Raptors TV broadcast thread

[white men can't jump]

Maybe they show curling because their fans actually buy the products they advertise (except beer, fans of superb athletes like basketballers consume vast quantities of beer - no irony there).

Well curling does get strong viewership...and in terms of demographics, it's probably a generally affluent crowd, so sponsors want to target these people with money to blow

[3inthekeon]

Maybe they show curling because their fans actually buy the products they advertise (except beer, fans of superb athletes like basketballers consume vast quantities of beer - no irony there).

[RobertArchibald]

I would bet thousands of dollars if I could that the majority of the Curling event viewers are over 60. Just because I made a blanket statement doesn't mean that I'm not right lol
And if someone of the baby boomer generation said they never met anyone over thirty who watches the Raptors I would say that's probably because they're old as shit and don't get out and therefor don't meet that many people lol

Another Raptor fan that knows it all. You and Nilanka must be the same person!

[Mr.Z]

Lol so that means no one under 70 is watching? These general blanket statements are hilarious. What if someone of the baby boomer generation were to say "I've never met anyone over 30 that watches the Raptors"? Does that make it true? The networks are playing to the demographics. They're essentially selling a product just like any other business. The popularity of the alternatives is obviously higher than Raptors games at the moment. It sucks, but it is what it is.

I would bet thousands of dollars if I could that the majority of the Curling event viewers are over 60. Just because I made a blanket statement doesn't mean that I'm not right lol
And if someone of the baby boomer generation said they never met anyone over thirty who watches the Raptors I would say that's probably because they're old as shit and don't get out and therefor don't meet that many people lol

[RobertArchibald]

Well there's a lot of fucking championship games lol and besides you, I've never met anyone under the age of 70 who actually watches any of these events

Lol so that means no one under 70 is watching? These general blanket statements are hilarious. What if someone of the baby boomer generation were to say "I've never met anyone over 30 that watches the Raptors"? Does that make it true? The networks are playing to the demographics. They're essentially selling a product just like any other business. The popularity of the alternatives is obviously higher than Raptors games at the moment. It sucks, but it is what it is.

[RobertArchibald]

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/th...215036291.html

Hahaha yes!

[2KJ]

I think we all agree/understand that the Raptors will be number 3 or 4 in terms of priority for broadcasting: behind the Leafs and other Cdn Teams, and the Jays which is mostly what sportsnet covers. What we are all pissed about is these networks showing Raptors games on their secondary channels (TSN2, Sportsnet1) when the Leafs/CdnTeams or the Jays aren't playing and they're showing "sports" like curling, darts, poker, golf or nas fucking car on their main channels!!!

Not everyone or I should say most of us only have basic cable TV so only the main sports channels are available to us. This of course affects the so-called TV-ratings since we can't watch the games, most of us resolve to watching live stream games on the Internet.

We Raptors fans already suffer the TSN SportsCentre syndrome wherein the Raptors win a huge game on their network, but they would first cover what happens to John Tortorella, or why did this Team USA hockey player got snubbed, or focus more on how the Leafs missed the playoffs instead on how the Raptors are making the playoffs. They show all the hockey highlights, then a 10-sec or less Raptors highlights, then it's back to the Hockey Panel w/ Bob Mackenzie and those dudes. This is similar to how my Yankee friends who are hockey fans complain on how they only get 10 seconds of hockey then it's all about Lebron on ESPN.

If they do prioritize these shows, why not show Raptors game on their websites for free? Similar to how they do with Tennis matches. And yeah, even players like Raonic or Genie Bouchard who's carrying Canadian tennis today barely get coverage from the main networks.

[Nilanka]

Debate settled. I love Curling!

[Bendit]

Look at your avatar. That's an athlete.

Now show me the Curling equivalent.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/th...215036291.html

[Mr.Z]

I've heard this complaint a number of times and as a competitve curler I take offence to it. The ONLY curling coverage on TSN are the national championships, world championships, skins game (literally 1 game) and continental cup (1 weekend). The national and world championships SHOULD be broadcast over a regular season Raptors game. Curling is a huge Canadian sport and this country is a dominant curling force. It gets "much better" coverage because it has been around for over 200 years in Canada and is enjoyed by an age demographic much larger than that of the average Raps fan.

Much like Vince Carter introduced basketball to young Canadians, prominent Canadian curlers are doing the same. I don't care about it not being as "cool" as basketball, that's an opinion. A fact is the number of people watching the Brier and Scotties is higher than those watching a regular season Raps game. If it weren't fact, TSN would be showing the Raptors. There are 82 Raptor games broadcast over the course of 6 months (as well as other NBA games) and there are 6 curling events that take up a total of about 50 days. Giving up a couple basketball games here and there should not a major issue.

I've always been a big believer in not chastising one sport to promote another (which is basically our pet peeve from hockey analysts). Open your mind to the possibility that other people like darts and curling, just like you want the hockey fanatics to open their mind that people that like basketball.

Well there's a lot of fucking championship games lol and besides you, I've never met anyone under the age of 70 who actually watches any of these events

[Nilanka]

This is where the argument ends. Based on the bolded, I'm obviously dealing with God here who knows all of man's internal thoughts. Gimme a break.

Look at your avatar. That's an athlete.

Now show me the Curling equivalent.

[RobertArchibald]

no, no, thats fair.

I'm not trying to do the bold, just pointing out that what people look for in sports is not always the same for everyone.

There's something to appreciate in both sports, and arbitrarily raising one above the other because of a perceived superiority of one quality is just that, arbitrary.

I don't even know what I'm arguing for anymore lol.

I dream of a world where a sport is not judged based on....

Couldn't have said it better myself. Let's just appreciate all skills, whether they're perceived athletic or not.

[RobertArchibald]

I'm cool with with curling getting fair exposure, but that's not what is being played instead of Raps games. They're not broadcasting World Championship games, Brier qualifiers, etc., Raps games are pushed to alternative channels for replays of games.

The current interest in sports is tied to the benefit of live broadcasts. The fact that sports are the only must watch television, that cannot be viewed on delay with the same amount of interest is important. Personally, if TSN knew what they were doing, this would not be an issue. As a broadcaster, TSN could negotiate with Curling Canada, CFL, and other Canadian sports so that they could broadcast everything live. Instead, of nurturing all live sports, and benefiting all sports they would rather push certain sports to satellite stations.

There are reasons for that. Also, Poker, darts, pool, etc., all have their place -- however, if it's not live, or day of, why is it being broadcasted on TSN, or Sportsnet instead of one of the satellite stations?

Agree with the live aspect of sports, but I'm not sure what the bold is referring to? Did TSN play a replay of something instead of a Raptor game? Can only speak for curling, but a lot of the world events are played overseas and the live coverage would be in the middle of the night in Canada. Replays generally occur during the morning or afternoon for curling. Either way, I tend to agree that I'm not sure the major networks have their eggs in the proper baskets, but I'm also assuming they know more than we do.

[RobertArchibald]

I am sorry you took offense. I did not mean to single your favourite sports out but rather point to the choice of various broadcasts over basketball. Poker seems to be a favourite as well. Setup more channels and broadcast them all. My point (and that of the thread) is that a major sport basketball is getting short shrift here made even more egregious by the great season the Raptors are having. I refer here to not just the game telecast but the supporting reporting around the game. Soccer has eg. specific programming covering the international leagues. Imbalance of course exists to the point of nausea in the case of hockey. I'll give you your curling but darts and poker....seriously?

ps...there is a irony here that if a portion of a broadcast mandate is to grow a sport (if for nothing else but selfish reasons since eyeballs will increase) then they should be devoting more broadcast time to it.

All great points. Was just offering a justification for network choices and hoping to offer some insight into a world outside of Raptors basketball where people have differing views on what should be shown on tv. I guess it basically all comes down to supply and demand. The Raptors terrible and short-lived history (save, for a few nice seasons) makes it hard for people to jump on board. Fans should be pro-active in their quest to have the Raptors as the #1 media darlings. E-mail, tweet, blog, do whatever you can to make yourself heard. Posters ranting about it being "bullshit" that the Leafs get all the coverage won't change anything. I don't follow the Leafs, darts or poker, but complaining and being bothered by their coverage won't change anything.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

The thing I don't get is that I thought TSN2 was originally launched as a copy-cat of ESPN2, which was meant to be a secondary network playing the secondary sports? I've always had issue with Canada's only NBA (one of the big-4 sports) team being relegated to the 2nd tier network, especially in favor of some meaningless regular season NHL game between a couple of backwoods, non-playoff American teams.

I would totally understand the Raptors ranking 3rd on the Canadian sports depth-chart, behind the Canadian NHL teams and the Blue Jays. Watching the national sports media outlets treat the Raptors as a 2nd tier sport does nothing to help grow the sport in Canada (which it turn would help their ratings).