[cferneyh]

So based on the research, Leafs games should be shown on the early Saturday night broadcast, throughout western Canada, every week of the season, without exception....very nice. Can you look past the numbers for even a second and allow that maybe a little variety would be nice?

Just one more thought though, why did they switch last Saturday's game to the Pens and Habs? I'm guessing they didn't comission a new study to analyze the impact...and we know from your comments that the Habs popularity is "not even close" to the Leafs, so a few calls from Sidney Crosby fans surely wouldn't be enough to tip the scales. Here's a thought, maybe someone at the CBC used a little common sense, and said maybe it's time to allow for a break from the routine, and inject a little variety into their broadcasting...I hope so!

Dude, you seem to be confusing what you'd like to have happen, versus what makes the CBC more profitable. Let me boil it down to the lowest common denominator for you: for every person like you (sick of the Leafs, want to see someone else), there are at least two people the opposite of you (can't get enough of the Leafs). So if I'm in charge of making the broadcast schedule and I have to sell advertising space, do you think I can charge more if I know one person is going to watch, or if two people are going to watch?

And don't get me wrong - I understand your point of view....I'm just telling you why it is the way it is.

Hell, it's no different from why Mariah Carey gets played on more radio stations than the Hip. Sadly, those radio stations will attract more listeners with Ms. Carey than they would with the Hip. That's not what you want (I'm assuming), but hey, that's life.

Why did they switch during the broadcast? I'm fairly certain that they have numbers that show that at a certain score, some people lose interest in the game (knowing that the Leafs have won or lost, despite there being 20 minutes to play or whatever) and those people are likely turn to something other than hockey to watch, which in turn hurts the lead in numbers for the second game. Again, it's about keeping as many eyeballs glued to HNIC as possible.