Raptors in the Media: Share Stories, Articles & Videos you find on our Raps

[Puffer]

Viewers = money for networks. American viewers are interested in American teams so those are the ones they watch. No conspiracy needed to explain any of that. When you look at the regional markets for LA, NY, Boston, Dallas etc. They are much larger than the cities population. Raptors can have the whole country of Canada watching them but it does nothing for ESPN viewership and consequently it does nothing for how much ESPN can charge advertisers for commercial time.

[KeonClark]

I was gonna make a post about their discussion in the game thead. The tone was fairly alarming in how dismissive we are in general. Yes they called up as a good team, underrated etc. But chauncey talking about us like we're the least watched team of the 30. Derozan may be a star now but he doesn't have the shine if an irving or lebron. Then basically saying "the conference finals would be their championship, they'd be over the moon"

Kinda made me feel a little existential. Whats the point of enjoying all this winning really? They'd never in a million years allow this team in the finals.

[3inthekeon]

Never watch those talking head shows and don't really give a fuck what they think. Don't feel better when posters say they've praised us and don't feel worse when posters say they've dismissed us.

[The Great One]

Fuckin show up in the playoffs and don't get blown out EVERY OTHER GAME. Thay's how you gain respect.

I saw the clip that everyone's talkin bout. I just want to say, remember when the Raps where honouring past players 2 years ago? That piece of shit Jalen Rose was one of the guys they honored. I've always wondered why. He was a shitty player for the Raptors. Nothing but a stat padder. And all he does these days is trash the Raptors on ESPN.

[JawsGT]

The raps aren't considered a threat to make the Finals, and rightfully so. Most of these guys on the networks don't even believe that the Celts can really challenge the Cavs, and rightfully so. Both the Celts and the Raps are gonna have to prove it in the playoffs that they are a serious threat to the Cavs. If the Raps do that, they will get more exposure in the US. Those networks cater to the American market, and Americans don't give a rats ass about the Raptors, and won't until they perceive the team as being a contender, a serious contender. Most bball fans south of the border wouldn't consider watching the Raps unless they are playing their team. Thats the limited exposure they are getting down south. And thats fine, as most teams in the league are in the same boat, outside of the few franchises that have far reaching fan bases, and we know who they are.

[Jclaw]

I don't know how to post a video here, but I saw a video on RealGM where the ESPN panel(Beadle, Rose, Pierce and Billups) were discussing about why nobody's talking about the Raptors.

Billups responded that because nobody see them play. That is true, I don't think the Raptors have played a single game this year on ESPN or TNT. But if you really want to watch them play and if you're curious about them then you can always watch them play the League Pass right? I don't think these guys know a single Raptors players except for DeRozan and Lowry.

Second, I hate the fact that they talk about the Celtics like they're in the same level as the Cavs. The Raptors in my opinion are a better team than the Celtics.

Lastly, DeMar DeRozan in my opinion is one of the elite players in the NBA. But I don't think he gets the same kind of star recognition like the other star players do. The TV Networks controls everything. They hype up whoever they want to hype up like Lonzo Ball for example. But forget Lonzo for a minute, I think Kyle Kuzma is actually more popular in the States than DeRozan.

Is this the same panel we talked about last week? That has coach fizdale but not jalen rose. Are they talking about us again?

[Jclaw]

I don't know how to post a video here, but I saw a video on RealGM where the ESPN panel(Beadle, Rose, Pierce and Billups) were discussing about why nobody's talking about the Raptors.

Billups responded that because nobody see them play. That is true, I don't think the Raptors have played a single game this year on ESPN or TNT. But if you really want to watch them play and if you're curious about them then you can always watch them play the League Pass right? I don't think these guys know a single Raptors players except for DeRozan and Lowry.

Second, I hate the fact that they talk about the Celtics like they're in the same level as the Cavs. The Raptors in my opinion are a better team than the Celtics.

Lastly, DeMar DeRozan in my opinion is one of the elite players in the NBA. But I don't think he gets the same kind of star recognition like the other star players do. The TV Networks controls everything. They hype up whoever they want to hype up like Lonzo Ball for example. But forget Lonzo for a minute, I think Kyle Kuzma is actually more popular in the States than DeRozan.

Is this the same panel we talked about last week? That had coach fizdale but not jalen rose. Are they talking about us again?

[MixxAOR]

[KeonClark]

The raps aren't considered a threat to make the Finals, and rightfully so. Most of these guys on the networks don't even believe that the Celts can really challenge the Cavs, and rightfully so. Both the Celts and the Raps are gonna have to prove it in the playoffs that they are a serious threat to the Cavs. If the Raps do that, they will get more exposure in the US. Those networks cater to the American market, and Americans don't give a rats ass about the Raptors, and won't until they perceive the team as being a contender, a serious contender. Most bball fans south of the border wouldn't consider watching the Raps unless they are playing their team. Thats the limited exposure they are getting down south. And thats fine, as most teams in the league are in the same boat, outside of the few franchises that have far reaching fan bases, and we know who they are.

Don't you dare come in here all rational

[MixxAOR]

Ok they are not a threat in playoffs. But they are missing good basketball right now. Sucks for them.

[KeonClark]

Ok they are not a threat in playoffs. But they are missing good basketball right now. Sucks for them.

How can we just dismiss it though? Is it literally impossible for 8 or 9 raptors playing at their best to beat james?

I've been watching this league 20 years and it's still tough to wrap my head around how we can watch a best of 7 with 0 chance of winning and still continue to show interest

[Jclaw]

I have to think that that might have had a different feel without pierce on the panel. Even though he didn’t say anything until he said something he got wrong, he has the fairly recent experience of beating the raps two years in a row in the playoffs (both as lower seeds). Most of what the rest of the panel said was true. They don’t see us (no espn etc). Boston and Cleveland make a better narrative. They do. But I think this “they don’t see us” thing is gaining traction. It looks a little silly when the talking heads, paid by the network, say they don’t know about a significant team because the network doesn’t show them. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get added to a few more national games post all star break.

[psrs1]

TRex is right. Only way to gain respect is to show up in playoffs. The league should show more Raptors games nationally based on their record—Minnesota has had several Christmas Day appearances—on some level league should “force “ networks to take some of our games. Either our franchise is a part of the league or not—if based on their actions we are not truly considered part of the league we should disband our franchise.

[planetmars]

I think this team is better when they are shown as underdogs. It's part of Masai's DNA. A lot of scrappy hard working, under achieving guys that had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are.

I'm kind of happy that they don't get recognized outside of Canada. And even in Canada they are an afterthought (well at least after hockey and baseball).

[S.R.]

How much national hockey coverage do the Winnipeg Jets get? That's a top 5 team in the NHL, they have two top 20 goal scorers (Leafs have one), they're Canadian, but Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary all get national HNIC games ahead of them.

There's your answer. As far as US national basketball media is concerned, Toronto is Winnipeg.

[slaw]

The raps aren't considered a threat to make the Finals, and rightfully so. Most of these guys on the networks don't even believe that the Celts can really challenge the Cavs, and rightfully so. Both the Celts and the Raps are gonna have to prove it in the playoffs that they are a serious threat to the Cavs. If the Raps do that, they will get more exposure in the US. Those networks cater to the American market, and Americans don't give a rats ass about the Raptors, and won't until they perceive the team as being a contender, a serious contender. Most bball fans south of the border wouldn't consider watching the Raps unless they are playing their team. Thats the limited exposure they are getting down south. And thats fine, as most teams in the league are in the same boat, outside of the few franchises that have far reaching fan bases, and we know who they are.

That's a pretty key point that gets lost in Raptorland. The reality is that teams like Memphis (good for a long time), Atlanta (solid playoff team for a long time), etc. also got little to no love from the league and its tv partners. Even the Spurs were only grudgingly granted exposure (I'm old enough to remember all the hand wringing about them being in teh Finals driving down ratings) but I notice that we're seeing less and less of them the last couple of years. When the Warriors fade, as every team does, they'll be tossed onto the heap of generic teams as well to make room for more Knicks and Lakers games.

Toronto has some unique challenges as the only Canadian team and I don't deny that but I also get tired of the woe is Toronto crap - the organization has finally stopped with it since Ujiri showed up and it's time for the fans to do the same.

[LJ2]

That's a pretty key point that gets lost in Raptorland. The reality is that teams like Memphis (good for a long time), Atlanta (solid playoff team for a long time), etc. also got little to no love from the league and its tv partners. Even the Spurs were only grudgingly granted exposure (I'm old enough to remember all the hand wringing about them being in teh Finals driving down ratings) but I notice that we're seeing less and less of them the last couple of years. When the Warriors fade, as every team does, they'll be tossed onto the heap of generic teams as well to make room for more Knicks and Lakers games.

Toronto has some unique challenges as the only Canadian team and I don't deny that but I also get tired of the woe is Toronto crap - the organization has finally stopped with it since Ujiri showed up and it's time for the fans to do the same.

I don't hold that "woe is Toronto" view for not being featured on ESPN as much as they deserve to be or would be if the Raptors were an American team. However, as a basketball fan as well as a Raptor fan it does suck that we don't get the same amount of content. I'm not looking for the team to get more recognition. I'm looking for basketball content from what is considered the leaders in the field. No offence to local media, but the quality of what they produce is not on par with ESPN/TNT.

[slaw]

I don't hold that "woe is Toronto" view for not being featured on ESPN as much as they deserve to be or would be if the Raptors were an American team. However, as a basketball fan as well as a Raptor fan it does suck that we don't get the same amount of content. I'm not looking for the team to get more recognition. I'm looking for basketball content from what is considered the leaders in the field. No offence to local media, but the quality of what they produce is not on par with ESPN/TNT.

Fair enough. I find most of the ESPN and TNT stuff, along with most of their personalities, unbearable, so it doesn't really bother me. There is a lot of great basketball coverage all over the internet that scratches my itch (there's more than I can possible consume), so I don't feel shortchanged as a fan.

[Majesiu]

I don't hold that "woe is Toronto" view for not being featured on ESPN as much as they deserve to be or would be if the Raptors were an American team. However, as a basketball fan as well as a Raptor fan it does suck that we don't get the same amount of content. I'm not looking for the team to get more recognition. I'm looking for basketball content from what is considered the leaders in the field. No offence to local media, but the quality of what they produce is not on par with ESPN/TNT.

I'd argue with that as an outsider to both Canadian and USA market. I don't know if you noticed, but Raptors got plenty of Sunday 3:30 games (4 of 12 so far) which is one of few spots when you can comfortably watch NBA in Europe. As for quality content there are 2 good sites covering only raptors (where often you can hardly find one for some other teams), best in association look into team via Open Gym (only other as innovative thing is Road Trippin' I'd say). I'm not really interested in talking heads, because there are paid to tell what sells best and are not really interested in insightful analysis, but these few guys I enjoy listening/writing (Zach Lowe, Matt Moore) don't shy away from Raptors and mention them on par with other top teams.

[meductic]

TRex is right. Only way to gain respect is to show up in playoffs. The league should show more Raptors games nationally based on their record—Minnesota has had several Christmas Day appearances—on some level league should “force “ networks to take some of our games. Either our franchise is a part of the league or not—if based on their actions we are not truly considered part of the league we should disband our franchise.

Is this serious? Disband the franchise. Oh my. First there is not being shown/ no one sees the games/ does not effect the ratings. Second is they disappear in the playoffs. Thirdly is, yes, they are Winnepeg. But added to these is that they have become Canada's team. Every time a playoff crowd shows up in the square proclaiming them as Canada's team their appeal to American audiences drops. MLSE know's they can't have it both ways and Masai has gone full in on the Canadian flag. I assume everyone know's they elected a nationalist extremist as President. Do you really think they are going to cheer for Canada's team?