i don't believe this 

Tomas Barlow wrote:

cash wrote:

i don't believe this 

You’re right. It was probably 46 cameras.

Just because people in Southern Ontario would rather watch an NFL game doesn’t mean the rest of the country is the same. The Grey Cup is always one of the highest rated events on Canadian television. CFL fans watch the game no matter who is playing.

Hey .. Toronto here & I love the CFL : )) ..  
 

If Bellmedia, which owns TSN and CTV, put a tenth of the effort in pushing the CFL championship as they do the NFL, then the Grey Cup would easily beat the Hyper Bowl in the ratings. The simple fact is that CTV paid a boatload of money for NFL rights, simply to get the "big game" in January and they relentlessly hype the U.S. game to justify the expense. 

The whole "I-don't-believe-the-ratings" schtick gets tiresome and reminds me of the stuff I used to hear from PDs when a format flip didn't work and their station got plastered when the book came out. Don't like the numbers you see? Tough. Either explain why they're wrong (backed up with evidence) or simply accept them and move on.

It's a good thing the NFL will never come to Toronto, largely because taxpayers like you and me would be forced to foot the bill to construct some enormous cow palace in Scarborough or Pickering to house the whole sorry affair. Thank God Toronto residents had the good sense to resist MLSE and Ted Rogers' efforts to ram the game down their throats. The last time the Bills came to Toronto, they had to paper the joint with cut-rate tickets just to put bums in the seats. 

Johnny B wrote:

cash wrote:

i don't believe this 

Agreed...the way ratings are tabulated, controlled and sourced by the measuring entities and networks in Canada these days means I have next to zero % confidence in what is being reported factually...one thing is for certain however,  the Grey Cup used to rival the Super Bowl for eyeballs in Canada not so long ago...I'm willing to bet viewership is down 50% over the past 15 years...it'll likely never happen but God forbid the NFL comes to Toronto the CFL will officially be recognized for what it already is, a B-league...I realize it's proudly Canadian and still relevant and important to communities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba but no one can tell me there isn't a player or coach in this league that doesn't want to be a part of the NFL.

You are correct. 2009-6.1M. 2010-6.040M. 2011-4.6M. 2012-5.5M. 2013-4.5M. 2014 and 2015=4.1M. 2016-3.6M. 2017-4.1M. 2018-3.132M. 2019-3.682M. 2021-2.873M. 2022-3.121. Definite downward trend. Argos played in 2012, 2017 and 2022. The two 6M Grey Cups featured Sask and Montreal.

If you look at the article I posted from 3DownNation it shows the Grey Cup Ratings over the past 15 years.  And they generally were higher then even topping 6 million viewers.  However the league also had issues in the 90's where the ratings we lower than today. When on line viewership is included later the week, ratings could possibly get to 4 million for Sunday's game.

Don't understand why some NFL fans are so paranoid about the CFL. The Canadian league is no threat to the NFL in Canada.  And the NFL doesn't appear to be interested in having a Canadian team regardless.

 And when they ran the test with the Bills playing one pre season and one regular game in Toronto each year for five years, it was cut to 4 years because of poor attendance (2008-12).  In the fourth year tickets were given away right before games to paper the Rogers Centre so as to appear to be fuller on TV.

Excuses like the Bills weren't much of a team, ticket prices were too high, Toronto didn't have the atmosphere (tailgating) of an NFL game etc. doesn't cut it.  Bottom line, they couldn't sell out the games, so the NFL has no plans moving north of the border. Even if somebody was willing to come up with billions and a new stadium, the chances of an NFL team for Toronto in the near future are not great. 

The audience for the 2023 Grey Cup peaked at 5.2 million when Montreal defeated Winnipeg during the last minute of the contest.  Green Day had about 4.1 million viewers for the half time show, and a total of 8.9 million Canadians watched at least part of the Grey Cup on TSN/RDS. So regardless good ratings and solid numbers in the important 25-54 age demographic. 

I think TSN did a good job of the production for the game.  Great camera work and sound and generally the commentary was well done.  I agree with BowmanvilleBob that Bell doesn't give the CFL the level of promotion or hype it could.  It should give the league and Grey Cup more promo on CTV for example.

However the promo for the Canadian league will always pale to whatever is done for the NFL and Super Bowl.  Bell has too much money tied up in the NFL rights and this will always be by far the main focus.  Even though surprisingly the NFL regular season games traditionally aren't always huge ratings draws, but do attract the right demos.  

Last edited by paterson1 (November 21, 2023 2:54 pm)

RadioActive wrote:

There was a time - and it was a while ago - that the CFL was on U.S. over-the-air TV. It stretches all the way back to the early 50s when NBC used to show some of the games. 

Here's the TV Guide listing for the historic first CFL game ever broadcast across the border, and yes, it involved the Argos. It was August 28, 1954 (and I even managed to track down the score. Toronto won 13-6.) Is it true a touchdown back then was only worth 5 points as it says in the box trying to explain the rules to an American audience?

This is indeed correct. The six point touchdown was introduced in 1956.

Tomas Barlow wrote:

cash wrote:

i don't believe this 

You’re right. It was probably 46 cameras.

Just because people in Southern Ontario would rather watch an NFL game doesn’t mean the rest of the country is the same. The Grey Cup is always one of the highest rated events on Canadian television. CFL fans watch the game no matter who is playing.

It's dead, Jim!

Even though the Grey Cup halftime shows can't begin to match the hype and glamour of the Super Bowl, they have had some memorable performances.  Here is writer Ryan Ballentine's top five Grey Cup Half Time Shows,,,
https://3downnation.com/2023/11/22/opinion-green-day-played-one-of-best-grey-cup-halftime-shows-ever/

cash wrote:

Tomas Barlow wrote:

cash wrote:

i don't believe this 

You’re right. It was probably 46 cameras.

Just because people in Southern Ontario would rather watch an NFL game doesn’t mean the rest of the country is the same. The Grey Cup is always one of the highest rated events on Canadian television. CFL fans watch the game no matter who is playing.

It's dead, Jim!

I'm a doctor not a linebacker!

It's enough to drive you to drink. And if you are...

Thanks for sharing RadioActive!