Jays attendance up, TV viewership down slightly
Posted: Fri Aug 2, 2013 8:13 pm
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/baseb ... story.html
TORONTO — Just past the midway point of the season, the media seem to have given up on the struggling Blue Jays.
“Jays starting to face reality — It’s over,” the Toronto Star pronounced in its Monday editions after the baseball team fell to 45-52 following a sweep by visiting Tampa Bay.
“Try again next year?” offered the Toronto Sun.
“Blue Jays throwing away a big opportunity,” the Globe and Mail weighed in.
Tim Leiweke, the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, sees a different story, however.
“These fans in this marketplace are pretty unbelievable,” he said in an interview. “I’m looking at the Jays and how they’re drawing — win, lose or draw — and it’s a real testament to how they’ve become Canada’s team.
“And a great learning experience to us as the Raptors.”
ATTENDANCE UP 18 PER CENT
While the Jays’ high-priced makeover has largely flopped on the field to date this season, the Rogers-owned franchise still has plenty to celebrate.
The team has a losing record but it is winning fans.
Attendance over the first 46 home games of the season was up 18 per cent over last year (league-wide attendance reportedly declined three per cent the first half of this season).
Merchandise sales are strong. The Jays have tapped into a younger demographic and watched female interest grow.
“What always strikes me as I’m walking out of the stadium is (a) how young the audience is and (b) how many of them are wearing (Blue Jays) merchandise,” said Scott Moore, president of broadcasting at Rogers Media, whose Sportsnet channel is the Jays’ network of record.
THE BRAND IS COOL
“And what that tells me is the team and the brand is cool.”
How cool are the Jays? Just look at their new batting practice cap.
While general manager Alex Anthopoulos planned his off-season remake of the Blue Jays roster, the marketing department was mulling over design of the new lid.
There was internal debate over whether to go with a variation of the current logo — which got a facelift last season — or something different.
They opted for something new: a simple, clean blue cap with a jumbo red Maple Leaf on the front above the brim and the team logo on the back.
TOP-SELLING CAP
Good choice. Just how good came in a phone call from a Major League Baseball official.
“It is the No. 1 selling new BP cap across all of Major League Baseball — anywhere,” said Anthony Partipilo, Toronto’s vice-president of marketing and merchandising.
The new-look Jays have not been as hot on the field, despite a $120-million US payroll featuring newcomers R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Melky Cabrera, Emilio Bonifacio, Mark DeRosa and Maicer Izturis.
TV ratings are slightly down from last year, but remain vibrant.
“It’s been a fun team to follow,” Moore said. “They’re more fun to follow when they’re winning, but they’re still interesting when they’re not.”
TV RATINGS STRONG
As of July 10, Sportsnet was averaging 544,000 viewers (aged two and over) for Jays’ broadcasts. That’s nine per cent down from the 2012 average of 595,000 at this point of the season, but up 10 per cent from 2011’s average of 496,000 at the same time.
Breaking it down by month, the 2013 Jays averaged 639,000 in April, 403,000 in May (when the team went 13-15) and 575,000 in June (when the team won 11 straight).
Moore says he is happy any time he sees ratings over 500,000. Some recent 700,000-plus games are “amazing numbers, especially when you consider we’re under .500 at the moment.”
Opening Day, a 4-1 loss to Cleveland, drew a Jays’ record average audience of 1.4 million. The Canada Day game, an 8-3 win over Detroit, also drew more than a million.
CORNER HAS BEEN TURNED
“I really think in the last three years, the Jays have turned the corner,” said Moore. “We’re not going to see numbers the way we saw them four, five years ago, which were in the 200 (thousands), 300 (thousands).”
“I’m still confident that these numbers, the three-year trend, will hold up and there have been absolute flashes of brilliance both on the field and on television,” he added.
Ratings are linked to wins and losses, but not exclusively. Moore says individual game ratings can depend on a variety of factors, including if the game is close, and if it is close later in the game. Blowouts either way affect ratings.
“But we certainly saw some substantially better numbers through the 11-game winning streak,” Moore said.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK
Going into play Monday, Toronto was averaging 31,884 fans this season at the Rogers Centre, to stand 14th in the majors. It ranked last in the AL East standings, however.
“We had pretty high hopes for the team on the field as owners and we had pretty high hopes for the team on our media platforms,” said Moore.
“I think we would say the same thing, that as good as the audiences are and the three-year trend is really terrific. I think the audiences would be better if we were over .500.”
YOUNGER AUDIENCE
Moore calls the Jays’ demographics the “biggest untold story.”
“The biggest increases in age groups are in the young audiences, particularly in young kids and young females,” he said.
“I think that’s because the team itself is young, they’re interacting on Twitter, they seem to be accessible and all you have to do is go to the game and see the age of the audience, which is different than it was certainly 10 years ago.”
SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS
The 30-and-under demographic “really feel a personal connection with the people they’re following on Twitter,” Moore added.
“They feel like they’re text-messaging them directly. It’s a fascinating medium.”
The Jays say fans aged 18 to 34 represented about a third of their fan base in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now it is 50 per cent.
Break that down even more and the majority of fans 18 to 24 “skews very highly female (57 per cent) and is one of the fastest-growing segments of our entire demographic slice,” according to Partipilo, the marketing VP.
WOMEN ARE WATCHING
He says the Jays “spike significantly higher than average across all major league teams” when it comes to 18- to -34 year-olds.
Sportsnet says more women started tuning in as the Jays reeled off wins in June. Viewership for women aged 18-34 increased by 61 per cent (24,000 to 39,000) and 52 per cent (54,000 to 82,000) for women 25-54 when compared to May 2013.
Jays broadcasts have attracted an average audience of 24,000 for the teen age group 12-17, up 26 per cent from the same point in 2012, up 26 per cent compared to 2011 and up 53 per cent from 2010.
TORONTO — Just past the midway point of the season, the media seem to have given up on the struggling Blue Jays.
“Jays starting to face reality — It’s over,” the Toronto Star pronounced in its Monday editions after the baseball team fell to 45-52 following a sweep by visiting Tampa Bay.
“Try again next year?” offered the Toronto Sun.
“Blue Jays throwing away a big opportunity,” the Globe and Mail weighed in.
Tim Leiweke, the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, sees a different story, however.
“These fans in this marketplace are pretty unbelievable,” he said in an interview. “I’m looking at the Jays and how they’re drawing — win, lose or draw — and it’s a real testament to how they’ve become Canada’s team.
“And a great learning experience to us as the Raptors.”
ATTENDANCE UP 18 PER CENT
While the Jays’ high-priced makeover has largely flopped on the field to date this season, the Rogers-owned franchise still has plenty to celebrate.
The team has a losing record but it is winning fans.
Attendance over the first 46 home games of the season was up 18 per cent over last year (league-wide attendance reportedly declined three per cent the first half of this season).
Merchandise sales are strong. The Jays have tapped into a younger demographic and watched female interest grow.
“What always strikes me as I’m walking out of the stadium is (a) how young the audience is and (b) how many of them are wearing (Blue Jays) merchandise,” said Scott Moore, president of broadcasting at Rogers Media, whose Sportsnet channel is the Jays’ network of record.
THE BRAND IS COOL
“And what that tells me is the team and the brand is cool.”
How cool are the Jays? Just look at their new batting practice cap.
While general manager Alex Anthopoulos planned his off-season remake of the Blue Jays roster, the marketing department was mulling over design of the new lid.
There was internal debate over whether to go with a variation of the current logo — which got a facelift last season — or something different.
They opted for something new: a simple, clean blue cap with a jumbo red Maple Leaf on the front above the brim and the team logo on the back.
TOP-SELLING CAP
Good choice. Just how good came in a phone call from a Major League Baseball official.
“It is the No. 1 selling new BP cap across all of Major League Baseball — anywhere,” said Anthony Partipilo, Toronto’s vice-president of marketing and merchandising.
The new-look Jays have not been as hot on the field, despite a $120-million US payroll featuring newcomers R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Melky Cabrera, Emilio Bonifacio, Mark DeRosa and Maicer Izturis.
TV ratings are slightly down from last year, but remain vibrant.
“It’s been a fun team to follow,” Moore said. “They’re more fun to follow when they’re winning, but they’re still interesting when they’re not.”
TV RATINGS STRONG
As of July 10, Sportsnet was averaging 544,000 viewers (aged two and over) for Jays’ broadcasts. That’s nine per cent down from the 2012 average of 595,000 at this point of the season, but up 10 per cent from 2011’s average of 496,000 at the same time.
Breaking it down by month, the 2013 Jays averaged 639,000 in April, 403,000 in May (when the team went 13-15) and 575,000 in June (when the team won 11 straight).
Moore says he is happy any time he sees ratings over 500,000. Some recent 700,000-plus games are “amazing numbers, especially when you consider we’re under .500 at the moment.”
Opening Day, a 4-1 loss to Cleveland, drew a Jays’ record average audience of 1.4 million. The Canada Day game, an 8-3 win over Detroit, also drew more than a million.
CORNER HAS BEEN TURNED
“I really think in the last three years, the Jays have turned the corner,” said Moore. “We’re not going to see numbers the way we saw them four, five years ago, which were in the 200 (thousands), 300 (thousands).”
“I’m still confident that these numbers, the three-year trend, will hold up and there have been absolute flashes of brilliance both on the field and on television,” he added.
Ratings are linked to wins and losses, but not exclusively. Moore says individual game ratings can depend on a variety of factors, including if the game is close, and if it is close later in the game. Blowouts either way affect ratings.
“But we certainly saw some substantially better numbers through the 11-game winning streak,” Moore said.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK
Going into play Monday, Toronto was averaging 31,884 fans this season at the Rogers Centre, to stand 14th in the majors. It ranked last in the AL East standings, however.
“We had pretty high hopes for the team on the field as owners and we had pretty high hopes for the team on our media platforms,” said Moore.
“I think we would say the same thing, that as good as the audiences are and the three-year trend is really terrific. I think the audiences would be better if we were over .500.”
YOUNGER AUDIENCE
Moore calls the Jays’ demographics the “biggest untold story.”
“The biggest increases in age groups are in the young audiences, particularly in young kids and young females,” he said.
“I think that’s because the team itself is young, they’re interacting on Twitter, they seem to be accessible and all you have to do is go to the game and see the age of the audience, which is different than it was certainly 10 years ago.”
SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS
The 30-and-under demographic “really feel a personal connection with the people they’re following on Twitter,” Moore added.
“They feel like they’re text-messaging them directly. It’s a fascinating medium.”
The Jays say fans aged 18 to 34 represented about a third of their fan base in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now it is 50 per cent.
Break that down even more and the majority of fans 18 to 24 “skews very highly female (57 per cent) and is one of the fastest-growing segments of our entire demographic slice,” according to Partipilo, the marketing VP.
WOMEN ARE WATCHING
He says the Jays “spike significantly higher than average across all major league teams” when it comes to 18- to -34 year-olds.
Sportsnet says more women started tuning in as the Jays reeled off wins in June. Viewership for women aged 18-34 increased by 61 per cent (24,000 to 39,000) and 52 per cent (54,000 to 82,000) for women 25-54 when compared to May 2013.
Jays broadcasts have attracted an average audience of 24,000 for the teen age group 12-17, up 26 per cent from the same point in 2012, up 26 per cent compared to 2011 and up 53 per cent from 2010.
