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Sportsnet’s TV viewership edges past TSN’s for first time
Wednesday June 03rd 2015When Scott Moore arrived at Sportsnet in late 2010, the network’s television ratings trailed TSN’s by a wide margin.
But when Rogers unveils next season’s programming at Tuesday’s upfront presentations, the company will announce that its sports networks have, for the first time, forged a slim ratings lead over TSN.
Over the past 13 months Sportsnet’s six networks have averaged a combined audience 167,000, compared with 158,000 for TSN’s family of five networks. Among a sports broadcaster’s most precious demographic — men 18 to 34 — the Sportsnet channels averaged 21,000 viewers while TSN networks drew 17,000.
Sportsnet’s edge in viewership isn’t massive, but Sportsnet president Scott Moore says TSN once drew twice as many viewers as Sportsnet did.
“What’s the value in closing that gap? It’s significant,” Moore said.
He says Blue Jays telecasts and an NHL broadcast deal that cost Rogers $5.2 billion (U.S.) over 12 years drove most of the viewership increase, and said ratings would be stronger if the Jays and Maple Leafs make the playoffs.
Framing the numbers helped Sportsnet, too.
The stats Rogers is releasing today run from May 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. Last year, Sportsnet shared playoff coverage with TSN and CBC. Without TSN to siphon playoff viewers Sportsnet’s May numbers might have received a boost, though the viewership stats don’t reflect games shown on CBC via a sub-licence with Rogers.
Either way, McMaster University marketing professor Marvin Ryder says the timing of the announcement helps Sportsnet appear stronger, but doesn’t mean it has defeated TSN.
“At the start of a 12-year race someone has a slight advantage,” says Ryder, who teaches at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. “I would like to see this over a longer period of time. It’s early in the competition.”
Midway through the first season in Rogers’ record-breaking NHL deal it wasn’t clear how much return the broadcaster would receive on its investment.
Last October Rogers turned in a lacklustre quarterly report and analysts speculated that the NHL deal had diminished the corporation’s profits. Ratings for events like the All-Star Game lagged and Rogers execs like Moore couldn’t determine the cause.
But by the post-season viewership had rebounded, and Moore maintains the boost in viewership justifies the massive expenditure. He says even pulling slightly ahead of TSN makes Sportsnet more valuable both to advertisers and to distributors paying to include the networks in its cable packages.
Source: Toronto Star
Front Page, Industry News
Sportsnet’s TV viewership edges past TSN’s for first time
Wednesday June 03rd 2015When Scott Moore arrived at Sportsnet in late 2010, the network’s television ratings trailed TSN’s by a wide margin.
But when Rogers unveils next season’s programming at Tuesday’s upfront presentations, the company will announce that its sports networks have, for the first time, forged a slim ratings lead over TSN.
Over the past 13 months Sportsnet’s six networks have averaged a combined audience 167,000, compared with 158,000 for TSN’s family of five networks. Among a sports broadcaster’s most precious demographic — men 18 to 34 — the Sportsnet channels averaged 21,000 viewers while TSN networks drew 17,000.
Sportsnet’s edge in viewership isn’t massive, but Sportsnet president Scott Moore says TSN once drew twice as many viewers as Sportsnet did.
“What’s the value in closing that gap? It’s significant,” Moore said.
He says Blue Jays telecasts and an NHL broadcast deal that cost Rogers $5.2 billion (U.S.) over 12 years drove most of the viewership increase, and said ratings would be stronger if the Jays and Maple Leafs make the playoffs.
Framing the numbers helped Sportsnet, too.
The stats Rogers is releasing today run from May 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. Last year, Sportsnet shared playoff coverage with TSN and CBC. Without TSN to siphon playoff viewers Sportsnet’s May numbers might have received a boost, though the viewership stats don’t reflect games shown on CBC via a sub-licence with Rogers.
Either way, McMaster University marketing professor Marvin Ryder says the timing of the announcement helps Sportsnet appear stronger, but doesn’t mean it has defeated TSN.
“At the start of a 12-year race someone has a slight advantage,” says Ryder, who teaches at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. “I would like to see this over a longer period of time. It’s early in the competition.”
Midway through the first season in Rogers’ record-breaking NHL deal it wasn’t clear how much return the broadcaster would receive on its investment.
Last October Rogers turned in a lacklustre quarterly report and analysts speculated that the NHL deal had diminished the corporation’s profits. Ratings for events like the All-Star Game lagged and Rogers execs like Moore couldn’t determine the cause.
But by the post-season viewership had rebounded, and Moore maintains the boost in viewership justifies the massive expenditure. He says even pulling slightly ahead of TSN makes Sportsnet more valuable both to advertisers and to distributors paying to include the networks in its cable packages.
Source: Toronto Star
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Front Page, Industry News
Sportsnet’s TV viewership edges past TSN’s for first time
Wednesday June 03rd 2015When Scott Moore arrived at Sportsnet in late 2010, the network’s television ratings trailed TSN’s by a wide margin.
But when Rogers unveils next season’s programming at Tuesday’s upfront presentations, the company will announce that its sports networks have, for the first time, forged a slim ratings lead over TSN.
Over the past 13 months Sportsnet’s six networks have averaged a combined audience 167,000, compared with 158,000 for TSN’s family of five networks. Among a sports broadcaster’s most precious demographic — men 18 to 34 — the Sportsnet channels averaged 21,000 viewers while TSN networks drew 17,000.
Sportsnet’s edge in viewership isn’t massive, but Sportsnet president Scott Moore says TSN once drew twice as many viewers as Sportsnet did.
“What’s the value in closing that gap? It’s significant,” Moore said.
He says Blue Jays telecasts and an NHL broadcast deal that cost Rogers $5.2 billion (U.S.) over 12 years drove most of the viewership increase, and said ratings would be stronger if the Jays and Maple Leafs make the playoffs.
Framing the numbers helped Sportsnet, too.
The stats Rogers is releasing today run from May 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. Last year, Sportsnet shared playoff coverage with TSN and CBC. Without TSN to siphon playoff viewers Sportsnet’s May numbers might have received a boost, though the viewership stats don’t reflect games shown on CBC via a sub-licence with Rogers.
Either way, McMaster University marketing professor Marvin Ryder says the timing of the announcement helps Sportsnet appear stronger, but doesn’t mean it has defeated TSN.
“At the start of a 12-year race someone has a slight advantage,” says Ryder, who teaches at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. “I would like to see this over a longer period of time. It’s early in the competition.”
Midway through the first season in Rogers’ record-breaking NHL deal it wasn’t clear how much return the broadcaster would receive on its investment.
Last October Rogers turned in a lacklustre quarterly report and analysts speculated that the NHL deal had diminished the corporation’s profits. Ratings for events like the All-Star Game lagged and Rogers execs like Moore couldn’t determine the cause.
But by the post-season viewership had rebounded, and Moore maintains the boost in viewership justifies the massive expenditure. He says even pulling slightly ahead of TSN makes Sportsnet more valuable both to advertisers and to distributors paying to include the networks in its cable packages.
Source: Toronto Star
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