Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) viewers are growing more comfortable with the program’s current format, but would like to see more of former host Ron MacLean, according to a poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.
While fans in the advertiser-friendly 18-34 demographic say they see “improved chemistry” among the program’s current broadcast team, many diehard fans of the Canadian TV institution say they still miss the old CBC broadcast.
Only a quarter of respondents (24%) indicated they don’t miss the old CBC broadcast at all. However, that number has nearly doubled from a survey conducted in 2014, suggesting that viewers are growing increasingly comfortable with the Rogers-produced broadcast.
Among the 46% of Canadians who have watched at least one NHL game this season, assessments of the HNIC broadcast under Rogers Communications – which is in the second season of its massive $5.2 billion, 12-season rights deal – are a “mixed bag,” according to the survey.
The results do contain several positives for Rogers however, with more than twice as many viewers saying the hosts are “clicking together really well” (20% in 2015, up from 8% last year). Meanwhile, the number of people who say the hosts “have no chemistry” has fallen to 15% from 27% in 2014.
Just over one third (34%) of self-proclaimed “diehard” fans of HNIC feel the hosts are clicking well, as do younger viewers (32%).
Opinions of former HNIC host MacLean are consistent with last year, with 48% saying they are seeing too little of him under the new format. Younger viewers are less keen on MacLean (34% say they would like to see more of him), though only 5% say they want to see less of him.
However, 12% of younger viewers indicate they don’t know who he is, or 20% say they don’t know how they feel.
Just over one-third of respondents (38%) say long-time Coach’s Corner personality Don Cherry is being given the appropriate amount of air time, while 36% said they are seeing too little of him and 26% said they are seeing too much.
The outspoken personality is popular in Ontario and the Prairies (43% in each region say they would like to see more of him), but disliked in Quebec, where 46% would like to see less of him. Their views are not surprising, given that Cherry has made several inflammatory statements about the province and its players in the past.
Cherry is also popular among older Canadians (39% of people 35-54, and 35% of people 55+, say they want to see more of him).
While 33% of respondents say HNIC host George Stroumboulopoulos is on-air for the right amount of time, 15% say they would like to see more of him and 33% would like to see less.
Casual viewers of the show are less opposed to the host, with 17% saying they’d like to see less of him, compared to 36% of fans and 44% of diehards who say the same. He is also better liked in Quebec, where only 11% say they’d like to see less of him.
The majority of HNIC viewers (55%) say “Strombo” has enough hockey knowledge to do the job well, compared to 45% who say he doesn’t know enough to satisfy diehard fans.
The survey suggests longtime HNIC reporter Elliotte Friedman is drawing a “significant amount” of uncertainty from viewers, with one-in-five (21%) indicating they are not sure who he is.
While 37% of respondents indicate Friedman is on-air for the right amount of time, 13% say they’d like to see more and 12% say they would like to see less of him.
The findings are based on an online survey of 1,522 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists between Nov. 10-13. The results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
Earlier this year, a study by Solutions Research Group found Canadians feel NHL hockey is “hipper” under Rogers. Rogers received an average mark of 6.1 out of 10 in that survey of 1,500 people 12+, with millennials giving it the best overall score (6.5) and boomers giving it the lowest (5.8).
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