The Great Canadian Ratings Report: Improbable John Scott story boosts NHL all-star game
Maybe the NHL is on to something here.
Considering the success of the John Scott affair, other leagues might take a page from the NHL all-star game's inadvertant success. Instead of filling rosters with star athletes, Major League Baseball could revitalize interest in its all-star game by conducting an American-Idol-style vote to put a mixed seniors slo-pitch league player on the field. The NBA could get fans to decide which schoolyard slam-dunk star would captain its all-star teams.
The NFL could ... well, there's nothing the NFL can do to revive the Pro Bowl. But you get the idea.
As crazy as it all seemed, the fan vote that put career thug John Scott in a captain's jersey for this year's NHL paid off not only in a sort of warped goodwill way -- it paid off in television ratings.
The game was not only the most-watched event on Canadian television Sunday, but its 1.97 million audience on CBC represented a 33 per cent increase over last year. Saturday's skills competition attracted 1.9 million, a four per cent bump from the last game.
South of the border, it set a record for NBC Sports Net, with ratings up 24 per cent over 2015.
The game's 1.17 rating -- the U.S. operates on a different ratings system than Canada -- was even more impressive considering it was up against the Pro Bowl, which for some inexplicable reason, drew a 5.0 rating for a game between Who Cares? and I Don't Give A Darn. That audience was down almost 30 per cent in the past two years. (The NFL game didn't make much of an impact in Canada,with 160,000 watching on TSN.)
It's possible that the NHL game got a boost from the three-on-three format, but the Scott story drew the most attention leading up to the weekend. With television, the story's the thing.
For example, after hockey, the most-watched sports event in Canada was Saturday's Raptors game on Sportsnet One. The game drew an average of 268,000 viewers -- one of the team's biggest audiences of the season.
The reason? The Raptors were on a major hot streak and set a record for most consecutive victories.
Then there was tennis, a sport that usually finishes in the bottom half of the ratings. But add in Milos Raonic and his stunning performance at the Australian Open and the picture changes. His semifinal match against Andy Murray averaged 259,000 viewers on TSN and RDS, the highest-rated Australian Open semifinal ever and more than three times the number who watched last year's semifinal.
Add in the fact that the game started at 3 a.m. ET and the numbers are even more amazing. (Including replays, TSN reports that 2.3 million Canadians watched some or all of the match.)
Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television over the past weekend, according to Numeris overnight ratings:
1. NHL, All-Star Game, Sunday, CBC: 1,970,000
2. NHL, All-Star skills competition, Saturday, CBC-Sportsnet: 1,900,000
3. NBA, Pistons at Raptors, Saturday, Sportsnet One: 268,00
4. UFC, Johnson vs. Bader, Saturday, CTV2: 230,000
5. Curling, Canadian junior men's final, Sunday, TSN: 213,000
6. Curling, Canadian junior women's final, Sunday, TSN: 190,000
7. Tennis, Australian Open men's semifinal, Raonic vs. Murray, Friday, TSN: 187,000
8. Curling, Canadian junior men's semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 171,000
9. Curling, Canadian junior women's semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 163,000
10. NFL, Pro Bowl, Sunday, TSN: 160,000
11. Skiing, World Cup freestyle, Saturday, CBC: 156,000
12. PGA, Farmers Insurance Open final round, Sunday, Global: 155,000
13. Figure skating, Canadian nationals gala, Sunday, TSN: 148,000
14. Tennis, Australian Open women's final (repeat), Saturday, TSN: 138,000
15. Skiing, World Cup alpine, Saturday, CBC: 135,000
16. PGA, Farmers Insurance Open third round, Saturday, Global: 126,000
17. NBA, Spurs at Cavaliers, Saturday, Sportsnet: 107,000
18. UFC, Preliminaries, Saturday, TSN: 104,000
18. Tennis, Australian Open men's final, Sunday, TSN: 104,000
THREE TO WATCH
Return of the saviour: When the hapless Edmonton Oilers chose Connor McDavid in last spring's NHL draft, the young forward carried with him great expectations. He was not only expected to lead the Oilers out of the wilderness where they've dwelt lo these many years, but boost ratings for Rogers. Sadly, he has done neither, mainly because he's been injured most of the time. But he returns Tuesday night as the Oilers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet). Let the resurrection begin.
An ice day: Some might argue that every day is hockey day in Canada, but there's only one Hockey Day in Canada: an annual 13-hour celebration of our national game featuring a slew of Canadian-based NHL teams and tons of feel-good stories about the sport. It all starts a Saturday at noon ET on CBC and Sportsnet.
Sunday, Super Sunday: History will be made at this year's Super Bowl. No, it's not the epic showdown between aging veteran quarterback Peyton Manning and up-and-coming QB Cam Newton. It's the fact that for the first time in its half-century of existence, the Super Bowl will not be followed by a Roman numeral. I guess Super Bowl L just didn't have the right look. Super Bowl 50 -- that's better -- goes Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET, CTV and CBS.)
