Habs have meant big television ratings
Let’s face it people, the Habs are back — and not just on the ice.
Whether you like it, or not, television viewers have been tuning in in huge numbers in recent weeks to CBC and RDS for the Montreal Canadiens’ latest run at Lord Stanley’s Cup.
This is, arguably, Montreal’s best team since its 1993 Cup run.
Led by such stars as Koivu, Kovalev and Plekanec, the Habs’ 2007-08 Eastern Conference championship edition have brought long-soughtafter people back to the small screen to cheer on Canada’s Big Red Machine.
If the first round of the playoffs is any indication, the Habs will most likely reach, or exceed, between five and six million overall viewers a game by the time the second round is done.
Montreal’s astounding, and convincing, victory in game seven of its round of 16 series against Boston April 21 not only was a sweet relief for fans of the NHL’s Team Canada, it also was a great victory for commerce outside of Ontario.
Viewership numbers on RDS, Canada’s sister network to TSN, during the first round were huge.
Initial estimates are more than three million tuned in just in Quebec to watch Montreal come back from the brink to defeat the Black and Gold 5- 0 on the second career playoff shutout for the Montreal’s newest rookie sensation, Carey Price.
Price has been the main reason the Canadiens have not only killed the hopes of Bruins fans — at least for another year — of winning the Cup, but have also raised the hopes of CBC executives the playoffs can be a profit-maker for The Corp WITHOUT the Maple Laughs — I mean Leafs.
Before the start of the playoffs, the CBC’s higher-ups said they were forced to cancel at least two series, and put another on hiatus, because the expected ad revenue to prop up these shows — a long run for Toronto in the post-season — would not be there because the Leafs had been eliminated in late March — some two weeks before the end of the 2007-08 campaign.
We all know the CBC tends to favour Toronto-based sports teams because the city’s big rollers are where they get the majority of the ads needed to show these games on free television.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tend to draw a loyal following of between 1.0 and 1.5 million viewers whenever they are on, so there is some truth to theory.
On the other side of the coin, in the regular season Montreal usually has no chance in hitting those numbers in English Canada on a regular basis because 1) they are not promoted as Canada’s marquee NHL team on the CBC or TSN, even though they are, and 2) the people who watch the Habs are from areas of Canada which are more rural in nature than urban, so even if they watch it doesn’t count up as much as the bulk viewership the Leafs get.
Television operators know where their bread is buttered.
In Montreal’s case, the cream has risen to the top after five years of really stale Toronto-led attempts to make the Maple Leafs into the next dynasty.
Maybe the 2008-09 campaign will mean a shift in policy by the CBC which will allow not only the Habs, but the Oilers, Flames, Canucks — and yes even the Senators — to be all promoted on equal footing.
They are our Big 6 and should be treated as such.
It’s not a Big 1 and a Small 5, people!
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