CBC Draws Highest Audience Since '06-07 For Sundin's T.O. Return

CBC Draws 1.833 Million Viewers For Sundin's First Game Back In Toronto

The CBC drew 1.833 million viewers for Saturday's "Hockey Night in Canada" coverage of Canucks-Maple Leafs, which marked Canucks C Mats Sundin's first game in Toronto after playing 13 seasons with the Maple Leafs, according to the CP. The viewership total represents the net's highest audience for a regular-season game since the '06-07 season. The CBC this season is averaging 1.242 million viewers for its early window "HNIC" games. Meanwhile, the net's "Hockey Day in Canada" coverage drew 620,000 viewers for Saturday afternoon's Senators-Canadiens game and 796,000 viewers for Flames-Oilers, which aired after Canucks-Maple Leafs (CP, 2/23). In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich wrote if fans "popped into 'Hockey Day in Canada' just once or twice on Saturday, you'd be forgiven if you thought it was a shameless mix of cross-promotion and a redundant tribute to the product that keeps the CBC in business." But the 13 hours of hockey coverage "fills a rather gaping hole in the Canadian television scene," and it is "one of the rare times that the small towns that dot the map actually get some air time from Canada's broadcasters." Zelkovich: "What better guy to orchestrate a small-town extravaganza than [CBC host] Ron MacLean?" (TORONTO STAR, 2/23).

RUMOR MILL: In Toronto, Rob Longley reported rumors in the broadcast world "suggest that ESPN is looking seriously at adding a limited package" of NHL games next season. Meanwhile, Longley wrote one of the "best recent innovations in hockey telecasts -- when used properly -- is having a commentator in the box between players benches." But "HNIC" has been "slow to embrace the trend, something it may want to reconsider after Saturday's Leaf-Canucks game in which Greg Millen was insightful and entertaining" (TORONTO SUN, 2/23).