Blue Jays ratings soaring for Sportsnet, Buck Martinez continues to recuperate

Article content

By now, we’re well aware of what a Blue Jays playoff push can do for filling the seats at the Rogers Centre (even as ticket prices rise) and piling up TV audiences (even as those costs increase on Sportsnet as well.)

Over time, from a business standpoint it has made Canada’s team the envy of many markets in Major League Baseball.

And the Jays pre-All Star break surge that saw the team win 10 in a row to zoom up to first place in the American League East is the latest example of how that boom can take hold.

Eight of the last 12 Jays games heading into the midsummer hiatus attracted audiences of more than a million viewers, a sure sign of the momentum at play. Of note, the number could have been higher given a couple of late starts in the Pacific time zone on the Jays last road trip.

Not surprisingly, the biggest audiences came from the June 30-July 3 series against the New York Yankees, a four game sweep by the Jays that propelled them into the division lead.

That series averaged 1.1 million viewers with the peak coming for the July 3 contest, an 8-5 Jays win that brought in a season-high audience of 1.3 million.

With an engaged audience like that, the possibilities must be enticing — and profitable. It may just be coincidence, but the hike of up to 30 per cent on Sportsnet+ subscriptions (depending on the package) that kick in on Sept. 9 will hit loyal Jays viewers just when the division races heat up. At that point, public outrage could well be outweighed by momentum from the baseball team.

For Sportsnet, which like the Jays is owned by Rogers, the timing of that ratings boon of the Yankees series was a perfect confluence. The NHL playoffs were well tucked to bed, freeing up multiple channels on the Sportsnet grid and July 1 free agency period also had quieted by the end of the series.

And yes, having the Yankees in as an opponent just as the Jays winning streak was taking off also didn’t hurt.

For the season, Sportsnet is averaging 679,000 viewers for its Blue Jays broadcasts, a nice eight per cent bump from last year’s numbers, with a total reach of 11.3 million Canadians.

Barring a complete collapse, however, those comparative numbers, should widen noticeably given that it was at this time that the tank towards a last-place finish began in earnest for the Jays.

With a captive audience for the next two months and the prospect of a captivating September race for the division title, we can expect audiences of a million plus to be the norm.

It’s early for Rogers and Sportsnet to get too bullish on what awaits, but there are certainly 2015 and 2016 vibes happening in terms of coast-to-coast excitement for the team. Mix in the possibility of some trade deadline acquisitions, a team that plays a more entertaining version of the sport and a serious playoff push and the TV numbers could be massive.

IN THE BOOTH

The absence of popular analyst Buck Martinez will continue into the home stand as the long-time Jays broadcaster attends to some medical issues.

Martinez remains in good cheer and is certainly following the team closely as he recuperates during his latest absence and its hard not to root for one of the best in the business to make a speedy return.

In the meantime, Joe Siddall will continue to work the bulk of the games alongside play-by-play voice Dan Shulman. That pair will be in the booth for the six-game homestand that gets under way on Friday.

STREAM ON

Why is the Blue Jays-Giants game a 12:05 start on Sunday, you ask? It’s a TV thing.

Roku Sunday Leadoff games are part of MLB’s expanded national package and the sport’s continued foray into streaming services. And this week the Blue Jays turn on to be on the menu.

Most of the Roku games are early starts, as in the case of Saturday’s Jays-Giants contest (hence the Leadoff branding) giving the streaming service an exclusive window with no other games as competition on the airwaves.

The start time won’t be particularly jarring for Jays players, though it undoubtedly will catch some fans and viewers off guard, given it’s more than 90 minutes earlier than regular Sunday Rogers Centre scheduled first pitches..

The good news for the majority of fans is that the Roku menu isn’t nearly as intrusive as the Apple TV Friday Night Games. For starters, Sunday Leadoff is free and available on Roku and various Android devices. And for those unnerved by different voices calling the action, Roku doesn’t have an exclusive window to the games it does, meaning the Sportsnet broadcast — and the call from Shulman and Siddall — is also available.