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Returning from a European vacation is always a bit of a shock, though no more shocking than learning that Rogers Sportsnet has now cornered the market on all Toronto Blue Jays games -- a dream the late Ted Rogers had the moment he bought the team.

Though the reasons for Sportsnet claiming rights to all Jays games aren't quite clear, the weekend ratings do provide a few clues.

Outside of hockey, nothing else produced the kinds of audiences that the Blue Jays did -- averaging around 500,000 a game in the second month of the season. Certainly nothing else on Sportsnet came close, which is a pretty good reason for cornering the market on baseball games in Canada.

While those numbers could certainly collapse if (or is it when?) the Jays do, the team is Sportsnet's only biggest summer asset. Now if only the Jays can figure out a way to get some of those viewers off their couches and into the Rogers Centre seats.

4. MLB, Orioles at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 581,000

5. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Monday, Sportsnet: 535,000

6. MLB, Orioles at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 527,000

http://thestar.blogs.com/sportsmedia/20 ... ions1.html

Imagine if this team does well against the Yankees and Tampa Bay....

Wow.... those seem like huge numbers. What's the average number of viewers for a raps game?

Maybe those viewers would turn out to games if Cito knew that Greg was a fail last game and was going to blow it piece by piece! .. If we can only win a few games against divison rivals in a row whom are ABOVE us in the standings we might have a half decent turn out!

http://thestar.blogs.com/sportsmedia/20 ... ions1.html


Jays ratings have been going up and up correlating with their winning ways. So how come nobody is showing up to the games?

Personally, I've been to at least 10 ball park and without a doubt the Rogers Center is the hideous ballpark I've ever been to. They always close the roof even for the slightest weather "trouble". The traffic and parking is pretty bad too. I use to live in Syracuse NY and 10 years ago the drive was bearable now coming from London is a complete joke.

It's interesting that they have the tv numbers, so it suggests people just don't want to go to the ballpark. My excuse. It's damn boring being at a game, having to sit thru every pitch. Especially when you can't see from afar how close pitches are.

At home, I have the big screen and I can change channels and even chat in the gamethread. How crazy would it be to show the game on the bigscreen at the Dome? Would that be too much of a distraction for hitters?

J-Roc wrote:It's interesting that they have the tv numbers, so it suggests people just don't want to go to the ballpark. My excuse. It's damn boring being at a game, having to sit thru every pitch. Especially when you can't see from afar how close pitches are.

At home, I have the big screen and I can change channels and even chat in the gamethread. How crazy would it be to show the game on the bigscreen at the Dome? Would that be too much of a distraction for hitters?

I somewhat agree with this, I hate the fact that I can't see balls-strikes because they want to protect the umpires. I get a better experience staying home watching on TV because I can see every pitch. Another reason I don't like going out for games I also think a lot of Blue Jays fans are too polite (or have to be or else they'll get kicked out) so the atmosphere is pretty dead.

I went to the Roy Halladay/AJ Burnett showdown against the yanks last year and the place was packed and the crowd was crazy. Even though I couldn't see anything where I was sitting up in the nosebleeds, it was fun because everyone was booing AJ and chanting every inning. I went back for a normal game against the Rays and you'd swear you were at a funeral or something.

I'll say this, the Jays didn't do themselves any favors by pitching that they were going to be a retooling young team, who will probably struggle to win games prior to the season. the old adage "If you know the end of the story, why bother staying to read the book?" That's why fans would rather just stay home nowadays, than trek out to the Rogers Center and buy themselves a seat.

They also didn't do themselves a favor by bringing back a decent broadcaster in Buck..haha. Fans now get the enjoyment of sitting through a game without Jamie Campbell's awkward cliches and Rance Mulliniks running mouth and their 15-30 seconds of silence. All 162 games are televised, so why bother overpaying to see these guys?

They raised ticket prices in a time of economic uncertainty and just recently, cancelled quite possibly the biggest games of the season, just because of a little discomfort for Jays fans getting to their god awful priced ball ballpark. This doesn't sit well with fans and ESPECIALLY season ticket holders.

They raised those ticket prices for what reason? Payroll is down, our team is supposed to be worse and we really don't have a marketable star other than maybe Vernon Wells at the moment (who is coming off a terrible year).

There's a pretty easy solution to all of this.
-Cut ticket prices in half, Cut the Concession prices in half
-Run better marketing plans
-$5 dollar ticket nights in the 200/500 level seating on tuesday games...a great thing to do.
-Make the experience at the ballpark a little more memorable, let the fans GET LOUD!

sorry...rant has ended..lol.

jalenrose#5 wrote:-Run better marketing plans

You mean, you don't like the TV spots of dudes in Blue Jay Costumes sitting in board rooms pitching Foam Feet marketing ideas?

brutal...

Bigdog1 wrote:http://thestar.blogs.com/sportsmedia/2010/06/here-are-the-top-weekend-sports-tv-ratings-on-english-language-television-according-to-bbm-canada-overnight-calculations1.html


Jays ratings have been going up and up correlating with their winning ways. So how come nobody is showing up to the games?

Personally, I've been to at least 10 ball park and without a doubt the Rogers Center is the hideous ballpark I've ever been to. They always close the roof even for the slightest weather "trouble". The traffic and parking is pretty bad too. I use to live in Syracuse NY and 10 years ago the drive was bearable now coming from London is a complete joke.

Bang-on. The Rogers Centre is easily in the bottom 3 in MLB in terms of stadium appearance and atmosphere (along with the Rays and the Marlins). It's far too big, the turf is ugly, it has no character (fields are completely symmetrical) and it just feels like a concrete mausoleum. No one wants to go to the ballpark because, well, the ballpark sucks - why would you go to an ugly ballpark and pay outrageous concession prices when you can watch it on HDTV in the comfort of your home?

Yes, the concrete building is definitely not good for baseball, and I hate it as much as the next guy. Thing is, we're stuck with it, and there's no way they would build a brand new stadium any time soon. Best option is to renovate the Dome, to make it more baseball friendly. Removing seats, removing the windows above the bleachers so we can see right through the stadium, and i'm sure there's tons more...

It's a different world these days. When I was a kid, I was spoiled because it was in the 80's and early 90's when the team was always good. I remember as a kid going to the stadium and yelling at the ump and doing the "wave". Fun times. Now, there's no more wave because the place is empty (or do they try it??). And I can't imagine how any kid would want to sit in that quiet stadium now.

Now we also have HDTV, so it's just so much more convenient to watch at home. Probably the biggest reason to go to a stadium or arena is because the place is packed. Then you get to experience something you can't at home or in a bar. I totally agree they just need to lower prices to get people to go. And what's this about $11 beers?!?! Stadium prices never made sense to me. At least not when a place isn't filling up. Maybe they're afraid if they lower prices in the offseason, still no one would show up, and now they make less money What if they made a deal with season's ticket holders. The price is set higher if there are only 5,000 sold. But less if 10,000 are sold, even less for 20,000 and so on. So the Jays actually give money back to people as more fans buy in. Or is that not really an incentive for purchasers?? I think they need a way to protect the value of tickets. They can't have one guy sitting in a $50 seat, and the guy beside him paid $10.

J-Roc wrote: It's damn boring being at a game, having to sit thru every pitch. Especially when you can't see from afar how close pitches are.

Im the complete opposite of this-when im at the game, the game seems to go by MUCH faster and i tend to get really in to it. At home, i constantly flip channels or just leave the game on and do something else, losing interest quickly.

jalenrose#5 wrote:I'll say this, the Jays didn't do themselves any favors by pitching that they were going to be a retooling young team, who will probably struggle to win games prior to the season. the old adage "If you know the end of the story, why bother staying to read the book?" That's why fans would rather just stay home nowadays, than trek out to the Rogers Center and buy themselves a seat.

Have you forgotten the backlash against Ricciardi around here because he'd always make cautiously optimistic statements about competing prior to each season? We'd start out well, inevitably get run through the wood chipper, and then everyone on this board would be furious that he'd sold fans a bill of goods. Anthopolous was honest, and it's hard to fault him for that.

Seems like if you really cared about the team the asthetics of the ball park wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Rogers centre is definitly an eyesore but that's not going to stop me from supporting my team. Earlier this season people here were saying there was low turnout because of the weather or because it was still hockey season,now it's because they don't like the rogers centre, excuses, excuses. Just admit your too lazy to get your ass off the couch go to a game.

State of the art one year , an old wart the next. Time has those effects i suppose.

andreafan wrote:State of the art one year , an old wart the next. Time has those effects i suppose.

More like state of the art 20 years ago, old wart now. It's not really rocket science.

It's also no surprise that every dome-like baseball stadium has either been shot behind the barn (Seattle, Minnesota, Montreal) or has a replacement planned (Tampa Bay). Domes and baseball don't mix - the experiment failed.

SkyDome holds more events than Baseball games. A dome is something to appreciate.

When the dome is open it makes for a great night as well. The CN Tower, Ritz and other condos make for a great view. The new turf looks much better. Overall, Rogers will always have a strong Blue Jays audience.

When the roof is open and the weather is nice the Skydome is not really that bad to watch a ball game. Even the 500 level seems nice and can be quite relaxing when the wind is blowing.

When the roof is closed it is a different story especially when it's hot and humid outside. It gets all hot and uncomfortable not to mention the funny smells by the time you get to the 7th inning.

It's good that they've improved the concourse area for the 100 level and some of the 200. The 500 level area is still quite dark and dreary. The worst part has to be the walkways leading to the 200 and 500 levels - makes it feel like you're walking into some kind of cement bunker. Some proper lighting wouldn't hurt either.

Agreed that when the roof is popped, it's not only not bad, but pretty nice actually. Maybe cause I've downed a few pints, but usually the atmosphere at a mid-summer Jays game with the roof open is pretty live.

I never understood the whole ball park arguments. The Rogers Center is decent and its not like the fans would show up in a new ballpark if the team sucked...