January/February/March thaw.

Not an excuse for poor TV numbers - just an observation.

[TFC07]

^ We'll see. 8:30 on a Saturday on the main network.

Their big ratings games this year though were in the afternoon. 4:30 for both DC and Seattle.

Don't you mean Friday night game? I don't except huge TV ratings for TFC right away, but I except in the long term if they build their brand and win a lot of games, we will see better and more consistent TV ratings for TFC. Hopefully by then, TSN will put all TFC games on their main network instead of their secondary channel.

TFC have been crap for 7 years which hurt their brand big time which affected their TV ratings and SSH base. Of course, playing in "lesser" league doesn't help either, but if MLS on-field product continues to grow, then we can except more people following TFC too.

Interesting thing is that Canadian TV ratings are better than USA TV ratings when comes to MLS (per capita).

EDIT: I find it odd that our home games usually get better TV ratings than road games. Is this normal for all pro sport team?

[TFC07]

As an aside: as part of my job, I am watching a few trends out there vis-a-vis spending and activity.

I'm beginning to believe that the length of our winter without a break, including for us in Toronto no real recovery temperature wise from the large pyschic shock that was the ice storm, is causing Ontarians to do a lot of "I'm going outside" stuff whenever possible. Even if that is just going to the mall, in house activity is not a priority for people who spent a LONG time in the house this winters, without the usual January/February/March thaw.

Not an excuse for poor TV numbers - just an observation.

I found myself being more active and being outdoors a lot more this year than past few years. I guess this might be part of reason why TV ratings have dropped a bit for TFC since there are some people just want to take advantage of warm weather.

[Pookie]

Re: weather.

Ratings for other sports are doing just fine. NASCAR, golf, basketball, even CHL hockey is doing good. Games at night or on afternoons.

If going outside was a factor, it would impact them too wouldn't it?

[TFC07]

Re: weather.

Ratings for other sports are doing just fine. NASCAR, golf, basketball, even CHL hockey is doing good. Games at night or on afternoons.

If going outside was a factor, it would impact them too.

But what's demographic of people watching those sports? Is it same viewers who watch soccer?

[brad]

Don't you mean Friday night game? I don't except huge TV ratings for TFC right away, but I except in the long term if they build their brand and win a lot of games, we will see better and more consistent TV ratings for TFC. Hopefully by then, TSN will put all TFC games on their main network instead of their secondary channel.

TFC have been crap for 7 years which hurt their brand big time which affected their TV ratings and SSH base. Of course, playing in "lesser" league doesn't help either, but if MLS on-field product continues to grow, then we can except more people following TFC too.

Interesting thing is that Canadian TV ratings are better than USA TV ratings when comes to MLS (per capita).

EDIT: I find it odd that our home games usually get better TV ratings than road games. Is this normal for all pro sport team?

A few thoughts.

Per capita could be affected population distribution. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver contain a large percentage of all Canadians. I'm wondering if a different distribution in the US plays a role. Or if maybe it's due to really large markets like NYC and LA not caring. Just a guess.

Also - population distribution in Canada will play a role in viewership. People outside of the GTA will generally not care about TFC or Toronto based teams outside of any impact the results might have on their own team. Being that we have 1/5th of Canada's population though, there should, in a healthier market be much better numbers.

Regarding home vs away, I wonder how much that has to do with the channels they are on (home games tend to main networks like CBC or TSN more - I think). Time could play a role - especially for evening games on the west coast. I know in the past the production quality and commentator quality of away games was dreadful compared to local - I know for a fact that drove a lot of folks away (I wonder if some stayed away), as did the half empty, zero atmosphere stadiums a lot of games took place in.

[Pookie]

I think the US v Canada thing has to do with the broadcast channels.

A couple of years ago if you compared TFC on GolTV (or the Score) with US local broadcasts, I would bet it is similar.

The concerning (and not surprising thing) is that TFC doesn't seem to have a big following. Fans will follow their team and find channels if they are passionate enough. EPL generally draws 150s and those are some crap broadcast times for people with families.

Fans were interested in the first few games. 290s and 350s. They couldn't convert into regular followers

I imagine that a good portion of the initial viewers were former fans that have been turned off since 2007 one way or another. Whether it was being gouged, play on field, management politics, whatever. They have lost trust and though willing to check in from time to time have pretty much moved on. The first few games though, they were curious. Like asking how your ex is doing.

Another subset was probably interested in the hype. Good for a game or two but probably not really coming back. Whether it is a lack of connection to the game or the MLS snob factor, who knows. Casual is casual.

It would be pretty arrogant of MLSE to expect that the most recent spending spree could convert these two groups, particularly the first one, overnight.

[defensor]

Maybe it's because the way TFC plays is usually pretty boring to watch, for casuals and neutrals. Maybe people tuned at the start for the opener and that with all the hype then got bored.

[ManUtd4ever]

Maybe it's because the way TFC plays is usually super boring to watch.

Bingo. The numbers for the first couple of games were unprecedented, but I'm not surprised that they have declined steadily ever since.

I love TFC, but from a pure entertainment standpoint, I enjoy watching the Whitecaps games on TSN a lot more.

Nelsen has turned us into the NJ Devils of MLS.

[reggie]

try watching a 4 hr baseball game,yikes,futbol is not a mainstream sport in NA,TFC has been around only 7 yrs..mlb in Tor 40 yrs.nhl and cfl 100 yrs...it takes time people.

[Pookie]

^ lots of people do try watching baseball. 740,000 watched the Jays and Rangers last Saturday.

[reggie]

I wonder what the ave age is..i guess people in sask,man,alberta have nothing better to do.its the perfect tv sport,3 hrs of sport 15 min of action and a break every 10 min to grab a beer bbq a steak or take a dump..

[Pookie]

Chris' blog is updated but TFC didn't crack the top 16 meaning they drew less than 114k (UFC preliminaries on Sportsnet 360).

[TFC07]

Chris' blog is updated but TFC didn't crack the top 16 meaning they drew less than 114k (UFC preliminaries on Sportsnet 360).

Looking at numbers, Champions league final did better than World Hockey Championship final (CL had double of viewers). If I was Bell/TSN, I start worrying about content since Sportsnet is getting better TV ratings than TSN these days. TSN better start investing more into their MLS content if they want to stand a chance against Rogers/Sportsnet in the future. Right now, TSN only has CFL and World Juniors as their prime content.

[ManUtd4ever]

Chris' blog is updated but TFC didn't crack the top 16 meaning they drew less than 114k (UFC preliminaries on Sportsnet 360).

To put the dismal ratings in perspective though, the Raptors were in similar territory early on this past season, when they had a slow start and were playing a brand of basketball that wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, thanks to Rudy Gay. After the trade with Sacramento, the Raptors started sharing the ball, playing with intensity, and went on to set a franchise record for regular season wins en route to a division title. In the playoffs, the Raptors demolished previous records for NBA ratings in this country with almost one million viewers.

I believe that if TFC can go on to make the playoffs and play a more exciting brand of football, there is potential in this market to increase their ratings significantly.

[TFC07]

To put the dismal ratings in perspective though, the Raptors were in similar territory early on this past season, when they had a slow start and were playing a brand of basketball that wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, thanks to Rudy Gay. After the trade with Sacramento, the Raptors started sharing the ball, and went on to set a franchise record for regular season wins en route to a division title. In the playoffs, the Raptors demolished previous records for NBA ratings in this country with almost one million viewers.

I believe that if TFC can go on to make the playoffs and play a more exciting brand of football, there is potential in this market to increase their ratings significantly.

Agreed. TFC is playing too defensive that is hurting their brand and TV ratings. Hopefully TL understands this and pressure Nelsen change his tactics or hire someone else to get team play more offensive minded game.

But that being said, TFC is doing better (for most part) than other MLS Canadian teams when comes to ratings.

[ryan]

To put the dismal ratings in perspective though, the Raptors were in similar territory early on this past season, when they had a slow start and were playing a brand of basketball that wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, thanks to Rudy Gay. After the trade with Sacramento, the Raptors started sharing the ball, playing with intensity, and went on to set a franchise record for regular season wins en route to a division title. In the playoffs, the Raptors demolished previous records for NBA ratings in this country with almost one million viewers.

I believe that if TFC can go on to make the playoffs and play a more exciting brand of football, there is potential in this market to increase their ratings significantly.

People aren't going to tune in unless we get results, unless there's a buzz this team is winning and could win it all. (See the current Blue Jays run, all of a sudden there's a sellout for a fuckin Oakland game?)

If TL meddles and gets Nelsen to change his form, for the sake of TV ratings...and it backfires. That would be brutal. Too much risk in that.

We're getting 1.44 PPG (4th), compared to 1.46 (3rd) and 1.5 (2nd). Stay the course. A slight uptick in performance plus catching up in games played, we're sitting 2nd in the table. Once we're positioned well, with the media buzzing and people are tuning in to see what the noise is all about....then you release the hounds because you have more room to take a chance. While we sit 7th in the actual table, it's just not a smart move to make a change for the sake of it. Patience!

[ManUtd4ever]

People aren't going to tune in unless we get results, unless there's a buzz this team is winning and could win it all. (See the current Blue Jays run, all of a sudden there's a sellout for a fuckin Oakland game?)

If TL meddles and gets Nelsen to change his form, for the sake of TV ratings...and it backfires. That would be brutal. Too much risk in that.

We're getting 1.44 PPG (4th), compared to 1.46 (3rd) and 1.5 (2nd). Stay the course. A slight uptick in performance plus catching up in games played, we're sitting 2nd in the table. Once we're positioned well, with the media buzzing and people are tuning in to see what the noise is all about....then you release the hounds because you have more room to take a chance. While we sit 7th in the actual table, it's just not a smart move to make a change for the sake of it. Patience!

It is somewhat disconcerting that the ratings have significantly declined since the first two games of the season, when a few hundred thousand viewers already tuned in to see what all the fuss was about following a remarkable off season. I suspect that our style of play might have something to do with it.

[ryan]

It is somewhat disconcerting that the ratings have significantly declined since the first two games of the season, when a few hundred thousand viewers already tuned in to see what all the fuss was about following a remarkable off season. I suspect that our style of play might have something to do with it.

I'm not so sure. We were not boring to watch in Seattle at all. Considering we won, all the reason to tune in, no?

The opener was a disaster due to the pitch tho, that wasn't great viewing for sure. Hard to chirp the style of play with that mess.



I simply think it's going to take far more than we realize to get your standard "NA Sports Fan" to actually DESIRE to watch footie. The World Cup should help stir the pot at least.

[Pookie]

It is somewhat disconcerting that the ratings have significantly declined since the first two games of the season, when a few hundred thousand viewers already tuned in to see what all the fuss was about following a remarkable off season. I suspect that our style of play might have something to do with it.

At the same time though they dropped off dramatically with a winning record.

I think it's more fundamental then that.

Former season ticket holders or other ticket buyers that were fed up with MLSE over the years… and there are many of them… likely tuned in to see what the big deal was all about. They aren't coming back for the most part. Just casual observers now. They saw the games… figured it was more of the same and have moved on again. Getting their football kick out of EPL or other leagues.

You then have the new wave of season ticket holders that mostly came for the show. Probably some good soccer fans in there too but as a group, they are interested in "being at BMO and experiencing the Atmosphere". You don't get that on TV so they don't watch.

To put the ratings in perspective, they are better than they used to get on The Score and GolTV. It's no where near enough to justify a 3-4x increase in team payroll… if that was part of the equation. And probably not enough to keep them on the main Sportsnet/TSN networks.

[Villa TFC]

In my humble opinion, there are practically no MLS fans in Canada. We have a few fans of Beckham, Henry, Nesta, Di Vaio, Defoe etc, but barely a handful of MLS fans. We have TFC, Whitecaps and Impact supporters, but a good percentage of them are fans because they enjoy attending the occasional/every game, having a few beers, gathering with friends, sitting/standing outside when the weather is nice etc. Supporters yes, and genuine ones, but I'd bet a good chunk of those who regularly go to BMO don't even bother watching TFC on television (I'm not talking about the people on this board...a lot of us went so far as to watch lousy streams of the Mickey Mouse Cup!).

I think MLS's reputation among the unconverted is worse than TFC's. I have scores of friends who are fifth-generation Canadians yet absolutely qualify as Euro-snobs. They know everything about the Premiership, the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A - and probably know more about the World Cup than I do - but won't give the MLS a single thought unless they get a free ticket. I have other friend who are new to Canada - from one of the newest significant immigrant groups to Toronto: Latin America - and likewise they're just not interested in MLS unless a big name comes to town (Julio Cesar qualifies for that, Gilberto doesn't).

If TFC was leading the league by a mile, TV ratings would go up but not substantially. I think it's going to take years before significant numbers of people watch TFC/MLS on television in Toronto, or even in Canada. People will race home to watch their beloved Juve, Bayern, Barca or United, but barely have the energy to flick the channel to watch TFC...but they'll all jump at the chance to pop down to BMO for some fun (if the weather's good).

So yes, I think league position plays a part. I think the team's style plays a part. But ultimately, TFC/MLS is competing with the best leagues and teams in the world. Perhaps not head-to-head at the same time, but as the same product, whereas NHL, MLB, NBA is the best league and the best teams in the world. If you like baseball, you'll watch MLB. If you like football, you'll watch La Liga, Serie A or the Prem. It may turn around eventually, but it's going to take a long time.

[Initial B]

It might not take that long to turn around. The results Team USA pulls out this time around in the WC is crucial to how they're viewed globally. If they make it to the semi-finals (maybe even the finals?) and knock out some UEFA nations in the process, I think europeans will have to take notice. England certainly won't forget.

[cmonyoureds]

Didn't TSN just get permission to start airing a few more channels? They're gonna have to find content somewhere. I could see them expanding on their rights for EPL and airing more MLS/other leagues in the process. They probably had a look at how many suckers (myself included) were paying $20/month for Sportsnet World and said "we'll have some of that".

I'm not sure how the whole content ownership thing works, but the fact that TSN just hi-jacked NBC's EPL coverage and took it straight to air, pre-game, half time and post-game coverage and all, had to be profitable for them. There'd be literally no production cost for them at all, would there?

[OgtheDim]

MLS Canadian rights come up in 2015. We'll see then how much the coowners of Mlse value MLS.

[MikeM]

We're a boring team to watch. I was a TFC fan that came back because of Defoe and Bradley. But we have 35% possession. It's awful to watch. I change the channel and check back in the 80th minute to be honest. I'm a soccer nut. I follow everything in Europe, I mostly still follow the MLS. I know everything about TFC. But the product is unwatchable.

But what's worse is that I've seen it since our inception. 4-4-2 kick and run British style soccer. Garbage.

I'd rather watch Winter's TFC go through its learning curve than watch Defoe and Bradley CHASE THE BALL all game.