Jets4Life
Registered User
Many Ottawa playoff games have not sold out in recent years including a GAME 6 ECF. If an American team didn't sell out a game 6 of a conference final Canadians would be screaming for relocation.
Source: Senators owner: Lack of Game 6 sellout 'very disturbing' - Sportsnet.ca
Thank you. You just validated what I said about Ottawa in a previous post.
Playoff ratings have been down in recent years.
Source: Playoff TV ratings down a 'shocking' 61 percent in Canada | The Hockey News
That was 2016, and ratings went as expected since no Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs. Ratings have rebounded back to normal levels since. Why not find a year when Toronto and a couple of other Canadian teams make the playoffs on Rogers TV. You need to come up with Canadian TV ratings since the beginning of the Rogers TV contract to validate your argument. You cannot be selective.
As for the younger generation turning to basketball and soccer over hockey (I could list hundreds of articles):
How Basketball Overtook Hockey As The Most Popular Youth Sport In Canada
How the Sports Landscape in Canada Is Changing
Three reasons why basketball is gaining popularity in Canada - Sportsnet.ca
All 3 articles you posted are about participation rates, not TV ratings. Participation in sport does not translate into TV ratings, which is what the thread topic is all about. If this were the case, MLS would be the #1 watched league in Canada. As I said earlier, I agree that more Canadians are PARTICIPATING in different sports, mainly due to the rising cost of enrolling a child in hockey, as opposed to soccer or basketball. Soccer is the sport with the highest participation level in Canada, but it has never translated into ratings from MLS even remotely close to the NHL in Canada.
As for basketball, the real test will be to see if kids in Canada are flocking to basketball when the Raptors inevitably fall back to earth, and have rebuilding years. This is not unprecedented in Canada. There was a huge jump in baseball participation during the 80s/early 90s, when the Blue Jays were one of the top teams in baseball. Ratings and participation fell when they started losing.
Thank you for proving two of my three statements. I appreciate it.
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