The Great Canadian Ratings Report: Curling assumes its place in the TV universe

It's funny how times change.

What seemed ridiculous a couple of decades ago is accepted fact today. For example, there's the classic Simpsons episode that included live TV coverage of the Canadian Football League draft. When that aired 24 years ago, it was gut-bustingly hilarious. Imagine some network so devoid of programming that it would air such a thing. Imagine somebody actually watching it.

Today, there's live TV coverage of the CFL draft and it draws a decent audience, too, even without two teams named Roughriders and Rough Riders.

Back in 1983, SCTV did a hilarious skit on Monday Night Curling. At the time, it seemed ludicrous to think that this down-home sport could command a prime-time TV audience the way that Monday Night Football did.

Today, not so funny. In fact, any uninitiated person watching that episode might wonder what exactly was supposed to be funny. Yeah, curling on TV with big audiences watching. What's the joke?

The fact that curling consistently draws strong ratings -- and merits prime-time slots, too -- hasn't been news for almost two decades. But what is interesting here is that curling seems to be swimming against the tide.

Comprehensive numbers aren't available, but it appears that curling ratings are basically where they were a year ago while ratings for most other sports have taken a bit of a dip.

Sunday's Canada Cup women's final averaged 422,000 on TSN, about 10,000 less than last year's event. The women's semifinal (430,000) was the same as the 2014 game.

The men's final (307,000) actually outdrew last year's equivalent event by more than 70,000 viewers. The early draws also easily ranked ahead of last year's equivalents.

If there's an explanation for this, it might go no further than the fact that the sport's audience is an incredibly loyal one. While football, hockey or baseball ratings usually rely on the quality of the teams involved and the quality of the game, curling fans seem to tune in regardless of the event or the competition.

That could explain why NHL audiences seem to be dropping, what with the ratings-driving Maple Leafs near the bottom of the standings. More on that tomorrow.

Here are the most-watched English-language sports events from the past weekend, according to Numeris overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Leafs-Blues/Habs-Canes/Isles-Sens, Saturday, CBC-Rogers: 1,710,000

2. NFL, Eagles-Pats/Panthers-Saints/Broncos-Chargers, Sunday, CTV: 946,000

3. NFL, Texans-Bills/Jets-Giants/Seahawks-Vikes/Bengals-Browns, Sunday, CTV: 781,000

4. NHL, Bruins at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 619,000

5. Curling, Canada Cup women's final, Sunday, TSN: 422,000

6. NHL, Capitals at Jets, Saturday, Sportsnet: 412,000

7. NHL, Sabres at Oilers, Sunday, Sportsnet: 402,000

8. Curling, Canada Cup women's semi, Saturday, TSN: 378,000

9. Curling, Canada Cup draw 9, Friday, TSN: 327,000

10. Curling, Canada Cup men's semi, Saturday, TSN: 312,000

11. Curling, Canada Cup men's final, Sunday, TSN: 307,000

12. NFL, Colts at Steelers, Sunday, TSN: 306,000 (NBC audience not measured)

13. NBA, Warriors at Raptors, Saturday, TSN: 243,000

14. NHL, Stars at Oilers, Friday, Sportsnet West: 238,000

15. Curling, Canada Cup draw 10, Saturday, TSN: 237,000

16. Curling, Canada Cup draw 8, Friday, TSN: 200,000

17. Skiing, World Cup women's downhill, Saturday, CBC: 165,000

18. Soccer, Liverpool at Newcastle, Sunday, TSN: 157,000

19. Soccer, Bournemouth at Chelsea, Sunday, Sportsnet: 153,000

20. Curling, Canada Cup draw 7, Friday, TSN: 139,000

21. Gymnastics, trampoline world championships, Saturday, CBC: 132,000

22. Soccer, Sunderland at Arsenal, Saturday, Sportsnet: 107,000

23. Soccer, Manchester City at Stoke, Saturday, TSN: 99,000

24. Skiing, World Cup women's Super-G, Sunday, CBC: 95,000

25. Soccer, MLS Cup, Columbus vs. Portland, Sunday, TSN: 87,000

THREE TO WATCH

Soccer to me: It's a big week for fans of the beautiful game, especially those with a European bent. First, there's the group stage of  Champions League with a slew of games Tuesday and Wednesday. That's followed by another slew of Europa League games Thursday. For those who prefer their soccer virtual, there's the 2016 Euro draw, which airs Saturday at noon ET. All games on TSN.

Slam bam: The Pinty's Grand Slam curling series continues this week with the Meridian Canadian Open in the curling hotbed of Yorkton, Sask. Coverage starts Thursday (noon ET, Sportsnet.)

Football free-for-all: As impossible as it may seem with only four weeks left in the NFL season, only one team has been eliminated from the playoffs -- at least, mathematically. And if you guessed it was the Cleveland Browns, you can join Captain Obvious at the prize table. There are plenty of games this weekend with playoff implications starting with the 8-4 Vikings and 10-2 Cardinals (Thursday, 8:25 p.m. ET, Sportsnet) and ending Monday with the 5-7 Giants and 5-7 Dolphins (8:30 p.m. ET, TSN.)