I find it interesting that despite the downturn, the Canucks still average over double the viewers of all of the Canadian teams except Montreal and Toronto. Part of that’s probably due to city size (and also, the Canucks have little NHL competition for fans throughout BC, unlike the Alberta or Ontario teams).  Houston’s probably right about the defensive style of play turning away some viewers: probably more casual viewers than serious fans, because the games are still a lot of fun to watch IMO. I wouldn’t be too worried if I was the Canucks or Sportsnet though: they’re still doing pretty well, especially compared to the other non-Original Six Canadian teams (which is proof of why we need more Nucks and less Flames/Oilers on the HNIC late game).

Posted by Andrew Bucholtz from Kingston, ON on 01/12/08 at 12:23 AM ET

The reason for this is most likely the defensive style of the team, unlike the offensive style the viewers were used to for years.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 01/12/08 at 08:56 AM ET

It was between that and MVP last night. I had to go with the sexy MVP. With all the puck bunnies on the show, at least I was assured that there would be more scoring going on that a Canucks game.

Posted by grey wall on 01/12/08 at 12:57 PM ET

Andrew -- About that 2nd HNIC game, I’m not sure what the numbers are, but it seems the Canucks have been on the Saturday night feature a lot less than the other teams this season.  So at least they can’t be blamed for those ratings.

Puckhound61 -- No doubt that’s a factor. 

Grey Wall -- Smartass!  Though speaking of MVP, I put up this today.  (I imagine the ratings of that thing will be just fine...)

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 01/12/08 at 04:25 PM ET

From strictly a consumer viewpoint of viewing on television...the Canucks are boring to watch on TV.  No real superstar...they don’t play that all out offensive style the Crawford had...it’s all defense all the time.  And, yeah, they win...but they are boring to watch.

If you think about it...the two best offensive players are exciting to watch, when they are grinding the puck along the boards, shuffling it back and forth to each other.  Whatever happened to the deke, the rush, and the clean pass to the open man with the tap in for the score. 

But...I still love ‘em

Posted by GZ Expat from Chiner on 01/12/08 at 06:26 PM ET

Earlier this year there was a report that the Islanders’ TV ratings are up 176% from last season. They too play a defensive game and don’t score much. Their goalie is their star player. Maybe there’s another reason for Vancouver’s dropoff?

Posted by Pete from NY on 01/12/08 at 07:49 PM ET

Up 176% from what???  You have to look at where they were last year...and I am sure they were way behind the local indoor lacrosse team in terms of viewership.

Posted by GZ Expat from Chiner on 01/13/08 at 12:09 AM ET

Expat -- I agree with you: it’s inevitable that we love them regardless of the lacking entertainment value lately.  And fortunately, they’re not always this bad - they do have stretches where they’re exciting to watch, thank god.

Pete -- That’s great news, that you’ve seen an increase on the Island. 

I think part of the problem for Canadian teams, particularly western teams, is something Houston hinted at in his article: that while in the past there were always a handful of games missing from local television, now every game is available, whether by PPV, cable or HNIC. 

That they’re reliably available every game is probably making it less of a must-see-tv experience to catch a game.  But at the same time, the networks may still be getting more viewers than before, simply because they’re broadcasting more games.  It just brings down the average per game.

A theory, anyway.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 01/13/08 at 04:25 PM ET

My friends and I are all so tired of watching such boring Canucks games, that you could sleep through most of this season and not miss much. Then the next day there’s rarely ever anything “exciting” about the game to talk about.

Personally I’m tired of watching them slack off in the first, lose leads in the 3rd, barely ever win in the overtime period and are one of the worst teams in the league in the shootout. 

Finally I really like him as a person, but Markus has got to go, I’m sorry.  5+ million per year and you think he could go out every night and “bust his ass off”, but he doesn’t.  Plus as we all likely know NO HHL team has EVER won the Stanley Cup with a European captain, ever!

Euro players are known to crumble under pressure and in the playoffs in particular.  The perfect example of this is the Ottawa Senators.  As amazing as they often are in the regular season, they have yet to win a Stanley Cup. 

Now obviously it takes more than just the captain, but this “Euro” factor can be seen every year throughout the league. The Canucks need a North American leader and captain, but that’s just the beginning of the changes they need, IMHO.

Posted by Jason from Vancouver on 03/17/08 at 11:50 AM ET

Ummm does anyone care to revise this story now that sportsnet has corrected their numbers? It seems there was a serious error with HD broadcasts and the Canucks numbers are not actually down at all.

Posted by el on 10/26/09 at 09:05 PM ET