Massive Attack Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 To me, this signals the fact that Sportsnet finds the women's NTs more important then the men. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Women's World Cup Team Friday, February 20, 2004 Soccer Takes Centre Stage On Rogers Sportsnet Ottawa, Ontario -The Canadian Soccer Association and Rogers Sportsnet are pleased to announce the network will broadcast Canada’s upcoming games at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament from San Jose, Costa Rica. As the Canadian Women continue their quest for a spot in the 2004 Olympics in Athens when they take on Jamaica Thursday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/ 4:00 p.m. (PT) live on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. Note, for viewers outside of the Sportsnet Pacific broadcast region without access to all four Sportsnet channels the game will be available on a tape-delayed basis at 11:00 p.m. (ET) on Sportsnet East, 11:30 p.m. (ET) on Sportsnet Ontario and 11:00 p.m. (MT) on Sportsnet West. Beginning with the Canada/Jamaica clash, Rogers Sportsnet will cover all three of Canada’s round-robin matches and any games involving Canada if they advance to the playoff round. ** Please check your local listings or visit www.sportsnet.ca for Team Canada broadcast times. --------- 2004 CONCACAF WOMEN’S OLYMPIC FINAL ROUND QUALIFICATION GAME SCHEDULE Group A: Costa Rica, Canada, Jamaica, Panama Group B: USA, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti - Schedule - Date Matches Stadiums (Kick off - Local Times - CT) Wednesday, February 25 Mexico vs. Haiti - Nacional (13:00) USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago - Nacional (15:00) Thursday, February 26 Canada vs. Jamaica - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (18:00) Costa Rica vs. Panama - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (20:00) Friday, February 27 Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (18:00) Haiti vs. USA - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (20:00) Saturday, February 28 Panama vs. Canada - Nacional (13:00) Costa Rica vs. Jamaica - Nacional (15:00) Sunday, February 29 Trinidad & Tobago vs. Haiti - Nacional (13:00) USA vs. Mexico - Nacional (15:00) Monday, March 1 Jamaica vs. Panama - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (18:00) Costa Rica vs. Canada - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (20:00) Wednesday, March 3 Semifinal #1 (A1 vs. B2) - Nacional (12:00) Semifinal #2 (B1 vs. A2) - Nacional (14:30) Friday, March 5 Third Place - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (17:30) Final - Eladio Rosabal Cordero (20:00) http://canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1623 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 This is absolutely ridiculous ("well, our best numbers were with the women" - MAYBE IF YOU ACTUALLY SHOWED SOME MEN'S GAMES THE RATINGS MIGHT BE BETTER!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Thats good news for the womens coverage..i hope both games vs belize will be on live in on all areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtlfan Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack To me, this signals the fact that Sportsnet finds the women's NTs more important then the men. I guess one could argue that some members of this site, would say they find our men's team more important to them than our women's team. How can anyone believe that televising a Canadian National Team's matches is a signal that they don't have an interest in other teams? How can anyone be disappointed that Canaians can watch our National Team qualify for the OLYMPICS. Should the soccer community bombard Sportsnet and plead with them to stop broadcasting women's soccer? Please explain why this hurts our men's team? I can see the headlines "Men's National Soccer Team Suffers From Discrimination" While our men's team is getting organized with Frank Yallop we should be celebrating that soccer is making it on mainstream TV. The real facts are that Sportnet will broadcast anything that makes a profit. That's the point of running a business. The more exposure Canadian soccer gets the better for any National Team be it women or men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 mtlfan, thanks for putting words in my mouth. I am happy that Sportsnet is showing the women Olympic Qualifying. I am always happy when I get to see Canadian soccer on TV (I don't even mind tape delay). Its just that in my opinion, Sportsnet would rather show women's soccer than men. My opinion is based on the way Sportsnet has been handling all of the Men's national teams of late. I'll bet that the U-19 women's qualifying from Montreal and Ottawa will also be on TV this summer. But why couldn't we get the 2003 men U-17 qualifying that was held in our own country? Remember what happened at the U-20 championships at U.A.E.? My criticism of Sportsnet is based on the way they've been treating the men's team of late, maybe you just weren't paying attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Yeah, same here. We had WCQ in OUR country as well as a WORLD CUP which weren't televised (and the OQ of course) and now we get this. I have nothing against women's soccer, but I think it's a shame that the number of games televised are not even CLOSE to being the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtlfan Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack mtlfan, thanks for putting words in my mouth. I am happy that Sportsnet is showing the women Olympic Qualifying. I am always happy when I get to see Canadian soccer on TV (I don't even mind tape delay)..... I'll bet that the U-19 women's qualifying from Montreal and Ottawa will also be on TV this summer. But why couldn't we get the 2003 men U-17 qualifying that was held in our own country? Remember what happened at the U-20 championships at U.A.E.? My criticism of Sportsnet is based on the way they've been treating the men's team of late, maybe you just weren't paying attention. I am paying close attention and I suggest you could the same. My reply was to both quotes more to the one that mentions this is ridiculous. I do recall that once Sportnet was bombarded with requests and they then calculated they could make a profit by televising Canada-Spain and they did. The bottom line is Women's soccer is a winner for the advertisers and the network. When I read I'll bet that the U-19 women's qualifying from Montreal and Ottawa will also be on TV this summer. I could interpet that as a complaint. Yes you are correct the WNT is more important to Sportsnet. To complain that it should't be, it isn't fair or any other reason makes no sense to me. Is the glass half empty or half full ? Sportnet is the only network that produces women's soccer and they need to build on previous successes. In another post people are complaining about the Canada/Belize dates rather than hounded Sportnet to make sure we get coast ot coast coverage regardless of Euro 2004. I am confident that we will see more and more men's games in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtlfan Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack mtlfan, thanks for putting words in my mouth. I am happy that Sportsnet is showing the women Olympic Qualifying. I am always happy when I get to see Canadian soccer on TV (I don't even mind tape delay)..... I'll bet that the U-19 women's qualifying from Montreal and Ottawa will also be on TV this summer. But why couldn't we get the 2003 men U-17 qualifying that was held in our own country? Remember what happened at the U-20 championships at U.A.E.? My criticism of Sportsnet is based on the way they've been treating the men's team of late, maybe you just weren't paying attention. I am paying close attention and I suggest you could the same. My reply was to both quotes more to the one that mentions this is ridiculous. I do recall that once Sportnet was bombarded with requests and they then calculated they could make a profit by televising Canada-Spain and they did. The bottom line is Women's soccer is a winner for the advertisers and the network. When I read I'll bet that the U-19 women's qualifying from Montreal and Ottawa will also be on TV this summer. I could interpet that as a complaint. Yes you are correct the WNT is more important to Sportsnet. To complain that it should't be, it isn't fair or any other reason makes no sense to me. Is the glass half empty or half full ? Sportnet is the only network that produces women's soccer and they need to build on previous successes. In another post people are complaining about the Canada/Belize dates rather than hounded Sportnet to make sure we get coast ot coast coverage regardless of Euro 2004. I am confident that we will see more and more men's games in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 About the U-19, I wasnt' complaining, just making an observation (that I know will be true). I think the problem for me anyways, was that Sportsnet spoiled us a few years ago, by showing almost all the mens and womens games it could. Now, Sportsnet is being more selective in what they show. Maybe I'm being greedy because I want it all televised. I'm sick and tired of watching bad match trackers, listening to spanish internet radio (that I don't understand), or scouring Central American websites to find results for our mens teams. I realize that the women's team is more popular, but in my opinion, Sportsnet misses the oppurtunity to grow the rating for the Men's teams, by not showing it that often. I bet the ratings for the Canada-Spain U-20 game would have been higher, if there was a build up of the previous matches from U.A.E. All I'm saying, is that I would like to see more of our men teams shown, at the same time, I dont' want to see a drop in the women's coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Attack Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 About the U-19, I wasnt' complaining, just making an observation (that I know will be true). I think the problem for me anyways, was that Sportsnet spoiled us a few years ago, by showing almost all the mens and womens games it could. Now, Sportsnet is being more selective in what they show. Maybe I'm being greedy because I want it all televised. I'm sick and tired of watching bad match trackers, listening to spanish internet radio (that I don't understand), or scouring Central American websites to find results for our mens teams. I realize that the women's team is more popular, but in my opinion, Sportsnet misses the oppurtunity to grow the rating for the Men's teams, by not showing it that often. I bet the ratings for the Canada-Spain U-20 game would have been higher, if there was a build up of the previous matches from U.A.E. All I'm saying, is that I would like to see more of our men teams shown, at the same time, I dont' want to see a drop in the women's coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Sportsnet came out with all guns blazing after the MNT won the Gold Cup. However, the MNT has done little to capture the imagination of the country since then -- how was Rogers going to get any interest from normally indifferent fans from the WCQ campaign in 2000? By comparison, the WNTs have been great for Rogers, and have performed well in every tournament they've showed (U19s, qualifying for the WWC, 4th in the WWC). I'm afraid I can't blame Rogers for not showing a team whose performance and potential drawing power are both very spotty. If we do well in qualifying this year and next, I think we'll see Rogers turn around. They'll be more likely to invest in televising a friendly from Europe (e.g. Switzerland, Malta) if they can convince their advertisers that they'll get a couple hundred thousand viewers. Allez les Rouges, M@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red card Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 If the women's teams games were not shown, it would have been a maor disgrace. Considering the ratings for the games in the last 2 years, it is a no-brainer decision to show the qualifying games. Why it took a week prior to the qualifying to announce the tv schedule is a puzzle? Sportsnet should be viewing the women's games as one of their major rights properties; and thereby, affording it the promos and buildup at least on the level of their NBA & EPL games. Another troubling issue is why the Voyageurs board was not up in arms that the games were not being televised, while there is already a long-winded forum about the televising the Belize game. Is it because the Voyageurs membership does not accurately reflect the true level of interest of the women's games in Canada? I believe so. The real excitement is with the women, but it appears many Voyageurs are oblivious/or not yet come to terms to this fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by red card Another troubling issue is why the Voyageurs board was not up in arms that the games were not being televised, while there is already a long-winded forum about the televising the Belize game. Is it because the Voyageurs membership does not accurately reflect the true level of interest of the women's games in Canada? I believe so. The real excitement is with the women, but it appears many Voyageurs are oblivious/or not yet come to terms to this fact. Well, we did know about coverage of this tournament two weeks ago: http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2311 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by red card If the women's teams games were not shown, it would have been a maor disgrace. Considering the ratings for the games in the last 2 years, it is a no-brainer decision to show the qualifying games. Why it took a week prior to the qualifying to announce the tv schedule is a puzzle? Sportsnet should be viewing the women's games as one of their major rights properties; and thereby, affording it the promos and buildup at least on the level of their NBA & EPL games. Another troubling issue is why the Voyageurs board was not up in arms that the games were not being televised, while there is already a long-winded forum about the televising the Belize game. Is it because the Voyageurs membership does not accurately reflect the true level of interest of the women's games in Canada? I believe so. The real excitement is with the women, but it appears many Voyageurs are oblivious/or not yet come to terms to this fact. Good points 'red card'. The success of the women has skyrocketed since the hiring of Even Pellerud. The women teams are providing, at least to me, all of the excitement I look for in Canadian soccer teams. I guess The Voyageurs which is comprised mostly of men, we have been reluctant to give up on the men's sides. The support from this board could be even higher if not so many members were so critical of Pellerud style of play. Hopefully Yallop may re-kindle the men teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtlfan Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack About the U-19, I wasnt' complaining, just making an observation (that I know will be true). I think the problem for me anyways, was that Sportsnet spoiled us a few years ago, by showing almost all the mens and womens games it could... Maybe I'm being greedy because I want it all televised.... I dont' want to see a drop in the women's coverage. I suggest that you keep being greedy and yelling and screaming for more soccer with Canadian Content. I like to direct my attacks on the real enemies, they being the CBC and the Euro Snobs. The big issue this year will be what kind of Olympic coverage the CBC will have should our WNT qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I think Sigma made the best point as to why we are getting the women's coverage and not the men's for this particularly tourney, as I believe it is the #1 reason. The fact is the US weren't even able to get the Olympic tournament televised in the US, not even on PPV, which is nothing short of remarkable. It comes down to Concacaf selling rights to Interforever once again, who decided that they would jack up the prices to the point where nobody could afford them (how they make money this way is beyond me). Regardless of whether the women's team is more popular than the men's up here, the fact that nobody cares about the women's game south of the US is why it was affordable enough for Sportsnet to purchase the rights to & show the women's games. Having said that, that isn't to excuse Sportsnet with their overall men's Olympic coverage - they didn't even bother to show the earlier round games that were held in Canada and had to be persuaded to show the U20 World Cup, and even then only once we had un-precedented success of reaching the quarter-finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Well, personally, I think I'd be a much bigger event for Canada to make WC 2006 than it was for them reaching WWC 2003's semi-finals. Quite simply, the world's eyes (and much more of them here) are turned on the men's tournaments, not the women's. It's killed the interest that the senior men's haven't played at home in 3½ years. We used to have televised friendlies against the likes of Jamaica, Guatemala, T&T, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by mtlfan I guess one could argue that some members of this site, would say they find our men's team more important to them than our women's team. How can anyone believe that televising a Canadian National Team's matches is a signal that they don't have an interest in other teams? How can anyone be disappointed that Canaians can watch our National Team qualify for the OLYMPICS. Should the soccer community bombard Sportsnet and plead with them to stop broadcasting women's soccer? Please explain why this hurts our men's team? I can see the headlines "Men's National Soccer Team Suffers From Discrimination" While our men's team is getting organized with Frank Yallop we should be celebrating that soccer is making it on mainstream TV. The real facts are that Sportnet will broadcast anything that makes a profit. That's the point of running a business. The more exposure Canadian soccer gets the better for any National Team be it women or men. No one is actually saying that. The CSA & Sportsnet have decided that women's soccer is it, so we can watch the women win 11-0 & 15-0 against opposition that simply cannot play. One of our male teams was in the WC U-20 and we did not get to see a single game. What message is that sending to the public. We have to face a certain reality with th game in this country. What do you want a local identity or a global one. It is this mentality that has Canada's game at such a low in terms of the quality of opposition that wishes to play us. All you have to do is look at Jamaica, they are playing Brazil and Uruguay and we are playing Barbados. I like all soccer but there is a reality as to the World game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 WELL.......I think it's great !! WNT or MNT....advertisers apparently like WNT better now.To be dastardly speaking of one or the other irks me. We support our Canadian National Teams .Sex of the team is not an issue in my opinion. Maybe when the MNT have as much success as the WNT advertisers will be more forth-coming. But the MNT may actually have to play in Canada , as the WNT HAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I've debated joining this thread because I don't want to come off as a chauvenistic woman-hater (which I am not). Truth be told, the women's team is a pleasant diversion for me when the Men aren't playing (or being shown on tv), and nothing more. I've never been a fan of women's sports as a spectator sport (except Tennis), simply because the level of play is so much lower than the men's. That's just a fact. I DO watch the women and support them, but guess what I'd be watching should there be a men's and a woman's match at the same time? Let the fallout begin... P.S. The reason I enjoy women's tennis over men's is because of the style of play, not the style of dress. Just wanted to nip that one in the bud before someone found fit to compare me to Sepp Blatter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimglow Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by argh1 WELL.......I think it's great !! WNT or MNT....advertisers apparently like WNT better now.To be dastardly speaking of one or the other erks me. We support our Canadian National Teams .Sex of the team is not an issue in my opinion. Maybe when the MNT have as much success as the WNT advertisers will be more forth-coming. But the MNT may actually have to play in Canada , as the WNT HAS The reason the women's team can afford to play in Canada is because the player's clubs (if they are on one) play in North America, not out of the goodness of their hearts. And why do they play in North America? Because the rest of the world don't place value on the women's game...yet. Another reason why the WNT is less appealing to me - quality of opposition is only on par in a few countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by argh1 WELL.......I think it's great !! WNT or MNT....advertisers apparently like WNT better now.To be dastardly speaking of one or the other irks me. We support our Canadian National Teams .Sex of the team is not an issue in my opinion. Maybe when the MNT have as much success as the WNT advertisers will be more forth-coming. But the MNT may actually have to play in Canada , as the WNT HAS I think you have missed the point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I am not saying NO! the point is it is easier to be competitive in the Womens game, so it was not difficult the raise the profile of the team. After all Canada remains number 2 in CONCACAF, it is a position we have always held. The difference is the CSA simply began to invest in the female talent pool, that was always present. The rest was simple because the female game on a World scale has less that 6 competitive teams. Where as in the mens game the 50th ranked team could beat number 1 (it happened at the WC). With this in mind the male side of the game needs more long term planning. It requires a player development program similar to the US and the WC squad needs lots of competitive International games. People were critical of our 3-1 loss against Ireland. Yet that same Ireland minus their best player Duff, held Brazil to 0-0. None the less we should be viewing all our National teams play, because inspiration and support comes from identifying with the team. The fact that one is successful and one is not at the moment has little to do with it. How would you feel if you were one of the U-20 players, playing in the biggest tournament outside of the mens WC, representing you country and your own Federation did not care enough to bring the games to the Country's supporters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I feel similarly as Mimglow and frankly I think a lot of the women on Go Big Red feel the same, they identify with their same-gender national team more than the opposite gender. Nothing really wrong with that and by all means I support women's soccer to a great extent, but not quite to the same level as the men. I'm quite happy we're getting the Olympic qualifiers, but at the same time I have to admit at feeling a little disappointment in the 'they can show this, but not the U20/OQ/Barbados,etc.' veign. I understand why Sportsnet had trouble with the OQ rights, but it's easy to see where their priorities lie. Looking at it, it seems short-sighted of them. I mean honestly how much bigger can the women get? There's probably another level of stardom (a la Jamie Sele or Haley Wickenheiser) to reach in this country, but the men could grow exponentially. If Sportsnet could develop the men's national team fan base, it could be one of their most lucrative properties. Since they already show a lot of the EPL games, they already have a built in audience there. The thing that occured to me reading this thread were some of the old media arguments, that stuff that the media puts ahead of soccer isn't as 'significant'. Like pro indoor lacrosse and arena football shouldn't be more significant that A-League soccer, yet seem to be. What I've always argued is that there's not a big anti-soccer conspiracy, but rather the media tries to cover what they think people will watch/read or what they can sell. I don't think there's any doubt that the U20 WYC is more significant than the women's coronation at Olympic qualifying, but I don't doubt too that Sportsnet is better able to sell the women's OQ rather than some youth tourney in the UAE. Of course Sportsnet never expected the U19 WWC to be a hit and had they been there with the U20s from the start, maybe they could have been Canada's darlings too. We'll never know. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 My thoughts are this, I think its great for the women to get their games on TV but i think it is a must for the men. Rogers should put the men before the women if they want to make money in upcoming years with soccer and even more so if Canada does well in WCQ. Im not tryng to say the womens game shouldnt be on but i think the mens games should be on aswell. Cant w have both!!!!haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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