Why Do the Leafs Play So Many Saturday Home Games?

[alanschu]

Yes, and people are opining that it's because of the CBC and ratings.

How on Earth would the Leafs having a road game affect CBC television ratings?

Do fans only tune in if the game is at home?


Again, this thread is not a complaint about Toronto being shown on the CBC. But rather why their games are all home games.


But since many people on this thread have already misinterpreted the point of this thread (goooo humanity!), wouldn't the "leafs having more fans" be a self-fulfilling prophecy because it's the only team in the East that really gets any exposure?

How many people wouldn't enjoy the Ottawa Senators and their excellent play...had they been given the chance to actually see them play?

 

[sensens]

it is good business for cbc
ottawa just isnt as popular on tv as toronto
ottawa has less fans

Again, what are you basing this on? The fact that Ottawa gets no coverage on CBC? Again, when HNIC gives the Sens a fair shot for a year and the ratings consistently come back sour then maybe there's a point here. Until then, it's 100% speculation - and given that the Sens are quite possible the most exciting team in the league right now, I'd wager that they'd do just fine with a regular national audience.

like i said if you dont like cbc showing hockey to satisfy the Leaf Nation market then go out and buy a dish!

I've got a better idea - why don't I keep trying to ensure that my tax dollars are spent the way they are supposed to be spent instead of pandering to a shamelessly antiquated notion of what 'should' be shown every Saturday night? The CBC has finally figured out that people in Ottawa actually prefer watching the Senators if given the choice - it hardly seems a stretch to extrapolate this idea West of Kenora if it's the preference of Western Canadian hockey fans.

 

[thomasincanada]

The CBC has finally figured out that people in Ottawa actually prefer watching the Senators if given the choice - it hardly seems a stretch to extrapolate this idea West of Kenora if it's the preference of Western Canadian hockey fans.

The keyword there is "if". Anyway, there are IMO valid points on both sides of the conversation here and you certainly have made one or two.

Let me ask you this, though, do you think CBC should show knights games in London should it be determined that the knights are a bigger draw than the leafs in the London region? IMO the CHL is more representative of Canada as it's mostly Canadian and has more teams in more areas of the country. Perhaps it's an antiquated notion that HNIC needs to be the NHL?

 

[dakota]

it is good business for cbc
ottawa just isnt as popular on tv as toronto
ottawa has less fans

like i said if you dont like cbc showing hockey to satisfy the Leaf Nation market then go out and buy a dish!

in the other thread it was mentioned that during the lockout the CBC got higher ratings fro Movie Night in Canada than Leafs Night In Canada? how do you explain this?

My solution: show leafs games on saturday night in GTA = leaf fans happy = ratings
Show sens/montreal games nationally on saturday night nationally = hockey fans happy accross country = good ratings

probably higher ratings than game 1 gets now which is 1.2 million only. Its not about a teams fans on Saturday nights in Canada its just about watching hockey and most hockey fans want to see Ottawa/Montreal games a bit more... (at least fans outside of GTA do)...

 

[sensens]

Let me ask you this, though, do you think CBC should show knights games in London should it be determined that the knights are a bigger draw than the leafs in the London region? IMO the CHL is more representative of Canada as it's mostly Canadian and has more teams in more areas of the country. Perhaps it's an antiquated notion that HNIC needs to be the NHL?

It's an interesting notion - I certainly support the idea of promoting minor league hockey, but the complexity of trying to do this on anything other than a very local/regional level would be pretty daunting. Given the sheer number of teams, it's something probably best left to community broadcasting and the more regional sports networks, but if they wanted to show a national 'game of the week' and rotate it among the WHL, OHL and QMJHL I'm not sure there would be much to complain about (unless it was always the same teams playing). They could tie it in to HNIC broadcasts by having the game start at 4pm EST so that it was kind of like the 'Hockey Day in Canada' broadcasts every week, only integrating the CHL into the equation. Not a bad idea at all, really.

 

[Resolute]

How on Earth would the Leafs having a road game affect CBC television ratings?

Do fans only tune in if the game is at home?


Again, this thread is not a complaint about Toronto being shown on the CBC. But rather why their games are all home games.


But since many people on this thread have already misinterpreted the point of this thread (goooo humanity!), wouldn't the "leafs having more fans" be a self-fulfilling prophecy because it's the only team in the East that really gets any exposure?

Actually, no, there is no misinterpretation here. The answer to why the Leafs are usually at home on Saturdays is also CBC.

CBC prefers to broadcast games in Canda, ie, the mythical Hockey Night in Canada.

CBC's HD trucks are permanently parked at the ACC.

 

[sensens]

Again, this thread is not a complaint about Toronto being shown on the CBC. But rather why their games are all home games.

There's virtually no way that you can divorce HNIC from the Toronto Saturday night home game situation, as it's the CBC that works with the NHL to ensure that it happens year in and year out. But while on the topic of strictly Saturday night home games, it's also of note that local business' certainly prefer home games on the weekend. Those are key nights for bar-going and hitting the town afterwards, which is not an unconsiderable perk for the local Toronto business-scene and corporate box holders as well.

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

but if they wanted to show a national 'game of the week' and rotate it among the WHL, OHL and QMJHL I'm not sure there would be much to complain about (unless it was always the same teams playing). They could tie it in to HNIC broadcasts by having the game start at 4pm EST so that it was kind of like the 'Hockey Day in Canada' broadcasts every week, only integrating the CHL into the equation. Not a bad idea at all, really.

I like this idea a lot. It's hard to even follow the OHL around here with the Sens games taking over the timeslots when the 67's play most of the time, and I only get to see the QMJHL when the odd Olympiques game is on (two or three times a year), and never in my life have I been able to watch a WHL game on TV (besides the WHL vs Russian Selects every year).

For a hockey-crazy nation, we sure don't give our top junior leagues a lot of exposure outside their regions.

 

[Roughneck]

For a hockey-crazy nation, we sure don't give our top junior leagues a lot of exposure outside their regions.

I've always liked the idea of the CBC having a Hockey Day in Canada on Sundays where they show a QMJHL game, an OHL game and a WHL game in succession, I thought they could have done it for the lockout, but no dice.

Stupid CBC.

 

[HellsBells]

I heard somewhere that the Flames-Pens was the early game this Saturday. Then I looked at the schedule and saw the Sharks in Toronto, so much for that. Maybe they'll show the Flames game in the West, that would be a much better game to watch.

TSN & CBC are both very bias when it comes to the Leafs. Always have been. It has nothing to do with ratings. Its homerism at its best.

 

[SENSfreak_03]

That's retarted - what do they show on CBC?

Is Ottawa still that insecure about their fanbase they need to *not* show leafs games to ensure most of Ottawa cheers for the sens?

leafs on CBC or nationally on TSN are not blacked out in ottawa, just the local games on tsn, sportsnet or leafstv. i think you just misread that. and every team is blacked out in other regions cept for national games or if you have centre ice...cept for the sens and habs who share the same region..

 

[BlueAndWhite]

TSN & CBC are both very bias when it comes to the Leafs. Always have been. It has nothing to do with ratings. Its homerism at its best.

You're right. It has nothing to do with ratings.

The reasons the Leafs have a monopoly is because the bigwigs at the CBC for the past 40 years are just a bunch of Leaf fans.

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

I heard somewhere that the Flames-Pens was the early game this Saturday. Then I looked at the schedule and saw the Sharks in Toronto, so much for that. Maybe they'll show the Flames game in the West, that would be a much better game to watch.

TSN & CBC are both very bias when it comes to the Leafs. Always have been. It has nothing to do with ratings. Its homerism at its best.

By the same token Sportsnet favors Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

If you lived out "WEST", you'd be as sick of those teams as you are of the Leafs...

 

[Resolute]

I heard somewhere that the Flames-Pens was the early game this Saturday. Then I looked at the schedule and saw the Sharks in Toronto, so much for that. Maybe they'll show the Flames game in the West, that would be a much better game to watch.

Flames-Pens is the early game in Alberta (and maybe even only Southern Alberta) and Nova Scotia only.

CBC has apparently decided that the rest of the country would rather watch the tired, old Leafs instead of Crosby.

 

[WINNIPEGJETS]

You would think CBC would grow a brain and show Ottawa games nationally on the grounds that they put a better, faster, and more talented product on the ice then the Leafs.

I have yet to see a Ottawa game this year, I hear they have a good exciting team LOL

 

[Hart_House_Ca]

The other fans have no valid points. In fact reading their post doesn't make any sense. The more they post the more confusing they become. Maybe they should start to use a blue font colour. Then we could all understand them.

I believe that toronto should have all 80 plus games at home so that more people can enjoy what the leafs play at the ACC.

The fact of the matter is the leafs make more money for the league at home on saturday than they would on the road. Thats why the leafs should have every saturday game at home.

 

[Timmy]

I have yet to see a Ottawa game this year, I hear they have a good exciting team LOL

Ottawa finally got a team?

I've never seen them...are they any good?

 

[alanschu]

By the same token Sportsnet favors Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

If you lived out "WEST", you'd be as sick of those teams as you are of the Leafs...

That's probably because you live out west and get either SportsNet West or SportsNet Pacific. Given they are regional broadcasts, it's not too surprising to have them show regional games.

Toronto has 14 games on Sportsnet this year as well. But many of their games (i.e. the rest of the ones that aren't on LeafsTV) are already on the national broadcast of TSN, or Hockey Night in Canada.

Sportsnet doesn't "favour" Vancouver, Edmonton, or Calgary. Sportsnet West and Pacific do....and that's because they've set it up that way. The "Your home team first" and all that stuff. It's why the regional system was set up. It's not like Sportsnet Ontario is showing the Oilers/Flames/Canucks games.

 

[Roughneck]

By the same token Sportsnet favors Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

If you lived out "WEST", you'd be as sick of those teams as you are of the Leafs...

I haven't seen any Flames or Oilers games on Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, and very few on Sportsnet Pacific.

 

[thenextone]

By the same token Sportsnet favors Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

If you lived out "WEST", you'd be as sick of those teams as you are of the Leafs...

Im sorry but how is this at all related?

If you lived in the Toronto region you would never see Van/Edm/Cgy on Sportsnet

In fact you'd be so busy taking the Leafs through both holes (CBC and TSN) that you wouldnt even notice other games

Unless you of course a Leafs fan living out West, well then thats what Center Ice is for.

Besides, Sportsnet is cable so you have the option of not subscribing to it. CBC offers no such luxury.

 

[pepty]

HNIC strikes again. They had only a handful of Saturday night Sens games showing in the Ottawa region this year and they've just cancelled one-this weekend Ottawa vs Buffalo. Next week the game agianst Philadelphia will not be shown either. Both good games between a fast young divisional rival and a long time conference rival. Instead Ottawa fans along with the rest of Canada will have to watch the Leafs plod around the ice yet again.

What other broadcaster,private or public-does this? Shows one team week in week out come what may? CBC evidently thinks it is their mandate to act as shills for TML.

If HNIC refuses to play Ottawa games,even regionally, they should release the rights and let TSN or Sportsnet show them.

 

[RC51]

I believe the saturday home games are determined by the fans.
Fact- in the entire USA the most important sports for the US are Baseball,Football Basketball. Going up against those sports is nearly impossible. The US fan will chose to spend his sports dollar for one of these first.

So it's smart to have more USA hockey home games played midweek
As much as possible this is.

 

[boredmale]

I believe the saturday home games are determined by the fans.
Fact- in the entire USA the most important sports for the US are Baseball,Football Basketball. Going up against those sports is nearly impossible. The US fan will chose to spend his sports dollar for one of these first.

So it's smart to have more USA hockey home games played midweek
As much as possible this is.

I disagree, look at any teams average attendence, it usually is slightly better(1000+) on weekends.

 

[mug3n]

I believe the saturday home games are determined by the fans.
Fact- in the entire USA the most important sports for the US are Baseball,Football Basketball. Going up against those sports is nearly impossible. The US fan will chose to spend his sports dollar for one of these first.

So it's smart to have more USA hockey home games played midweek
As much as possible this is.

Baseball is basically winding down to the playoffs when hockey season starts... football and basketball are like the only sports that are playing at the same time at hockey, and since football season goes to around only half an NHL season long, the NBA is the only sport that's really in competition with the NHL at this time of the year. And then, of course, you've got college hoops, which is always popular.

And people overestimate the popularity of the NBA in the US. It really isn't that much better than hockey in terms of popularity; there are still some bitter fans.

 

[HABitual]

Toronto is always the national game though.

I absolutely hate that! There really is no excuse for not showing Montreal games on CBC Montreal on Saturday nights!!