Sportsnet said that its programming "reached 10.7 million Canadians on Saturday and Sunday, powered by the return" of the NHL and the Raptors, which means a "third of the country spent part of the long weekend watching at least part of a live sporting event," according to Sean Fitz-Gerald of THE ATHLETIC. Sportsnet had "eight of Canada’s top 10 most-watched shows of the weekend" in "one key demographic." Six of seven Canadian NHL teams are in the qualifying round (THEATHLETIC.com, 8/5). In Edmonton, Terry Jones notes in addition to Sportsnet's TV audiences, there were "more than two million streams" on parent company Rogers' SN NOW and NHL Live platforms. This comes as NBC reported its "largest audiences for a game other than the outdoor Winter Classic game" when 1.572 million watched Penguins-Canadiens from Toronto on Saturday. The "wow number so far" was from the Oilers-Flames exhibition game last week that "attracted 4.5 million viewers." Jones: "That’s a Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final sized number. Wait until the Eastern and Western Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final are held here" (EDMONTON SUN, 8/6).
MISSING THEIR CHANCE: In Denver, Mark Kiszla writes the ongoing battle between Comcast and the Avalanche-owned Altitude Sports network "makes it extremely difficult for casual sports fans to jump on the Avalanche bandwagon by tuning in on television." The "arrogance and stubbornness of warring media entities has faded the enthusiasm for this exciting hockey team." By allowing all contracts with carriers of Altitude to expire at the same time, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment "blew the chance to grow fan bases for the Avalanche and Nuggets" (DENVER POST, 8/6).
