Latest update on beloved broadcaster and Blue Jays analyst Buck Martinez
Photo credit: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com
The absence of popular Toronto Blue Jays analyst and Sportsnet broadcaster Buck Martinez will continue into the home stand as the long-time Jays broadcaster attends to some medical issues.
Martinez remains in good cheer and is certainly following the team closely as he recuperates during his latest absence and its hard not to root for one of the best in the business to make a speedy return.
In the meantime, Joe Siddall will continue to work the bulk of the games alongside play-by-play voice Dan Shulman. That pair will be in the booth for the six-game homestand that gets under way on Friday.
Toronto Sun's Rob Longley on the viewing numbers and Sportsnet pricing going forward
By now, we're well aware of what a Blue Jays playoff push can do for filling the seats at the Rogers Centre (even as ticket prices rise) and piling up TV audiences (even as those costs increase on Sportsnet as well.)
Over time, from a business standpoint it has made Canada's team the envy of many markets in Major League Baseball.
Not surprisingly, the biggest audiences came from the June 30-July 3 series against the New York Yankees, a four game sweep by the Jays that propelled them into the division lead.
That series averaged 1.1 million viewers with the peak coming for the July 3 contest, an 8-5 Jays win that brought in a season-high audience of 1.3 million writes Longley.
For Sportsnet, which like the Jays is owned by Rogers, the timing of that ratings boon of the Yankees series was a perfect confluence.
The NHL playoffs were well tucked to bed, freeing up multiple channels on the Sportsnet grid and July 1 free agency period also had quieted by the end of the series.
For the season, Sportsnet is averaging 679,000 viewers for its Blue Jays broadcasts, a nice eight per cent bump from last year's numbers, with a total reach of 11.3 million Canadians.
It's early for Rogers and Sportsnet to get too bullish on what awaits, but there are certainly 2015 and 2016 vibes happening in terms of coast-to-coast excitement for the team.
Mix in the possibility of some trade deadline acquisitions, a team that plays a more entertaining version of the sport and a serious playoff push and the TV numbers could be massive.
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