TSN Broadcasting 37 NCAA Hockey Games This Season Including Frozen Four

In previous seasons, the only college hockey TSN has broadcast was the NCAA Frozen Four — and that was usually on tape delay. This year though, beginning this past weekend, TSN will broadcast 37 games in total which includes the eastern division playoffs and all the action of the Frozen Four championship. Details from the release follow.

“This partnership will allow TSN to deliver Canadian fans unprecedented access to the excitement of NCAA Hockey,” said Mike Snee, Executive Director, College Hockey Inc. “Canadians have always had a strong presence in college hockey and currently make up 30% of all Division I players. TSN will provide fans in Canada the chance to see for themselves why so many skilled Canadian hockey players are choosing college hockey, and why NCAA Hockey is the fastest growing development path to professional hockey.”

With live coverage of NCAA Hockey all season long, TSN’s five feeds shine the spotlight on the game’s next generation of star players, among them Boston University centre Jack Eichel and Boston College defenceman Noah Hanifin, as well as the best college hockey teams from across the United States, including the #1-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers and the 2014 FROZEN FOUR champion Union Dutchmen.

In addition to the network’s live broadcast coverage, TSN delivers news updates and analysis of NCAA Hockey on multiple platforms including TIM HORTONS THAT’S HOCKEY, SPORTSCENTRE, and TSN.ca.

The full schedule is below and subject to change. All times Eastern.

Senators Regional Games are Headed to TSN

The Ottawa Senators and Bell Media announced a new agreement this morning that will see regional television and local radio coverage of the team air on Bell-owned stations for the next 12 seasons. This is the same duration as Sportsnet’s new national broadcast agreement with the NHL. The deal includes at least 52 games on TSN and at least 40 games on RDS within the Senators regional territory, which includes eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. TSN Radio 1200 retains exclusive radio rights to all games. Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

This agreement brings up several questions to Senators fans in the east. Will Bell charge extra for a TSN-Sens channel, as they do for local Winnipeg Jets games. The local Jets channel costs $10 a month (that comes out to about $1 per game). Or will Bell package the games along with TSN, as they do with regional Canadiens broadcasts, making them more accessible. Or will Bell combine the Canadiens and Senators packages, they share the same regional territory, into one regional NHL hockey package? The Jets games cost money because Bell had a pay a lot more for those rights than they did for the Canadiens rights.

Bell likely paid a significant amount for this Senators contract, considering the NHL/Rogers agreement sparked a bidding war between Bell and Rogers. So, I’d guess they will have to monetize these games in some fashion. How much money can they get considering the Senators quickly lose popularity once you cross the Ottawa River? This isn’t like Manitoba where an entire province loves the local team. The Senators have to compete with the Habs in Quebec, the Leafs in Ontario and both in the Maritimes. Indeed, even in Ottawa many fans still have ties to Montreal or Toronto.

The other looming question is what will come of longtime Senators voice Dean Brown? He has called almost every regional Senators game since Sportsnet launched in 1998. There are two possibilities for Brown. He is a Sportsnet employee and he does freelance work for the CBC. In my opinion he is a the best play-by-play announcer Sportsnet has in their ranks and deserves a spot on their new national broadcasts. Him and former partner Garry Galley would make an excellent eastern-based pairing for Rogers. While it is possible TSN could hire him to call Senators games regionally again, I think it is unlikely. Dennis Beyak will likely continue to call Jets regional games. That leaves Chris Cuthbert and Gord Miller to do the Leafs and Senators.

2014 Winter Olympics Competition Schedule

It seems there are not many good schedule for the 2014 Olympics available which include times for North America. So to save you the time, here is a sport-by-sport schedule. If time permits, I may also post a daily schedule closer to the start of the Games. I have included Canadian broadcast information. The 2014 Olympics are available on CBC, NBC, TSN, TSN2, Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE in Canada.

All times are Eastern Standard (GMT-5). I had to convert all times from local Sochi time myself, so if you notice any mistakes, let me know. Any events starting at “midnight” means the start of a new day. So a curling draw at midnight on February 10, means its on February 9 in primetime for those on the west coast.

Schedule and broadcast info is subject to change. And remember if you are setting your PVR, be sure to add extra time at the end as for a number of reasons events can run long.

ALPINE SKIING
Sunday 2/9, 2:00-4:15am – Men’s Downhill CBC
Monday 2/10, 1:55-3:30am – Women’s Combined (run 1) TSN
Monday 2/10, 5:55-7:10am – Women’s Combined (run 2) TSN
Wednesday 2/12, 2:00-4:10am – Women’s Downhill CBC
Friday 2/14, 1:55-3:30am – Men’s Combined (run 1) SN
Friday 2/14, 6:15-7:40am – Men’s Combined (run 2) SN
Saturday 2/15, 1:55-4:10am – Women’s Super-G TSN
Sunday 2/16, 1:55-4:10am – Men’s Super-G TSN
Tuesday 2/18, 1:55-4:00am – Women’s Giant Slalom (run 1) SN
Tuesday 2/18, 5:30-7:00am – Women’s Giant Slalom (run 2) SN
Wednesday 2/19, 2:00-4:00am – Men’s Giant Slalom (run 1) CBC
Wednesday 2/19, 5:30-7:10am – Men’s Giant Slalom (run 2) TSN
Friday 2/21, 7:30-9:00am – Women’s Slalom (run 1) SN
Friday 2/21, 11:00am-12:25pm – Women’s Slalom (run 2) SN
Saturday 2/22, 7:30-9:15am – Men’s Slalom (run 1) SN
Saturday 2/22, 12:15-1:50pm – Women’s Slalom (run 2) CBC (TD 2:15pm)

*Note on alpine skiing: for single-run events and the 1st run of two-run events, the best skiers go in the first hour. For the second run, the best skiers go at the end.

BIATHLON
Saturday 2/8, 9:30-10:55am – Men’s 10km Sprint SN1
Sunday 2/9, 9:25-10:50am – Women’s 7.5km Sprint TSN
Monday 2/10, 10:00-11:20am – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit CBC (TD 3pm)
Tuesday 2/11, 9:45-10:50am – Women’s 10km Pursuit SN1
Thursday 2/13, 8:45-11:00am – Men’s 20km Individual SN1
Friday 2/14, 8:45-10:55am – Women’s 15km Individual SN
Sunday 2/16, 10:00-11:00am – Men’s 15km Mass Start SN
Monday 2/17, 10:00-10:55am – Women’s 12.5km Mass Start SN
Wednesday 2/19, 9:15-11:00am – 2x6km Women + 2×7.5km Men Relay SN1
Friday 2/21, 9:15-11:00am – Women’s 4x6km Relay SN
Saturday 2/22, 9:15-11:00am – Men’s 4×7.5km Relay SN

BOBSLEIGH
Sunday 2/16, 11:15-1:35pm – Two-man (heats 1 & 2) SN
Monday 2/17, 10:00-11:45am – Two-man (heats 3 & 4) CBC
Tuesday 2/18, 10:00am-12:10pm – Women’s (heats 1 & 2) TSN2
Wednesday 2/19, 11:10am-1:20pm – Women’s (heats 3 & 4) SN1
Saturday 2/22, 11:15am-2:05pm – Four-man (heats 1 & 2) SN
Sunday 2/23, 4:25-7:05am – Four-man (heats 3 & 4) TSN

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Saturday 2/8, 5:00-6:00am – Women’s 7.5km Classic + 7.5km Free CBC
Sunday 2/9, 4:55-6:45am – Men’s 15km Classic + 15km Free TSN2
Tuesday 2/11, 4:45-5:50am – Men’s & Women’s Sprint Free (qualification) SN
Tuesday 2/11, 7:00-8:50am – Men’s & Women’s Sprint Free (finals at 8:00am on CBC) SN
Thursday 2/13, 5:30-6:40am – Women’s 10km Classic SN1
Friday 2/14, 4:55-6:55am – Men’s 15km Classic SN1
Saturday 2/15, 5:30-6:30am – Women’s 4x5km Relay SN1
Sunday 2/16, 4:55-7:30am – Men’s 4x10km Relay TSN
Wednesday 2/19, 4:00-6:00am – Men’s & Women’s Team Sprints (semifinals) TSN2
Wednesday 2/19, 6:45-8:00am – Men’s & Women’s Team Sprints (finals) CBC (TD 10:15am)
Saturday 2/22, 4:25-6:25am – Women’s 30km Mass Start TSN
Sunday 2/23, 2:00-4:45am – Men’s 50km Mass Start CBC

MEN’S CURLING
Monday 2/10, Midnight – Germany (Jahr) vs. Canada (Jacobs) CBC
Monday 2/10, 10:00am – Canada (Jacobs) vs. Switzerland (Michel) TSN
Tuesday 2/11, 5:00am – Canada (Jacobs) vs. Sweden (Edin) CBC
Wednesday 2/12, Midnight – Match TBA TSN
Wednesday 2/12, 10:00am – Russia (Drozdov) vs. Canada (Jacobs) TSN2
Thursday 2/13, 5:00am – Canada (Jacobs) vs. Denmark (Stjerne) TSN2
Friday 2/14, Midnight – Canada (Jacobs) vs. Norway (Ulsrud) CBC
Saturday 2/15, 5:00am – Canada (Jacobs) vs. Great Britain (Murdoch) TSN2
Sunday 2/16, Midnight – United States (Shuster) vs. Canada (Jacobs) CBC
Sunday 2/16, 10:00am – China (Liu) vs. Canada (Jacobs) TSN2
Monday 2/17, 5:00am – Match TBA TSN
Wednesday 2/19, 10:00am – Semifinals SN
Friday 2/21, 3:30am – Bronze Medal Game TSN
Friday 2/21, 8:30am – Gold Medal Game CBC

WOMEN’S CURLING
Monday 2/10, 5:00am – China (Wang) vs. Canada (Jones) TSN
Tuesday 2/11, Midnight – Sweden (Sigfridsson) vs. Canada (Jones) CBC
Wednesday 2/12, 5:00am – Canada (Jones) vs. Great Britain (Muirhead) TSN
Thursday 2/13, Midnight – Canada (Jones) vs. Denmark (Nielsen) CBC
Thursday 2/13, 10:00am – Switzerland (Ott) vs. Canada (Jones) SN
Friday 2/14, 5:00am – Match TBA TSN2
Saturday 2/15, Midnight – Canada (Jones) vs. Japan (Ogasawara) CBC
Saturday 2/15, 10:00am – Canada (Jones) vs. Russia (Sidorova) TSN2
Sunday 2/16, 5:00am – United States (Brown) vs. Canada (Jones) CBC
Monday 2/17, Midnight – Match TBA CBC
Monday 2/17, 10:00am – Canada (Jones) vs. Korea (Kim) TSN2
Wednesday 2/19, 5:00am – Semifinals CBC
Thursday 2/20, 3:30am – Bronze Medal Game TSN
Thursday 2/20, 8:30am – Gold Medal Game CBC

FIGURE SKATING
Thursday 2/6, 10:30am-2:00pm – Team Competition (day 1) CBC
Saturday 2/8, 9:30am-2:05pm – Team Competition (day 2) SN
Sunday 2/9, 10:00am-1:15pm – Team Competition (day 3) CBC
Tuesday 2/11, 9:45am-1:25pm – Pairs Short Program SN
Wednesday 2/12, 10:45am-2:00pm – Pairs Free Skate TSN, CBC (JIP 12:15)
Thursday 2/13, 10:00am-2:30pm – Men Short Program TSN
Friday 2/14, 10:00am-2:30pm – Men Free Skate TSN
Sunday 2/16, 10:00am-1:45pm – Short Dance TSN
Monday 2/17, 9:55am-1:35pm – Free Dance TSN
Wednesday 2/19, 9:55am-2:30pm – Ladies Short Program TSN
Thursday 2/20, 9:55am-2:10pm – Ladies Free Skate TSN

FREESTYLE SKIING
Thursday 2/6, 9:00-9:45am – Women’s Moguls (qualifying 1) CBC
Saturday 2/8, 8:45-9:30am – Women’s Moguls (qualifying 2) SN1
Saturday 2/8, 1:00-2:30pm – Women’s Moguls (final) CBC
Monday 2/10, 8:55-10:20am – Men’s Moguls (qualifying) SN
Monday 2/10, 1:00-2:35pm – Men’s Moguls (final) CBC
Tuesday 2/11, 12:55-2:25am – Women’s Slopestyle (qualifying) TSN
Tuesday 2/11, 4:00-5:00am – Women’s Slopestyle (final) CBC
Thursday 2/13, 1:00-3:00am – Men’s Slopestyle (qualifying) SN
Thursday 2/13, 4:30-5:45am – Men’s Slopestyle (final) CBC
Friday 2/14, 8:45-9:45am – Women’s Aerials (qualifying) CBC
Friday 2/14, 12:25-1:35pm – Women’s Aerials (final) TSN2
Monday 2/17, 8:30-10:00am – Men’s Aerials (qualifying) SN
Monday 2/17, 12:15-1:35pm – Men’s Aerials (final) SN
Tuesday 2/18, 8:30-10:25am – Men’s Halfpipe (qualifying) SN
Tuesday 2/18, 12:25-1:30pm – Men’s Halfpipe (final) TSN
Thursday 2/20, 2:45-3:30am – Men’s Ski Cross (qualifying) CBC
Thursday 2/20, 4:30-6:00am- Men’s Ski Cross (final at 5:35am) CBC
Thursday 2/20, 9:15-10:45am – Women’s Halfpipe (qualifying) SN
Thursday 2/20, 12:15-1:25pm – Women’s Halfpipe (final) SN
Friday 2/21, 2:45-3:30am – Women’s Ski Cross (qualifying) CBC
Friday 2/21, 4:30-6:00am – Women’s Ski Cross (final at 5:35am) CBC

MEN’S HOCKEY
Wednesday 2/12, 12:00pm – Czech Republic vs. Sweden SN
Thursday 2/13, 3:00am – Finland vs. Austria SN
Thursday 2/13, 7:30am – Slovakia vs. United States TSN
Thursday 2/13, 7:30am – Russia vs. Slovenia CBC
Thursday 2/13, 12:00pm – Canada vs. Norway CBC
Friday 2/14, 3:00am – Czech Republic vs. Latvia TSN
Friday 2/14, 7:30am – Sweden vs. Switzerland TSN
Friday 2/14, 12:00pm – Canada vs. Austria CBC
Friday 2/14, 12:00pm – Norway vs. Finland SN
Saturday 2/15, 3:00am – Slovakia vs. Slovenia SN
Saturday 2/15, 7:30am – United States vs. Russia CBC
Saturday 2/15, 12:00pm – Switzerland vs. Czech Republic TSN*
Saturday 2/15, 12:00pm – Sweden vs. Latvia SN1*
Sunday 2/16, 3:00am – Austria vs. Norway TSN2
Sunday 2/16, 7:30am – Russia vs. Slovakia SN
Sunday 2/16, 12:00pm – Finland vs. Canada CBC
Tuesday 2/18, 3:00am – Qualification Playoff #1 CBC
Tuesday 2/18, 7:30am – Qualification Playoff #2 CBC
Tuesday 2/18, 12:00pm – Qualification Playoff #3 CBC
Wednesday 2/19, 3:00am – Quarterfinal #1 TSN
Wednesday 2/19, 7;30am – Quarterfinal #2 CBC
Wednesday 2/19, 12:00pm – Quarterfinal #3 CBC
Wednesday 2/19, 12:00pm – Quarterfinal #4 TSN2
Friday 2/21, 7:00am – Semifinal #1 TSN
Friday 2/21, 12:00pm – Semifinal #2 CBC
Saturday 2/22, 10:00am – Bronze Medal Game CBC
Sunday 2/23, 7:00am – Gold Medal Game CBC, NBC

WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Saturday 2/8, 3:00am – United States vs. Finland SN
Saturday 2/8, 8:00am – Canada vs. Switzerland CBC
Sunday 2/9, 3:00am – Sweden vs. Japan SN
Sunday 2/9, 8:00am – Russia vs. Germany SN
Monday 2/10, 5:00am – United States vs. Switzerland SN
Monday 2/10, 10:00am – Finland vs. Canada CBC
Tuesday 2/11, 5:00am – Germany vs. Sweden TSN
Wednesday 2/12, 3:00am – Switzerland vs. Finland TSN2
Wednesday 2/12, 7:30am – Canada vs. United States CBC
Thursday 2/13, 3:00am – Germany vs. Japan SN1
Thursday 2/13, 12:00pm – Sweden vs. Russia TSN2
Saturday 2/15, 7:30am – Quarterfinal #2 SN
Monday 2/17, 7:30am – Semifinal #1 CBC
Monday 2/17, 12:00pm – Semifinal #2 CBC
Thursday 2/20, 7:00am – Bronze Medal Game TSN
Thursday 2/20, 12:00pm – Gold Medal Game CBC, NBC

LUGE
Saturday 2/8, 9:30am-1:05pm – Men’s Singles (heats 1 & 2)
Sunday 2/9, 9:30am-1:25pm – Men’s Singles (heats 3 & 4) CBC (TD 2:30pm)
Monday 2/10, 9:30am-12:40pm – Women’s Singles (heats 1 & 2) SN1
Tuesday 2/11, 9:30-10:30am – Women’s Singles (heat 3) CBC
Tuesday 2/11, 11:30am-12:30pm – Women’s Singles (heat 4) CBC
Wednesday 2/12, 9:00-11:35am – Doubles (heats 1 & 2) SN
Thursday 2/13, 11:00am-12:30pm – Team Relay SN1

NORDIC COMBINED
Wednesday 2/12, 4:30-5:20am – Individual NH/10km (ski jumping) CBC
Wednesday 2/12, 7:25-8:15am – Individual NH/10km (cross country) TSN2
Tuesday 2/18, 4:25-5:30am – Individual LH/10km (ski jumping) SN
Tuesday 2/18, 7:00-7:45am – Individual LH/10km (cross country) SN
Thursday 2/20, 2:55-3:50am – Team LH/4x5km (ski jumping) SN
Thursday 2/20, 6:00-7:15am – Team LH/4x5km (cross country) CBC

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING
Monday 2/10, 4:45-7:30am – Women’s 500m heats, Women’s 3000m Relay semis, Men’s 1500m final CBC
Thursday 2/13, 4:55-7:30am – Women’s 500m quarters, Men’s 100m heats TSN
Thursday 2/13, 6:00-7:15am – Women’s 500m semis, Men’s 5000m relay semis, Women’s 500m final CBC
Saturday 2/15, 4:55-7:55am – Women’s 1500m heats, Men’s 1000m quarters TSN
Saturday 2/15, 6:00-7:30am – Women’s 1500m semis/final, Men’s 1000m semis/finals CBC
Tuesday 2/18, 4:25-6:30am – Women’s 1000m heats, Men’s 500m heats TSN
Tuesday 2/18, 5:30-6:30am – Men’s 500m heats, Women’s 3000m relay final CBC
Friday 2/21, 11:25am-2:15pm – Men’s 500m final, Women’s 1000m final, Men’s 5000m Relay final TSN

SKELETON
Thursday 2/13, 2:30-4:15am – Women’s (heats 1 & 2) CBC
Friday 2/14, 7:15-10:30am – Men’s (heats 1 & 2) SN1
Friday 2/14, 10:30am-12:40pm – Women’s (heats 3 & 4) SN1
Saturday 2/15, 10:30am-12:00pm – Men’s (heats 3 & 4) CBC

SKI JUMPING
Sunday 2/9, 12:25-2:15pm – Men’s Normal Hill TSN, CBC (JIP 1:15pm)
Tuesday 2/11, 12:45-2:05pm – Women’s Normal Hill TSN, CBC (JIP 1:30pm)
Saturday 2/15, 12:30-2:00pm – Men’s Large Hill CBC
Monday 2/17, 12:00-2:10pm – Men’s Team Event SN1

SNOWBOARDING
Thursday 2/6, 1:00-7:40am – Snowboard Slopestyle (qualifying) CBC (TD 6am)
Saturday 2/8, 12:30-2:15am – Men’s Slopestyle (semifinal) CBC
Saturday 2/8, 3:45-5:00am – Men’s Slopestyle (final) CBC
Sunday 2/9, 1:25-2:45am – Women’s Slopestyle (semifinal) TSN
Sunday 2/9, 4:00-5:25am – Women’s Slopestyle (final) CBC, TSN
Tuesday 2/11, 4:55-8:05am – Men’s Halfpipe (qualifying) TSN2
Tuesday 2/11, 9:55-11:00am – Men’s Halfpipe (semifinal) TSN2
Tuesday 2/11, 12:30-1:30pm – Men’s Halfpipe (final) CBC, TSN2
Wednesday 2/12, 4:45-8:05am – Women’s Halfpipe (qualifying) SN
Wednesday 2/12, 10:00-11:00am – Women’s Halfpipe (semifinal) CBC (TD 10:30am)
Wednesday 2/12, 12:15-1:35pm – Women’s Halfpipe (final) SN
Sunday 2/16, 4:15-5:15am – Women’s Snowboard Cross (final at 4:45am) CBC
Monday 2/17, 1:55-3:30am – Men’s Snowboard Cross (qualifying) SN
Monday 2/17, 4:30-5:30am – Men’s Snowboard Cross (final at 5:15am) CBC, SN
Wednesday 2/19, 12:15-2:00am – Men’s & Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom (qualifying) CBC
Wednesday 2/19, 3:55-6:05am – Men’s & Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom (finals at 5:30am) SN
Saturday 2/22, 12:15-2:00am – Men’s & Women’s Parallel Slalom (qualifying) CBC
Saturday 2/22, 4:15-6:15am – Men’s Parallel Slalom (finals at 5:45am) CBC

SPEED SKATING
Saturday 2/8, 6:15-9:30am – Men’s 5000m SN
Sunday 2/9, 6:25-8:30am – Women’s 3000m CBC, TSN
Monday 2/10, 7:55-11:25am – Men’s 500m TSN2
Tuesday 2/11, 7:45-11:00am – Women’s 500m TSN
Wednesday 2/12, 8:55-10:40am – Men’s 1000m TSN, CBC (JIP 10am)
Thursday 2/13, 8:55-10:40am – Women’s 1000m TSN2
Saturday 2/15, 8:25-10:25am – Men’s 1500m TSN
Sunday 2/16, 9:00-10:50am – Women’s 1500m CBC, SN
Tuesday 2/18, 7:55-11:00am – Men’s 10, 000m TSN
Wednesday 2/19, 8:15-10:20am – Women’s 5000m TSN2
Friday 2/21, 8:25-10:25am – Team Pursuit quarterfinals/men’s semifinal TSN2
Saturday 2/22, 8:30-9:45am – Team Pursuit women’s semifinal/finals CBC

CBC Reveals Highlights of 2014 Olympics Coverage

The CBC has announced some highlights of their coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which begin in under one month. English-language coverage will air on TV on CBC, TSN, TSN2, Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE. CBC will also have 12 live online feeds that will include commentary. CBC is promising more than 1500 hours of total coverage, including the streams. CBC Television will have over 350 hours of coverage (21 hours daily), featuring all Canadian hockey games and most medal events. TSN and TSN2 will combine for 250 hours of coverage (~17 hours daily), including primetime encores of hockey. Sportsnet will feature 140 hours of coverage, with 64.5 more on Sportsnet ONE (~13 hours daily). Sportsnet will focus on curling in primetime.

Coverage begins on Thursday February 6, the day prior to the opening ceremony, at 6am Eastern with snowboard slopestyle qualification and figure skating’s team event. The opening ceremony, with hosts Peter Mansbridge and Ron MacLean, will air live on February 7 at 11am Eastern on CBC, Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE and TSN2. CBC’s coverage begins with an exclusive preview show at 10am ET and will also feature encore presentations of the ceremony at 2pm ET and again in primetime.

CBC’s coverage will air almost around the clock, except to break for local news and The National. Olympic coverage begins at midnight Eastern with Olympic Overnight and continues live through the end of Olympic Daytime at 3pm ET. Olympic Extra, an encore broadcast, follows from 3 through 5pm ET. That is followed by a 2 hour break for local news, then Olympic Primetime at 7pm Eastern, in most regions. The National will air between Primetime and Overnight Coverage.

CBC’s highlights include all Canadian hockey games, as well as the gold medal finals in men’s and women’s hockey and curling. TSN will show the free programs of all figure skating events. TSN2 features Shaun White looking for a third straight gold medal in snowboard halfpipe. Sportsnet has the men’s moguls final, featuring Alex Bilodeau, who won Canada’s first gold medal on home snow in Vancouver. Sportsnet ONE features lots of sliding, including women’s skeleton, women’s luge, women’s bobsleigh and 2-man bobsleigh.

CBC will release a more detailed broadcast schedule in the coming weeks.

Holiday Ratings Update 2013-14

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. It is a busy time of year for sports, with the World Juniors, Winter Classic and Wild Card NFL playoffs. Here is a quick recap of the ratings over the past week.

TSN once again boasted about record ratings for a World Junior tournament taking place in Europe. For Canada’s four preliminary round games, an average of 1.4 million viewers watched. The game-by-game breakdown was: Canada vs. Czech Republic, 1.75 million; Canada vs. USA, 1.74 million; Canada-Slovakia, 1.2 million; Canada-Germany, 755 000. The Boxing Day game was audience almost doubled over last year. The Canada-USA game was the most viewed program in Canada on New Year’s Eve, while the game against the Czech Republic was the highest ever for a group stage game played in Europe.

Due to new tournament rules, the first place team in each group now has to play a quarterfinal, instead of receiving a bye into the semis. As a result TSN aired an extra Canada game, with 1.6 million viewers tuning into the quartefinal vs. Switzerland. In other quarterfinal action an average of 752 000 watched the host Swedes play Slovakia. Despite Canada not playing a very close game in a semifinal loss to Finland, an average of 2.7 million viewers tuned in. This set a record as the most watched World Junior game at any European-hosted tournament. However, with the Canada loss, the numbers for Sunday’s medal games tumbled. An average of 1 million watched the final between Sweden and Finland.

While all of TSN’s World Junior records were asterisked with “among European-hosted tournaments”, the 2014 Winter Classic from The Big House set a record on TV. It is not only the highest attended hockey game in history, but also the most watched regular season game in Canada on record. An average of 3.57 million watched CBC’s four-hour broadcast as the Leafs defeated the Red Wings in a shootout. That almost doubled the previous high for a Winter Classic, when Pittsburgh and Washington played each other on a Saturday night in 2011. The previous high for a regular season game in Canada was last January’s season opener between Toronto and Montreal. The audience peaked at 5.3 million during the shootout.

Lastly, here are the numbers for CTV’s coverage of the NFL Wild Card playoffs over the weekend. On Saturday 997 000 watched Kansas City-Indianapolis and 1.1 million watched New Orleans-Philadelphia. On Sunday 869 000 watched San Diego-Kansas City and 1.6 million watched San Francisco-Green Bay. The average of the four games was 1.1 million. Those ratings are down as a whole compared to last season, when the average was 1.2 million. The AFC games were both down compared to last year, while the NFC games were about even. For those wondering about a comparison of Sunday’s NFL games and November’s CFL Division Semis, the CFL beat the NFL averaging 1.5 million.

Details of Sportsnet’s New NHL Broadcast Agreement

Sportsnet officially announced their new broadcast contract with the National Hockey League this morning. And the scope of the new deal is much wider than I could have imagined when news of it first broke 12 hours ago. Sportsnet has bought rights to all nationally-broadcast NHL games for 12 seasons beginning next fall. Sportsnet also picks up rights to the NHL All Star Game and Entry Draft. Rogers will also take over operation of NHL Centre Ice and GameCentre Live in Canada. Rogers is paying $5.2 billion for rights to every game for 12 seasons. The NHL will receive approximately $300 million next season, with fees raising to $500 million by the end of the contract.

Coverage on Saturdays and Sundays will begin at 4pm Eastern. Sportsnet has exclusive national coverage on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Sportsnet will also launch a new studio that will host all NHL on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. As part of the deal Rogers will sub-license some Saturday night coverage to the CBC. Two games every Saturday will air on CBC, with the rest airing on Citytv and Sportsnet. This eliminates the need for regional broadcasting. Sportsnet will assume complete creative control over all Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. This means the future for CBC’s hockey talent is uncertain. It also means that Sportsnet will have the pick of all on-air personalities at TSN and CBC for their new broadcasts. Games will air on CBC, Sportsnet, SN1, SN360, TVA, TVA Sports, TVA Sports 2, as well as other potential channels on Saturday nights.

Keith Pelley, who was key in the plans for how Sportsnet will cover the NHL, was also the head of the Olympic Broadcast Consortium’s Vancouver 2010 coverage. Sportsnet will aim to offer Hockey Night in Canada in a similar fashion with all networks pooling resources and cross-promoting. Pelley set a new standard for Olympic broadcasting in Canada and is looking to do the same for hockey. Since the Sportsnet deal with CBC only came together in the past few days the broadcasters haven’t decided which CBC on-air personalities will transfer over to Sportsnet.

Sportsnet will get to show 30 Leafs games nationally (some could air on CBC) as part of the new agreement. Sportsnet will retain 26 for regional consumption beginning in 2016, with the other 26 airing on TSN regionally.  Since TSN has regional rights to 60 Jets games, the Jets will appear on Sportsnet a maximum of 22 times. It is unclear how many games for each of Canada’s other five teams will air on Sportsnet. TVA will pick up rights to 22 Montreal Canadiens games, most of which will air on their over-the-air channel on Saturday nights.

The sub-licensing deal with the CBC is one of the most intriguing aspects of the deal. The CBC will have around 320 hours of primetime hockey. That probably equates to around 50 regular season games and 50 playoff games. There is no word yet on how CBC and Sportsnet will split-up the playoffs, except that the Stanley Cup Final will air on CBC. The sub-license will last for four years; however, in a news conference Rogers Media President Keith Pelley said that he hopes the deal with CBC can extend beyond four years. The CBC and Sportsnet will also work together to acquire and broadcast other major sports properties. Sub-licensing deals are already in place for the two networks to split the Grand Slam of Curling and 2014 FIFA World Cup.

In a letter to CBC employees President Hubert Lacroix outlined what the four-year deal means for the public broadcaster. CBC will no longer assume any control over production or content, although Sportsnet will consult with them. CBC also will not make any advertising revenue from the broadcasts; however, they also are not paying Rogers or the NHL a cent to show the games. Lacroix also notes that the loss of advertising revenue will mean job losses at the CBC. These additional cuts come on the heels of CBC Sports cutting costs just two years ago due to a lack of funding.

This is a very complex deal and there are many questions that still need asked and answered. It is a complete game-changer in Canadian sports broadcasting and will result in many changes at CBC and TSN. I’ll leave the speculation, and there is lots of it, for a later date (and the comments section). I do plan to look into the effects this deal will have on all networks, but especially the CBC, in the coming weeks.

2013-14 Premier League Schedule: Matchday 2

Since NBC seems to be kind enough to release a list of commentators who’ll call each match every week, I figured I’d try to pass them along in the form of a weekly Canadian TV schedule. I know some viewers have their favourites and we usually never know who’ll call what match ahead of time.

Saturday August 24
7:45am, Fulham v. Arsenal – Sportsnet (Richard Kaufman & Stewart Robson)
10:00am, Southampton v. Sunderland – TSN (Joe Speight & Tony Gale)
10:00am, Stoke City v. Crystal Palace – Sportsnet (Jonathan Beck & Garry Birtles)
10:00am, Everton v. West Bromwich – TSN.ca (Daniel Mann & Trevor Francis)
10:00am, Newcastle v. West Ham – TSN.ca (Gary Taphouse & Davie Provan)
10:00am, Hull City v. Norwich City – SN World (David Stowell & Barry Horne)
12:30pm, Aston Villa v. Liverpool – TSN, NBC (Arlo White & Lee Dixon)

Sunday August 25
11:00am, Tottenham v. Swansea City – SN World (Tony Jones & Dean Sturridge)
11:00am, Cardiff City v. Manchester City – SN World + (Jon Champion & Danny Mills)

Monday August 26
3:00pm, Manchester United v. Chelsea – TSN (Arlo White & Graeme Le Saux)

TSN Unveils 2013-14 Premier League Schedule for August/September

TSN has released their Premier League schedule for August and September. Under a new three-year contract TSN will now show 5 games every week, up from 2 in past seasons. For the first six weeks of the season, 11 games will air on TSN, 10 will air on TSN2 and 9 will stream exclusively on TSN.ca. It seems TSN will alternate showing the premiere Super Sunday matches week-to-week with Sportsnet.

Remember that all other games will air on Sportsnet. What’s not clear is what games will air on Sportsnet World, and which ones will air on the other, more affordable Sportsnet channels.

Here is TSN’s schedule through the end of September. I will also try to post a complete Premier League schedule on a monthly or weekly basis. Highlights include Man United v. Chelsea (August 26), Arsenal v. Spurs (September 1)

August
Saturday 8/17, 10:00am – Norwich City v. Everton (TSN)
Saturday 8/17, 10:00am – West Brom v. Southampton (TSN.ca)
Sunday 8/18, 8:30am – Crystal Palace v. Sprus (TSN)
Sunday 8/18, 11:00am – Chelsea v. Hull City (TSN)
Monday 8/19, 3:00pm – Man City v. Newcastle (TSN)
Saturday 8/24, 10:00am – Newcastle v. West Ham (TSN)
Saturday 8/24, 10:00am – Everton v. West Brom (TSN.ca)
Saturday 8/24, 10:00am – Southampton v. Sunderland (TSN.ca)
Saturday 8/24, 12:30pm – Aston Villa v. Liverpool (TSN2)
Monday 8/26, 3:00pm – Man United v. Chelsea (TSN)
Saturday 8/31, 7:45am – Man City v. Hull City (TSN)
Saturday 8/31, 10:00am – West Brom v. Swansea (TSN2)
Saturday 8/31, 10:00am – West Ham v. Stoke City (TSN.ca)
Saturday 8/31, 12:30pm – Crystal Palace v. Sunderland (TSN2)

September
Sunday 9/1, 11:00am – Arsenal v. Spurs (TSN)
Saturday 9/14, 10:00am – Sunderland v. Arsenal (TSN)
Saturday 9/14, 10:00am – Spurs v. Norwich City (TSN.ca)
Saturday 9/14, 10:00am – Aston Villa v. Newcastle (TSN.ca)
Saturday 9/14, 12:30pm – Everton v. Chelsea (TSN)
Sunday 9/15, 11:00am – Southampton v. West Ham (TSN2)
Saturday 9/21, 7:45am – Norwich City v. Aston Villa (TSN2)
Saturday 9/21, 10:00am – Cardiff City v. Spurs (TSN2)
Saturday 9/21, 10:00am – West Ham v. Everton (TSN.ca)
Saturday 9/21, 10:00am – Newcastle v. Hull City (TSN.ca)
Saturday 9/21, 12:30pm – Chelsea v. Fulham (TSN2)
Saturday 9/28, 10:00am – Man United v. West Brom (TSN)
Saturday 9/28, 10:00am – Aston Villa v. Man City (TSN2)
Saturday 9/28, 10:00am – Hull City v. West Ham (TSN.ca)
Sunday 9/29, 8:30am – Stoke City v. Norwich City (TSN2)
Sunday 9/29, 11:00am – Sunderland v. Liverpool (TSN2)

Stanley Cup Playoffs Ratings Update #1

Here are the ratings for games on CBC, as well as the Canucks on TSN and Canadiens on RDS for the first six days of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Montreal vs. Ottawa (CBC/RDS)
Game 1, 5/2: 1.9 million (CBC) + 1.2 million (RDS) = 3.1 million
Game 2, 5/3: 1.8 million (CBC) + 1.2 million (RDS) = 3 million
Game 3, 5/5: 2.3 million (CBC) + 1.3 million (RDS) = 3.6 million

Boston vs. Toronto (CBC)
Game 1, 5/1: 2.6 million
Game 2, 5/4: 3.2 million

Vancouver vs. San Jose (TSN)
Game 1, 5/1: 1.25 million
Game 2, 5/3: 1.3 million
Game 3, 5/5: 1.1 million

St. Louis vs. Los Angeles (CBC)
Game 1, 4/30: 1.3 million*
Game 2, 5/2: 822, 000
Game 3, 5/4: 1.1 million

Chicago vs. Minnesota (CBC)
Game 1, 4/30: 1.3 million*
Game 2, 5/3: 687, 000
Game 3, 5/5: 502, 000

*These games were a split-national broadcast; the ratings are for the two games combined.
All numbers are BBM Canada AMA 2+

Based on this, it looks like CBC made the right decision to take the Montreal-Ottawa series instead of the Canucks. Not only is it getting better ratings, but even CBC’s third choice (STL-LA) put up comparable numbers for game 3. Its never good when a series trends downward on the weekend, as happened with the Canucks last night. To compare, last year the Canucks had a million more viewers for game 3 (on a Wednesday night) on CBC. In fact the Canucks’ ratings for games 1-3 were quite comparable to Habs-Sens this year. I know there is a difference between TSN and CBC, but come on, it isn’t worth 50% reduction in audience levels. The first three games from Flyers-Penguins on TSN last spring all had better ratings than the first three from Sharks-Canucks this year.

For comparison, here are the ratings for the first few days of the playoffs last year.

2013 NHL Playoffs Matchups and TV Coverage

I expect that the NHL will release their 2013 Conference Quarterfinals schedule Sunday night at 11:00pm Eastern on a special that will air on NHL Network. That’s regardless of what happens tonight. However, with about 24 hours for schedules to leak before any is officially released, I’m sure some news will come out early.

In this post I’ll list the NHL Playoff Matchups as they are confirmed, what networks will cover them, and the night the series will start. I’ll also add full schedule information once it is available. Anything that is not confirmed, but worth mentioning (probably broadcasters and current, but not final standings) is in italics. I’m assuming every series will start Tuesday or Wednesday, but that’s not confirmed. Feel free to post any information you come across in the comments.

Eastern Conference
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) New York Islanders (Game 1, Wednesday)
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (7) Ottawa Senators (Game 1, Wednesday)
(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) New York Rangers
(4) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs

Western Conference
(1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (8) Minnesota Wild (Game 1, Tuesday at 8pm)
(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (7) Detroit Red Wings (Game 1, Tuesday at 10:30pm)
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) San Jose Sharks
(4) St. Louis Blues vs. (5) Los Angeles Kings (Game 1, Tuesday)

*The Canadiens will likely play game 1 on Tuesday.

Details of New CFL on TSN Deal

Was so busy last week I barely even had time to look at the press release for TSN’s new CFL deal. So, here are some of the details. And while you read, here is music history from Saturday night. Blur’s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon played their song “Tender” with Noel Gallagher of Oasis, officially ending of of music’s biggest rivalries, I guess. It was either great, or worse than sipping champagne at 10 Downing, depending on who you are.

• It’s a 8-year deal that runs through the end of the 2018 season and includes every regular season and playoff game for TSN, RDS (Alouettes and playoffs) and RDS2.
• Also includes radio rights for the Grey Cup for TSN Radio and TEAM radio stations.
• Otherwise it seems everything is basically the same as before. The schedule will expand to 81 games next season when Ottawa rejoins the league, an increase from 73 this season.
• The CFL’s exclusive negotiating window with TSN ended at the end of January. The CFL wanted an exclusive deal with Bell.
• The guarantee of Canadian markets facing Canadian markets in every game was important for TSN.
• Cohon thinks it gives the CFL the dollar guarantee that allows it to invest in new infrastructural and ideas.
• TSN’s Stewart Johnston on the prospect of moving the Grey Cup to CTV, “Well we love our parent network at CTV, but I can tell you honestly, it wasn’t once discussed. We love what the Grey Cup has done for the TSN brand in the past five years.” It’s not a problem for the CFL, as I’ve mentioned before.
• You can listen to Johnston and Cohon on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor from last week here. I wish I had more to say about it, but it’s really more of the same.

March Madness… TSN’s March Madness coverage continues to have both bright spots and some real annoyances for viewers. The features on Canadian players are great. Dan Shulman and Sam Mitchell are great on the studio panel. Host Kate Beirness is really growing into the job. And best of all TSN barely showed any of the games that were on CBS over the weekend. Not only that, but Beirness and the bottomline directed viewers to watch CBS. Meanwhile TSN and TSN2 focused on games that were broadcast on cable channels TBS, TNT and TruTV in the States. The only thing I found poor about TSN’s coverage was the constant flipping of games from TSN to TSN2. It got confusing. And while the bottomline said which game was on CBS, it never mentioned what games were broadcast on the other network. At the opening of each broadcast it was never really revealed which games TSN would show and which ones would air mainly on TSN or TSN2. A little more consistency in leaving one game on the same network would be nice, instead of constantly switching at halftime.

Soccer… 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying continues tomorrow. Before getting to what’s on tomorrow, GolTV deserves credit for using the RTE Irish domestic commentary of the Sweden v. Ireland game on Friday evening. Despite audio troubles in the first five minutes, it was a lot better than their usual annoying American commentators calling the match off a screen from Florida.

But on to the more interesting matter. England travels to Podgoric to face Group H leaders Montenegro in a key qualifying match tomorrow night. International broadcasts of the match, originally marketed for by Kentaro, have taken an interesting turn. GolTV shows Kentaro matches in North America. This game was one of the biggest in the package of qualifiers that GolTV purchased from Kentaro last year. However, the Montenegro FA recently pulled out of their contract with Kentaro. With that GolTV lost rights to the match and it will now air on Sportsnet.

A similar situation occurred in England where ITV nearly lost rights to the match after paying Kentaro an upfront fee for it. Kentaro still claims (or at least claimed as of last week) to hold international rights to Montenegro home matches internationally. GolTV in the US included it on their broadcast schedule as recently as the weekend. GolTV in Canada still does. The Guardian has an interesting article on the situation. It also explains why Brazil’s World Tour matches have disappeared from GolTV this season, as Kentaro has lost rights to those as well. No word yet on how this affects GolTV’s coverage of Ireland v. Austria tomorrow evening. The match was originally scheduled for tape-delay at 6pm ET; however, with this development it could air live at 4:45pm ET. In other action tomorrow evening France and Spain battle for the top spot in Group I on Sportsnet ONE.

MLB… The 2013 Jays broadcast schedule is out. 20 games will air exclusively on Sportsnet ONE. Most of those are due to NFL or Memorial Cup conflicts. Because of regional hockey conflicts another ten games in April will air on different combinations of the Sportsnet channels (six of those are also on ONE). The other 132 games will air on all four regional channels. I also have Sportsnet’s MLB schedule (I’ll post it later this weekend when I get the chance). Sportsnet ONE has close to 90 other MLB games, while the regional channels will combine for around 175 games. TSN2 has Sunday Night Baseball again. By my count there are over 450 games on Canadian TV this season, not including American networks like FOX or WGN.

Canadian Sports Ratings Update: March 16, 2013

Lots of ratings to post this week. Enjoy everyone. All are BBM 2+ AMA.

NHL
TOR-BOS, Mar 7, TSN: 1.1 million
MTL-CAR, Mar 7, RDS: 752, 000
PIT-TOR, Mar 9, CBC: 2.021 million
MTL-TB, Mar 9, RDS: 748, 000
CGY-LA, Mar 9, CBC: 601, 000
MTL-FLA, Mar 10, RDS: 726, 000
EDM-CHI, Mar 10, SNW: 225, 000
VAN-MIN, Mar 10, SNP: 364, 000
OTT-MTL, Mar 13, TSN: 870, 000

The Brier
ON-MB, Mar 9, TSN: 832, 000
NL-NO, Mar 9, TSN: 728, 000
NO-ON, Mar 10, TSN: 754, 000
MB-NO, Mar 10, TSN: 918, 000

World Baseball Classic
CAN-MEX, Mar 9, SN: 333, 000
ITA-USA, Mar 9, SN: 111, 000
CAN-USA, Mar 10, SN: 526, 000

World Figure Skating
Men’s Short, Mar 13, CBC: 264, 000

NBA
CLE-TOR, Mar 10, SN1: 64, 000

Thanks to: Bill Brioux, Whitey Fisk, Bob Weeks

The one thing to note is Sunday’s ratings. Lots of things on and competing for eyeballs. None of them really did anything spectacular. The Brier was down under a million for the first time in a while, and it only got about a quarter of its viewers from the lucrative 25-54 age group. Hockey on RDS was relatively consistent, finishing second. One of the biggest games in Canadian baseball history only drew 70, 000 more viewers than a Jays spring training game a few weeks ago.

Canadian Sports Ratings Update: March 8, 2013

Here are the latest Canadian sports ratings. All numbers are BBM 2+ AMA.

NHL
TOR-OTT, Feb 23, CBC: 2.345 million
MTL-NYR, Feb 23, RDS: 737, 000
TOR-PHI, Feb 25, TSN: 949, 000
MTL-OTT, Feb 25, RDS: 623, 000
MTL-TOR, Feb 27, TSN: 1.533 million (+ 893, 000 on RDS)
MTL-PIT, Mar 2, CBC: 1.657 million (+ 890, 000 on RDS)
VAN-LA, Mar 2, CBC: 1.074 million
VAN-CGY, Mar 3, SNP: 398, 000
MTL-BOS, Mar 4, RDS: 677, 000
VAN-SJ, Mar 6, SNP: 505, 000
OTT-TOR, Mar 7, TSN: 1.376 million

The Brier
AB-MB, Mar 2, TSN: 671, 000
ON-MB, Mar 3, TSN: 596, 000
AB-NO, Mar 4, TSN: 497, 000

NBA
TOR-CLE, Feb 27, SN: 129, 000
PHI-CHI, Feb 28, TSN: 51, 000
IND-TOR, Mar 1, TSN: 175, 000

Thanks to: Bill Brioux, Whitey Fisk, Bob Weeks

For the Brier, it’s worth noting that, as of Tuesday, The AB-MB draw was the highest rated draw, while AB-NO (an afternoon draw) was the lowest.

In Case You Missed It: March 1, 2013

March has began, and with it have came programming plans for many of the big events this month. Here is a quick roundup of what’s happened in sports media this week.

The World Baseball Classic begins later tonight in Taichung and Fukouka. Sportsnet will broadcast all 39 games, beginning with Australia vs. Taiwan tonight at 11:30pm ET. 25 games will air exclusively on Sportsnet ONE. Canada’s three games will air on all four regional channels. The other 10 games will air on a mix of the two, due to scheduling conflicts with regional hockey. I may be wrong on this, but as I understand there is only one broadcast feed for the World Baseball Classic. MLB Network will produce games in the United States. MLB International will everywhere else. That means we will get two Americans calling the Canada-US game. For the first round Rich Waltz and Buck Martinez will call Group A games in Fukouka, JB Long and Joe Magrane will call Group B games in Taichung, and Gary Thorne and Jose Mota (my favourite team) will call Group C in San Juan. Matt Yallof and Jeff Nelson, and Matt Vasgersian and Jim Kaat will split Group D games in Arizona. Bob Costas will come in to call the final. Sportsnet will show all games in their entirety, except for two that are joined in progress this weekend. That’s better than in 2009 when the start of almost every game was cut off by Connected.

The 2013 Tim Hortons Brier begins tomorrow afternoon in Edmonton. TSN has more than 65 hours of live coverage of the most prestigous curling event in the world. Favourites include defending champ Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Martin, Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs. Also take this as a sign of things to come, graphics-wise.

Sportsnet will broadcast the CIS Men’s Hockey Championship for a sixth straight year. The regional channels will show the final two pool play games on March 16, with the final on Sportsnet ONE on March 17. Alberta and Saskatchewan from Canada West, as well as UNB and St. Mary’s from the AUS have already qualified. The OUA also has two spots.

Sportsnet has officially announced their 2013 IndyCar Series coverage, as they enter their first year as the Canadian broadcaster. Sportsnet will show every race live, which I don’t think TSN ever did in all of their years covering the series. Sportsnet will have six races, including the two races in Toronto and the Indianapolis 500; Sportsnet ONE has nine; and Citytv has the two races in Detroit. Sportsnet will even have a studio crew anchored by Rob Faulds with analysts Paul Tracy and Bill Adam for four of the races. Todd Lewis will work as a pit reporter for those four races.

For those wondering about the Jays games airing on FX, there is a  reason for why those broadcasts are airing there. The decision to show them came well too late to make them Sportsnet productions. Plans are often made months in advance for any sports production. Rogers doesn’t want to show Jays games on Sportsnet that use the other teams’ feed, so they are marketing them as bonus games on FX. Of course it also can’t hurt as a promo tool for FX either.

Lastly, how about ratings this week? Sportsnet set a record for a Jays spring training game, while TSN had its highest NHL audience since the first game after the lockout in 2005.

Canadian Sports Ratings Update: February 25, 2013

Here are the latest sports ratings, including the Scotties and the first Jays game of the season. All numbers are BBM 2+ AMA.

Tournament of Hearts
ON-QC, Feb 19, TSN: 518, 000
ON-CAN, Feb 22, TSN: 596, 000
ON-MB, Feb 23, TSN: 822, 000
CAN-MB, Feb 24, TSN: 635, 000
BC-CAN, Feb 24, TSN2: 287, 000
ON-MB, Feb 24, TSN: 1.057 million

NHL
PIT-WPG, Feb 15, CBC: 772, 000
PHI-MTL, Feb 16, RDS: 912, 000
OTT-TOR, Feb 16, CBC: 2.248 million
VAN-CHI, Feb 19, SNP: 483, 000
LA-EDM, Feb 19, TSN: 506, 000

NASCAR
Daytona 500, Feb 24, TSN: 691, 000

MLB Spring Training
Jays Central, Feb 23, SN: 206, 000
TOR-DET, Feb 23, SN: 456, 000

NBA
LAL-BOS, Feb 7, TSN: 43, 000
CHI-DEN, Feb 7, TSN: 25, 000
LAC-TOR, Feb 8, TSN: 148, 000
TOR-NY, Feb 13, SN: 224, 000
MIA-OKC, Feb 14, TSN: 127, 000
Rookie Game, Feb 15, TSN: 64, 000
All-Star Game, Feb 17, TSN: 309, 000
MEM-TOR, Feb 20, SN: 164, 000

Thanks to: Jamie Campbell,  Bill Brioux, Whitey Fisk, Bob Weeks

Those baseball numbers are incredible for spring training. 450, 000 would be good for a regular season game against Detroit on a Saturday afternoon. But what’s most amazing, the repeat of 1993 World Series game on Sunday afternoon scored around 150, 000. And we all thought the 200, 000 range was crazy for 20-year old hockey broadcasts on the CBC last fall.

The Scotties ratings are about consistent with 2012, drawing around 50, 000 more viewers this year.B