The Great Canadian Ratings Report: TFC gets a kick out of new look

So maybe, just maybe, those millions of dollars being thrown around by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's executives might actually pay off some day.

The debut of the new, star-studded Toronto FC -- not to be confused with the old, name-that-player Toronto FC -- produced big ratings for the Major League Soccer team on Saturday. The team's season-opening win over the Seattle Sounders drew an average of 299,000 viewers -- a 15 per cent increase over last year's kickoff.

It was the team's third-highest rating ever on TSN and the highest since 2011. Okay, it's only big ratings by Canadian soccer standards -- but you've got to start somewhere.

While that pales in comparison with what Toronto's other pro teams draw (except for the unloved Raptors), the fact that 1.5 million Canadians tuned in at some point during the game will have MLSE dreaming of bigger days to come.

The team has been pretty much at the bottom of the TV ratings since its inception, which isn't surprising considering the fact that it has pretty much been at the bottom of the standings since its inception. But the arrival of other Canadian teams has created some rivalries and the landing of stars such as Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley is certainly something to build on.

But while MLSE is getting warm and fuzzy feelings about its prospects with soccer, it has to be wondering if its basketball team is ever going to find an audience. Despite being one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Raptors couldn't do any better than 189,000 viewers for its game in Memphis on Friday on TSN.

Worse yet, its home game against Phoenix on Sunday averaged only 117,000 viewers on Sportsnet One. To put that into perspective, only downhill skiing on CBC (48,000) drew a smaller audience on the weekend.

Here are the most-watched English-language sports shows over the past weekend, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Senators at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 1,504,000

2. NHL, Leafs at Capitals, Sunday, Sportsnet Ontario: 755,000

3. NHL, Flames at Coyotes, Saturday, CBC: 614,000

4. Women's world curling, Canada vs. Switzerland, Sunday, TSN: 565,000

5. Women's world curling, Canada vs. Russia, Saturday, TSN: 536,000

6. Women's world curling, Canada vs. Czech Republic, Sunday, TSN: 399,000

7. Grand Slam of Curling, final, Sunday, Sportsnet: 366,000

8. Paralympics, Closing ceremonies, Sunday, CBC: 343,000

9. MLS, Toronto FC at Seattle, Saturday, TSN: 299,000

10. NHL, Canucks at Panthers, Sunday, Sportsnet Pacific: 291,000

11. Grand Slam of Curling, semifinal, Saturday, Sportsnet: 282,000

12. Grand Slam of Curling, semifinal, Saturday, Sportsnet: 273,000

13. Short-track speed skating, world championships, Sunday, CBC: 262,000

14. Grand Slam of Curling, evening draw, Friday, Sportsnet: 245,000

15. NHL, Canucks at Capitals, Friday, Sportsnet Pacific: 230,000

16. Auto racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sunday, TSN, 205,000 (Fox ratings not calculated)

17. NBA, Raptors at Grizzlies, Friday, TSN: 189,000

17. Paralympics, Saturday, CBC: 189,000

19. Short-track speed skating, world championships, Saturday, CBC: 183,000

20. NHL, Flyers at Penguins, Sunday, TSN2: 181,000

THREE TO WATCH

Let the insanity begin: Is there a better marketing phrase in all of sports than March Madness? For one, it's March, so anything that even hints at excitement tends to stir the blood. As for madness, that might be a bit hyperbolic except for the fact that pretty much every year some school like Northeastern Western Kentucky Bible College knocks off somebody they shouldn't. There are plenty of Canadians to watch, too. It all begins Thursday afternoon on CBS and TSN.

The acne games: All of us who got all het up about the world junior hockey championship and then promptly forgot these guys the second they got home can renew our love of watching teenage hockey when the first round of the Canadian Hockey League playoffs start on Friday. The defending champion Halifax Mooseheads host the Charlottetown Islanders in the opening game of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League series. Friday, 7 p.m. EDT on Sportsnet Pacific, Ontario and East.

The rivalry lives again: Remember the bad, old days (decades?) when only grainy black-and-white photos proved a meaningful Leafs-Canadiens rivalry wasn't something NHL marketers made up? Well, they're officially over. The two teams are actually in the playoff hunt and battling each other for playoff rankings. All that's missing are Doug Harvey and Johnny Bower. Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT, CBC.