No NHL, No Prob: Canadian Sports Audiences Increase In ‘05

Blue Jays’ Ratings Benefit From Absence Of NHL

Canadian sports nets TSN, Rogers Sportsnet and The Score all reported “substantial audience increases in 2005 ... despite missing five months during the most-watched part of the NHL season” due to the lockout, according to Chris Zelkovich of the TORONTO STAR. TSN held the top position among the sports nets with a 24-hour average of 100,200 viewers, a 10% increase from ’04, while Sportsnet’s daily average was up 26% to 61,800, and The Score increased 27% to 19,900. TSN’s prime-time audience increased 14% to 240,000, while Sportsnet’s was up 22% to 160,000. TSN reported “increases in all demographics, placing it third among all specialty channels, behind WTBS and YTV.” TSN President Phil King: “With the NHL not available, many sports fans migrated to other sports.” Sportsnet President Doug Beeforth: “People who normally would have watched playoff hockey watched the [Blue] Jays and stayed. The fact that hockey came back in such a robust fashion was also a big factor.” Zelkovich notes the Blue Jays’ audience was up 72% on TSN and 77% on Sportsnet. NASCAR, CFL, golf and tennis also “benefited from hockey’s absence” on TSN with increases of 37%, 27%, 30% and 17%, respectively. With the NHL’s return, fall audiences on TSN were up 77%, while Maple Leafs regional audiences have risen 38% (TORONTO STAR, 1/26).