How much hockey is too much? Viewership for Canada's sport on the decline, poll finds (2024)

Canadians are not watching as much hockey as they have in the past.

A new Leger survey for the Association of Canadian Studies (ACS) found there has been a decline in sports viewership amongst most sports, but none as significant as hockey.

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“It seems as though, disproportionately in terms of the decline of sports viewing, hockey’s taken by far the biggest hit,” said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the ACS.

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When asked which sports they engaged with most often as teenagers, 43 per cent of survey respondents said hockey, 18 per cent said baseball, and 10 per cent said basketball. But, when asked which sports they engage with currently, only 29 per cent said hockey, while 14 per cent said baseball and nine per cent said basketball.

While baseball and basketball saw only four- and one-point decreases, hockey took a 14-point decrease.

Jedwab said he was surprised to see the loss in hockey viewership from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

For those in the GTA, 39 per cent said they engaged as a teen, while only 24 per cent do now (a 15-point decrease). Comparatively, in Montreal there was a 12-point decrease, from 47 per cent to 35 per cent, between those that watched as teens to those that watch now.

Canada’s sport does not seem to be attracting older generations to the television like it once did.

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Of respondents 55 years of age and older, 45 per cent said they followed hockey in their teen years. Now, only 28 per cent say they still follow the sport (a 17-point decrease).

This is compared to those aged 18 to 34, of which 35 per cent said they followed as teens and now 25 per cent follow (a 10-point decrease), and those aged 35 to 54, of which 46 per cent watched as a teenager and now 33 per cent watch (a 13-point decrease).

“The erosion begins at the 18 to 34 group, it deepens in the middle cohort, but then gets even wider as we get to the 55 plus group,” said Jedwab.

Hockey is also losing viewership from those that identify as male.

Of those that followed hockey when they were a teen, 51 per cent said they are male. Now, only 36 per cent of males say they follow hockey. For women, 35 per cent said they followed as a teen and now only 23 per cent do.

“There are a million factors that could be affecting this,” said Eric Zweig, author and hockey historian. “And it’s not all hockey related.”

Canada’s population is much larger and much more diverse than it was decades ago. With a rise in immigration from countries whose main sport is not hockey, less of the population is engaging with the sport.

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“We’ve reinvented the country in terms of its diversity,” said Jedwab. “And in doing so, sports like basketball and soccer have taken up a significant chunk of the field in terms of what people are viewing.”

Of survey respondents, ten per cent said they watched soccer as a teenager and seven per cent say they still do. Two per cent of respondents said they watched cricket in their teens and one per cent say they still do.

Some sports, like tennis, saw no change in viewership over the years, while golf saw an increase, from five per cent watching as teens to seven per cent watching now.

“Hockey’s facing a lot of competition,” said Jedwab. “And the challenge has been and continues to be its capacity to resonate strongly with all these newer communities that come from countries where hockey is just not an important sport.”

Right now, there is also concern about the poor attendance at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, said Zweig.

What usually attracts thousands of hockey fans to each game, has only been able to bring in 1,319 viewers to the 20 preliminary round matches.

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Hockey Canada hassaidthere are a few reasons for this, one being the tournament is being held in the summer due to COVID-19 delays. The other is the scrutiny the organization has come under recently due to sexual assault allegations and settlements.

“It kinda turned me off from watching,” said Zweig.

There may also be an issue with how much hockey is available to watch.

Zweig said he remembers when National Hockey League (NHL) games were only televised on Saturday and Wednesday nights. Now, there are multiple games on almost every night of the week during the season, making it harder to engage and watch them all.

“And then games started going into July and August and September,” he said. “It’s not hockey season. It’s too nice to be inside watching during the summer.”

There are also many more teams than there once were. Zweig, who is a Toronto Maples Leafs fan, said when he was a kid, there were only around 18 teams.

“You had more of a familiarity with them,” he said. “Now, what do I care if we’re playing Phoenix or Arizona?”

This survey was conducted through an online panel of 1,509 Canadians between Aug. 5 and Aug. 7. There is no margin of error with a non-probability sample, but a comparative survey would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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