The Great Canadian Ratings Report: CFL gets off to promising start with big bump in ratings

Maybe it was the rule changes designed to increase offence. Maybe it was the thrill of yet another new stadium. Maybe it was all that TV coverage of people barbecuing in the parking lot at BMO Stadium.

Or maybe it was the start of a revival of interest in the CFL.

Whatever the reason, the CFL's opening week produced a 13 per cent increase in television ratings over last season. And while it's a tad early to start talking about trends, any increase in eyeballs these days has to be considered an accomplishment.

The CFL got off to a great start in trying to recoup two consecutive years of ratings decreases when the season opener between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts on Thursday averaged 692,000 viewers on TSN -- a 46 per cent increase over the 2015 lid-lifter between Ottawa and Montreal.

Maybe curiosity about the Argos' new home and all the hype about tailgating sparked interest, with an impressive 2.8 million people tuning in to watch at least some part of the game. It couldn't have been just the hot dogs.

The Argos haven't experienced that kind of love since their last Grey Cup win.

Regardless of whether this was curiosity or the beginning of a new love affair, the Argos have to be thrilled that their season opener drew 86 per cent more people than last season's.

While a 13 per cent increase is good news, it's actually even better than it sounds.

First off, the game involved teams from Hamilton and Toronto -- considered the CFL's Dead Zone.

Then consider the fact that the most-watched game in last year's opening week was between Winnipeg and Saskatchewan (780,000.) The Roughriders, who drive ratings in the CFL, didn't play in this year's first week. Had the schedule maker inserted them into the openers last week, there's no doubt that gap would have been even greater.

But even with that impressive opening, the CFL didn't dominate the ratings. That honour went to the Toronto Blue Jays, who drew almost a million viewers on Saturday afternoon.

Second to that was the NHL entry draft on Friday, which somehow convinced an average of 902,000 people to spend their evening watching young hockey players put on baseball caps on Sportsnet. The audience for that thriller peaked at 1.57 million around the time the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews.

In all, 3.9 million Canadians passed on the Blue Jays and a CFL game to catch some of the draft.Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television from the last weekend, according to Numeris overnight ratings:

1. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Saturday, Sportsnet: 947,000

2. NHL, NHL entry draft, Friday, Sportsnet: 902,000

3. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Sunday, Sportsnet: 897,000

4. MLB, Blue Jays at White Sox, Friday, Sportsnet One: 740,000

5. Euro soccer, Croatia vs. Portugal, Saturday, TSN: 665,000

6. Euro soccer, Germany vs. Slovakia, Sunday, TSN: 628,000

7. CFL, Stampeders at Lions, Saturday, TSN: 614,000

8. CFL, Redblacks at Eskimos, Saturay, TSN: 569,000

9. Euro soccer, Wales vs. Northern Ireland, Saturday, TSN: 563,000

10. Euro soccer, Hugary vs. Belgium, Sunday, TSN: 509,000

11. Euro soccer, France vs. Ireland, Sunday, TSN: 506,000

12. CFL, Alouettes at Blue Bombers, Friday, TSN: 495,000

13. Euro soccer, Switzerland vs. Poland, Saturday, TSN: 395,000

14. MLB, Cardinals at Mariners, Sunday, Sportsnet: 185,000

15. MLB, Red Sox at Yankees, Saturday, Sportsnet: 136,000

THREE TO WATCH

Land of ice and goals: Not since the Duchy of Grand Fenwick has Europe seen an underdog like Iceland's soccer team, which has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Euro tournament. Host France might be Iceland's Waterloo (or Reykjavik), but everybody loves cheering for an underdog so it should be fun (2:45 p.m. ET, Sunday, TSN.)

Wheel excitement: The shine has come off the Tour de France in recent years, thanks mainly to Lance Armstrong and his fellow dopers, but it's still a fun ride (though not so much for the competitors.) It all starts Saturday (6:45 a.m., ET, Sportsnet.)

Horsing around: Even if you don't know one end of a horse from another, a tradition as rich as the Queen's Plate has some appeal. The 157th running of Canada's biggest horse derby goes Sunday (4:30 p.m., TSN2.)