With the news this week the Maple Leafs have been knocked off the top of Forbes’ annual list as the most valuable hockey franchise, it’s an interesting time to check how their broadcasts are fairing with their most faithful.

The Leafs, along with losing value, are also taking a slight hit with viewers. That’s understandable, as more than any team in memory, this is an organization that has actively lowered expectations, talking up a long rebuild as opposed to on the fly in an attempt to break the middle-of-the-pack treadmill the team has been on for years.

It’s been an interesting season when you look at the numbers, as these things are relative. This is still clearly a strong Leaf Nation, as bad numbers for the Leafs are still relatively better numbers compared to other sports. Good numbers for early season Raptor games are about half of what the Leafs get — in the 200,000 to 250,000 range — but you can see that the lowly new order is having an effect.

Forbes moved the team to third on its list — valuing the team at $1.15 billion (U.S.) behind the New York Rangers ($1.2 billion) and the Habs ($1.18 billion) — citing the fact the playoffs may be out of reach for the next few years.

The Star reported a source at MLSE saying each playoff date equates to $1 million to $2 million in additional revenue. So it’s easy to see how even a small bit of playoff success could put them back on top of the Forbes list.

The Blue Jays’ recent run presents a few issues, practical and existential. The Jays playoff run definitely hurt the Buds to start the hockey season, although the incredible multi-million numbers of viewers that watched the Jays in October sucked up much of the air from many other sports — the CFL in particular, took a hit — and other entertainment in general.

Then there’s also the hangover from that heady Jays season, as it’s also hard to get excited for a team that we’ve now conditioned to expect to lose. One perfect example — it feels like people are talking about the team less, like there’s been less chatter about things like goalie controversies, which used to take up so much air.

For the season so far on Sportsnet, the Leafs are delivering an average audience of 478,000, a decrease of eight per cent from last year’s average or 518,000. Regular season regional numbers for the Leafs have long hovered around the half million mark. Sportsnet recorded its best numbers of the year (515,000) with Toronto versus Carolina on Nov. 20.

“While the ratings haven’t been where we would like them to be, they certainly are ahead of where they were at the end of last season,” said Sportsnet president Scott Moore. “I think the hardcore fans are buying into a plan, and they haven’t given up the way the fans did at the end of last year.”

“We’d always be happier to have the Leafs in contention and vying for a Stanley Cup, but I think the team was very clear with the fans with what to expect. I’m not personally all that surprised that they’ve had some success, as it’s not such a bad idea to lower expectations and then hopefully exceed them.”

Moore said the cannibalization from the Jays did hurt the Leafs off the top, but he didn’t regard that as a bad thing, as that success pushed Sportsnet to the No. 1 sports brand in the country. He notes another victory, as the hockey/baseball 1-2 punch in October helped Sportsnet.ca beat TSN.ca for the first time, according to Comscore’s digital tracking.

Sportsnet doesn’t break out numbers for its national Saturday night games, but the numbers for all the games hover around the two million mark, which is fine.

Rogers needs the Leafs to be good to really reap the rewards of the massive $5.2 billion NHL deal, and while the company reported a 10 per cent profit on the deal last year, the way it is structured, the company’s payments to the NHL get bigger each year.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

With a bleak-looking couple of years expected for the Leafs as they rebuild, the broadcaster is also working on trying to build up other teams, so they are less reliant on Toronto’s hockey team. As well, Rogers has undertaken a broader editorial strategy around focusing on the game’s young stars, although that also took a hit with the injury to Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid.

Moore admits the numbers has led the company to lower its ad rates, but he looks at the improving numbers and expects the Leafs’ average to climb and even out by season’s end.