[nfitz]

Source was raptors.com, which still shows CityTV for game 1. Looks like their original lineup is still airing in Toronto though so I’m not sure what happened there.

Uh-oh ... I better check my Twilight Zone recording to see what they aired! It was supposed to be the finale last night at 10 pm on CITY-Toronto.

Next game (Sunday at 8 pm Easter) is Bell rather than Rogers. Looks like it will air OTA on CTV2 and ABC according to Zap2it.com. Wednesday is back to Rogers at 9 pm - and is listed as OTA on CITY and ABC on Zap2it.

 

[El Gran Chico]

The NHL might actually get higher numbers than the NBA in the U.S

Maybe in Boston and St Louis, but that's it. Not much viewership elsewhere (only about 5 million overall) Top 5 markets (by market share):

1 St. Louis 29.0
2 Boston 25.2
3 Providence 18.8
4 Buffalo 8.4
5 Indianapolis 7.3

 

[Inglewood]

https://buffalonews.com/2019/05/31/local-rating-for-raptors-warriors-opener-is-a-winner-tops-stanley-cup-final-opener/

Buffalo at number 4 had higher ratings for the NBA then the NHL - and it is typically a huge hockey market.

Strange the interest in Indianapolis...

 

[heans]

when did omni start showing bluejay games.on cjmt today omni tv was showing the yankees bluejay game on ota channel 40.it was in a different language .so I wonder if this was there first broadcast or have they been doing certain games all season and the thing I found funny was it was a home game.

 

[57]

Searching this forum for "Omni Blue Jays" quickly found the following from 14 months ago:

https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/29-whats-television/274497-rogers-media-specialty-channel-2017-18-schedules-2.html#post3053565

 

[JJMoney]

Omni2 has been showing every Sunday afternoon Jays game in foreign language. This has been all season this year, and I think they had a few games last season as well.

It’s sort of strange that Rogers wouldn’t have City also pick up the English version. The commercials also run in English on Omni2, which seems odd to me.

 

[frisbeepilot]

A game on City means a game not on Sportsnet, which is one of the main reasons people get cable (also possibly from Rogers). A buddy of mine works in the control room for some of those broadcasts; he's a baseball guy too, so it kinda works out. I believe at least some of the recent games are in Tagalog.

 

[JJMoney]

I understand that in general Rogers makes way more by putting Jays games on Sportsnet and doubledipping on the channel fee via cable bill (or even tripledipping if the cable provider is Rogers as well). There are 162 games per season though, putting a slice of about 20 or so on City isn’t going to change the equation much, especially if those Sunday games are already available OTA in a different language anyway.

I’d argue that the Jays would benefit more with the added exposure, especially as people continue to cut the cord. Games on City would probably also draw bigger ratings.

Rogers seems to understand this for hockey, the marquee game every Saturday night is usually the Leafs and is on CBC/City OTA to reach the widest audience possible. It’s difficult to quantify from the outside, but the Leafs definitely benefit from that exposure vs a team like the Raptors that are hidden only on pay channels.

It’s not like this concept is unheard of in baseball either, many teams have deals with OTA channels as well. Both the Yankees and Mets have a package of 20 or so games that run on local channels in NY state.

I guess the Yankees and Leafs are only the biggest teams in their respective leagues though. Why would the Jays/Rogers want to replicate their operations?

 

[frisbeepilot]

The Jays aren't alone, being exclusively on cable. My favourite team, the Detroit Tigers, is exclusively on a local cable channel (Fox Sports Detroit) -- and they aren't even owned by the company that owns the channel, like the Jays. The Tigers' and Jays' deals must include some sort of "English-language exclusivity" that the carriers can tout: "We're the only place to see the Mudville Nine, you suckers, so if you wanna see 'em, you gotta subscribe!"

Fortunately, though, MLB's streaming service is quite good -- unless you have to deal with that blackout business, which I don't really get, as I'm out-of-market for the team I'd want to watch most of the time. (I do, however, subscribe to Gameday Audio; you can listen to every game's radio broadcast for US$20 a year through the playoffs with no blackouts, which is a hell of a good deal. I'll stream the video of the Free Game of the Day sometimes too, which rotates around between the teams, and there's a weekly game on YouTube as well.)