Great Canadian Ratings Report: TSN rules on NHL deadline day

It might have been the T-shirt gun, or the possible hope that some exotic animal might show up, or maybe it's good-old reliability.

Whatever the reason, TSN continues to be the go-to source for NHL blathering on trade deadline day.

Despite a serious dearth of deals that meant anything to anyone other than the players' immediate families and the owners of moving companies, TSN dominated the ratings battle once again. The network without a national NHL deal averaged 180,000 viewers a minute over its eight-hour coverage on Monday (and honestly, it felt more like 48 hours considering the lack of action) – more than double the 76,000 average by NHL-rich Sportsnet.

Not surprisingly, ratings were down this year as no doubt viewers drifted away (or off) as deals failed to materialize. TSN's numbers were down 12 per cent, while Sportsnet's dropped 1 per cent.

But both experienced pretty significant increases on the digital side, with TSN reporting a 30 per cent boost and Sportsnet a 20 per cent hike. That, as everyone keeps telling us, is the future.

As if you needed more evidence regarding the power of this eight-hour blatherfest, consider that an average of 180,000 viewers watched TSN's deadline-day preview show on Sunday – more than the number who bothered to watch the division-leading Toronto Raptors play that night.

When Rogers mortgaged its future on the NHL two seasons back, many predicted doom for TSN, hockey being the lifeblood of Canadian sports television and all. Sure enough, TSN has gone from dominating the sports landscape to second place.

But it has continued to rule the day on trade coverage. That's not entirely surprising.

After all, TSN invented this day of chatter and turned it into a sort of national holiday for hockey buffs. Despite the lack of activity on Monday, the "event" amassed 61 million #tradecentre mentions on Twitter – the kind of number World War II would have done had Twitter been around then.

In addition, TSN's stable of commentators has established itself as credible and the source of all trade-related information – something that Sportsnet has yet to do.

Sportsnet may one day cut into TSN's dominance on trade day, given its dominance on the national hockey scene. But it's looking more and more like that day is a long way off.

While trade day was great news for TSN, this year's Tournament of Hearts was not. Ratings for Sunday's final were down 20 per cent from last year.

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend, according to Numeris overnight ratings. Since trade-deadline day is considered a holiday for many who either call in sick or steal time at work, Monday's ratings have been included.

1. NHL, Leafs-Habs/Wings-Avalanche, Saturday, CBC-City, 1,660,000

2. Curling, Tournament of Hearts final, Sunday, TSN: 825,000

3. NHL, Senators at Flames, Saturday, CBC: 761,000

4. Curling, Tournament of Hearts semifinal, Saturday, TSN: 692,000

5. Curling, Tournament of Hearts page playoff, Saturday, TSN: 595,000

6. NHL, Lightning at Maple Leafs, Monday, TSN Regional: 538,000

7. Auto racing, NASCAR QuikTrip 500, Sunday, TSN: 321,000 (Fox audience not measured)

8. PGA, Honda Classic final round, Sunday, Global: 305,000

9. Curling, Tournament of Hearts Draw 17, Friday, TSN: 293,000

10. NHL, Sharks at Canucks, Sunday, Sportsnet: 275,000

11. NBA, Cavaliers at Raptors, Friday, Sportsnet One: 270,000

12. NHL, Jets at Penguins, Saturday, Sportsnet: 241,000

13. Curling, Tournament of Hearts tiebreaker, Friday, TSN: 237,000

14. PGA, Honda Classic third round, Saturday, Global: 200,000

15. Figure skating, Four Continents, Saturday, CBC: 193,000

16. NHL, Trade Deadline, Monday, TSN: 180,000

16. NHL, Trade Deadline preview, Sunday, TSN: 180,000

18.  Diving, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 171,000

19. Diving, World Cup, Sunday, CBC: 168,000

20. NBA, Raptors at Pistons, Sunday, Sportsnet One: 165,000

21. NHL, Detroit at Colorado alumni game, Friday, Sportsnet: 159,000

22.  NHL, Trade Deadline recap, Monday, TSN: 153,000

23. Bobsleigh, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 143,000

24.  Speed Skating, World Sprint Championships, Sunday, CBC: 131,000

25. NHL, Capitals at Blackhawks, Sunday, Sportsnet: 126,000

THREE TO WATCH

The boys of spring – There's nothing that warms a chill late-winter breeze more than the mere thought of baseball spring training. Imagine what a game will do to your winter-weary spirits. The Toronto Blue Jays, who were last seen simultaneously raising and crushing the spirits of Canadians last fall, are back on the field against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, 1 p.m. ET (Sportsnet).

Rocks around the clock – The 2016 Brier is being promoted as possibly the most exciting in curling history, which actually may be an understatement. The field is filled with big names and powerful teams, including Ontario's Glenn Howard. He's not only aiming for his fifth championship, but is trying to win his first with son Scott in tow. It all starts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET (TSN) and continues until March 13.

Footy in the door – Could this be the year that Toronto FC finally breaks through and establishes itself as a contender in the MLS? Fans of the beleaguered soccer franchise might get an indication of that when the MLS season opens (Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TSN4) as TFC travels east to take on the New York Red Bulls, with Montreal at Vancouver later on (Sunday, 5:30 p.m. ET, TSN1/3).