Playing against in-market NHL teams doesn’t work as well as it could for Week 14 CFL TV ratings

There were four CFL games on the slate in Week 14 and six of the teams were competing for attention with NHL counterparts in their respective cities.

The Canucks and Oilers played on Friday, November 5 with the B.C. Lions and Elks stepping on the field the same night.

The Maple Leafs, Senators, Canadiens and Jets were on the ice Saturday, November 6 with the Argonauts, Redblacks, Alouettes and Blue Bombers taking to the gridiron.

The CFL had an advantage this year of knowing the NHL schedule ahead of time, but the three-down league did not use that to its benefit. Week 14 is a perfect example: Friday’s games should have been played on Saturday and vice versa.

It’s easy to say a simple flip of games should have occurred, however there are venue availabilities and other logistics that factor in to making the final CFL schedule. That said, the league should be doing all it can to consider the best possible days and times for it’s match-ups.

The 7 p.m. ET window of NHL games on Hockey Night in Canada drew an average audience of 1,897,600. That was a combination of Toronto hosting the Boston Bruins, the Las Vegas Golden Knights in Montreal and New York Islanders in Winnipeg.

Going head-to-head with Canadian NHL teams led to a seventh straight sub-500,000 week of average viewers for the CFL. What may seem like minor details could actually have a major impact on the CFL and eyeballs on its product.

Week 14 TV ratings:

Friday
B.C. at Hamilton: 463,500

Saskatchewan at Edmonton: 579,500

Saturday
Toronto at Ottawa: 390,100

Montreal at Winnipeg: 528,600

Total Week 14 average: 490,425