Wow. The numbers are impressive. Or are they?

Amongst traditional English-languageTV consumers, the best the opening week of the World Cup did on TSN in Canada was an average of 660,000 viewers per minute.

The DAZN deal simply reflects the reality — that, in Canada, soccer is a sport better suited for digital streams than for traditional broadcasters.

Now, there are a lot of factors to why the 2016 game did better than 2017; cord-cutters, the move to an afternoon game and the fact that 2016’s game was one of most boring things ever, maybe that scared a fraction of the audience away for 2017 (“fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you”). The fact that Toronto FC put up one of the most incredible seasons in MLS history didn't help increase the reach of the big game.  

But, where MLS has truly stumbled in Canada is in making itself a national concern. Basically, in this country, interest in the league is restricted to the three metro areas that have teams. The three Canadian MLS clubs have virtually no presence in the rest of Canada.

Then, on Thursday came the announcement that, as part of its national English-language television deal with TSN, seven MLS games will be broadcast coast-to-coast on CTV. That’s a massive sign of BellMedia getting behind the MLS property, with the same kind of fervour we have seen dedicated to the Canadian Football League in the past. Of the seven national CTV games, five will feature match-ups between the Canadian sides.

Understand that the interest in the MLS playoffs was not the product of a steady rise in the ratings. It was a massive spike, with many Canadians watching the league for the first time.

The fact that MLS Cup was able to beat hockey on a Saturday night – well, that's an impressive feat for a sport we're used to seeing getting pre-empted by late-running curling matches.

Despite solid attendance figures at Stade Saputo, BMO Field and BC Place, Major League Soccer’s TV numbers are trending downward. This year, they’re sliding further still. Why aren’t fans in the stands translating into large television numbers?

First off, I want to say I’m delighted to be back in the broadcast booth with Gareth Hampshire for the season. We’ve been doing Eddies games together since 2011 — when the Eddies were playing home games on the tiny Foote Field pitch.