from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

More people are watching Sportsnet than ever before, and the network has closed the gap on TSN as the country’s No. 1 sports property. But television ratings for hockey — despite all Rogers’ bells and whistles — are down.

“It was supposed to be a hockey lovers’ dream,” said McMaster University professor Marvin Ryder. “Whatever they’ve done does not seem to resonate. That’s the concern.”...

“It has nothing to do with the broadcasts,” said Ryder. “The sportscasters are not doing anything wrong. I just think you’ve got a younger group of people who are saying over and over again they just don’t have the time or the patience to sit in front of a TV at a specifically scheduled time and sit there for three hours and watch it all.”

They following along in snippets, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and tune in when they want, said Ryder.

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