The viewership from Sportsnet’s U SPORTS broadcasts during the 2015/16 season totalled a combined average viewership of 1,081,600 viewers across 15 broadcasts—which represents a drop of nearly 800,000 viewers across the same number of broadcasts the previous year, according to a document provided to The Charlatan by U SPORTS.
Sportsnet has broadcast seven U SPORTS events so far this season, resulting in a combined total average viewership of 950,000 viewers. There are nine more broadcasts scheduled, covering the men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s hockey national championships.
The U SPORTS men’s basketball championship final drew an average viewership of 51,700 viewers in 2014-15 when the Carleton Ravens took on the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees. But one year later, an average viewership of only 9,000 viewers tuned in for the final between Carleton and the Calgary Dinos.
“Sportsnet has invested millions of dollars in university sports coverage over the last three years and are hopeful that audience numbers will reflect that investment,” Scott Moore, President of Sportsnet, said in a statement. “So far, the support from fans of university sport in Canada has been somewhat underwhelming.”
The current multi-platform broadcasting deal between U SPORTS and Sportsnet was announced as a six-year deal back in 2013. The deal expires at the end of March 2019 and there is no early opt-out clause for either party, according to U SPORTS manager of communications Ken Saint-Eloy.
The deal states U SPORTS and Sportsnet will continue to grow and expand broadcast coverage, covering as many as 27 broadcasts a year by 2019. Heading into this academic season, 15 U SPORTS events had been broadcasted each of the past two seasons, with 16 broadcast or scheduled to be broadcast during the 2016-17 academic season.
The bulk of Carleton Ravens athletic events throughout the year are broadcasted online through Ontario University Athletics’ online streaming service: OUA.tv.
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team has appeared in four nationally televised games, while the Ravens football team appeared nationally for the first time earlier this year.
The Panda Game, the yearly Carleton-U of O rivalry football game, played at TD Place, racked up an average viewership of 48,000 viewers on Oct. 1. It was a part of City’s “Game of the Week” football coverage in the fall, the first time regular season football was broadcast since 2013, according to the press release announcing the broadcast.
U SPORTS national coverage, including the Panda Game, helps provide the university and the athletics program with exposure and national visibility, according to Jennifer Brenning, Carleton’s Director of Athletics.
“It brings brand awareness not only for the athletics program, but the university as a whole,” Brenning said. “Prospective students who may not have thought of Carleton may now consider the university as a place to study.”
Even though the Panda Game racked up the most viewers of the four “Game of the Week” broadcasts, Brenning said there is still much room for improvement.
“Being on CityTV was not the best location for the game, [it is] not a station that the average person would think to tune into for a sporting event,” Brenning said.
The coverage of U SPORTS events over the last three years has been primarily on either Sportsnet 360 or Sportsnet One, secondary channels on the Sportsnet TV package. A select few events, including the Vanier Cup and this year’s men’s basketball final, are granted Sportsnet’s flagship national channel. The statistics over the last three seasons indicate this designation makes a difference.
A key example of this is from a U SPORTS women’s basketball national championship semi-final on March 12, 2015. The game, a matchup between the Saskatchewan Huskies and Windsor Lancers, received bonus coverage on Sportsnet’s national broadcast in addition to its Sportsnet 360 coverage, and registered a total average viewership of 255,400 viewers.
The women’s final the next day was only broadcast on Sportsnet One, and it reported a total average viewership of 36,700 viewers.
With the exception of the game between the Huskies and Lancers, no non-football broadcast has eclipsed an average viewership of 60,000 viewers since the start of the 2014-15 academic year.
Despite these statistics, U SPORTS said they remain confident in Sportsnet’s ability to choose the appropriate coverage for their major events, according to Saint-Eloy.
“The parties have an excellent working relationship and communicated early and often about which channel/platform works best for which event,” Saint-Eloy said.
Although coverage such as the Panda Game was added this season, a key event was cut entirely after receiving coverage each of the last two years: the U SPORTS women’s hockey championship.
According to Brenning, this is due to the lack of in-game and television audiences. Last year’s women’s hockey final registered a total average viewership of 17,600, when the Montreal Carabins defeated the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds by a score of 8-0.
“If we cannot improve in these two areas, more U SPORTS coverage will be reduced,” Brenning said.
Brenning said she believes if they can build their in-game audiences to the same level as the Panda Game in more venues across the country, they will be able to attract more national broadcasters. But she admits it is difficult to make this concept into a reality.
“The challenge that U SPORTS has is that it is a catch-22—you need the exposure to build your [in-game] audience but you need the audience to keep your exposure,” Brenning said.
– Infographic by Cameron Penney
