NHL Ratings Down In Canada; Should "HNIC" Turn A New Leaf?

Senators Only Canadian Team To Grow Regional TV Audience Since Lockout

The Senators are the only Canadian NHL team to have increased its regional TV audience this season, and "nationally, the numbers are down or about flat,"  according to William Houston of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL.  But "the good news for the league is, since the prelockout season of '03-04, the audiences, for the most part, have grown." Despite leading the Northwest Division, the Canucks' regional audiences are down about 20%, as Rogers Sportsnet is averaging 242,000 viewers per game, compared to 303,000 at this point last season.  Canucks numbers also have declined 29% from the prelockout season.  Game 1 of the CBC's "Hockey Night In Canada" doubleheader is averaging 1.181 million viewers, down 10% from last year and 7% from '03-04.  Game 2 is averaging 686,000, an 8% decline from last year and a 15% decline from '03-04.  But TSN is averaging 463,000 viewers for its NHL telecasts, up 3% from last year and 49%  from '03-04 (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 1/12).

LEAFS: The GLOBE & MAIL's Houston today writes the time "is probably right for ['HNIC'] to stop giving the [Maple Leafs] countrywide distribution," as the show "should be thinking about featuring" the Senators in its early game this season.  With the Leafs currently second to last in the Eastern Conference, "HNIC"  will be "counting on the Senators, the top team in the Eastern Conference, to deliver substantial playoff audiences."  But among the six Canadian NHL franchises, "the Leafs produce the largest audiences." Red Wings-Senators, up against the NFL playoffs on Saturday, drew 909,000 viewers, compared to 1.05 million  for Seahawks-Packers and 924,000 for Jaguars-Patriots on CTV. Houston recommends that in addition to the Senators, "HNIC" "could occasionally switch off to" the Canadiens (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 1/15).

Writer Feels Blues Do Not Get Enough Credit For Being One Of Most Innovative Teams

GOT THE BLUES?: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar wrote the Blues "have been among the most innovative teams in the NHL with their broadcasts, being among the first to allow a camera to be placed in the locker room to tape strategy sessions and even permitting [players to wear] microphones." The Blues have also decided to allow KMOX-AM analyst Kelly Chase on the Blues' bench area for the rest of the season. Chase: "St. Louis has been ahead of the curve on this kind of innovation, and hardly gets any credit" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/12).