香港三级片

The two over-the-air telecasts to date were on KMOV (Channel 4), a long-established, widely known station, as well as upstart Matrix Midwest (Channel 32), a secondary over-the-air outlet also owned by KMOV parent company Gray Media. It鈥檚 the first time in 16 seasons the Blues have had 鈥渇ree鈥� TV as part of its local broadcast offerings, after having been exclusively on regional sports networks (currently FanDuel). But cord cutting and distribution limitations have significantly eroded that business model in recent years, and the Blues, as well as the Cardinals, now are sprinkling a few games on broadcast TV.

The two Blues contests to have been shown over the air thus far were seen in an average of 4.6% of the St. 香港三级片 market, according to viewership-tracking firm Nielsen. That鈥檚 more than double the 2.2 rating FanDuel was pulling when the Gray Media telecasts began.

JD Sosnoff, who runs KMOV and Matrix, said he is 鈥渢hrilled鈥� with the viewership response: 鈥淚t鈥檚 only been two games (shown) like this, fans are not used to that so this is great right out of the gate.鈥�

The club also is happy.

鈥淲e鈥檝e definitely been pleased by what we鈥檝e seen so far,鈥� Blues Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Steve Chapman said.

However, the vast majority 鈥� 97% 鈥� of those watching have done so on KMOV. That station鈥檚 rating improved from Game 1 (4.2) to Game 2 (4.6), but the Matrix viewership level fell from one minuscule figure (0.2) for the opener to an even more microscopic number (0.1).

So a key test comes next week when the last game in the study will be televised only on Matrix. The contest, a 7 p.m. matchup at home with Montreal, also will be streamed on Victory+ instead of regular carrier FanDuel. Victory+, which simulcast the previous over-the-air games, offers its app as well as the game for free and is available on devices connected to the internet in the Blues鈥� geographical broadcast territory. (Outside the region, the contest will stream on ESPN+.)

Test time

For those still in the watch-it-on-a-TV-channel crowd, Matrix will be the only option as the club sees how many eyeballs that draws. The game also will serve as a barometer to gauge how Victory+ does without an established television channel competing for audience share.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for us to see how the market reacts, to see what kind of response we get with viewership,鈥� Chapman said. 鈥淲ere looking forward to it.鈥�

While Matrix is available throughout the region over the air and also is carried on the area鈥檚 largest pay-for-programming provider 鈥� Spectrum (Charter), on Channel 6 鈥� it is not distributed on as many other carriers as KMOV. Add to that the unfamiliarity many people have with Matrix, which has existed only since August, and a viewership decline over the first two telecasts seems almost certain.

鈥淲hile I don鈥檛 have an expectation that Matrix will reach KMOV numbers, I do have an expectation that it has the opportunity to serve a pretty good-size audience,鈥� Sosnoff said and emphasized that Matrix 鈥渃overs the entire market, that Blues Kingdom if you will, Blues fans find a way to watch that game.鈥�

Helping create interest is that the Blues are 10-2-2 in their past 14 games, thus making a big push toward the playoffs.

Victory+ also could cash in with its streaming simulcast of what airs on Matrix. Victory has not made public the number of viewers it has attracted for the previous Blues games but has said it will address viewership after the three-game run ends.

Chapman, the Blues executive, said the club has seen a few of the streaming figures.

鈥淲e know some numbers relative to what some other teams have done, and we鈥檙e pleased with what we鈥檝e seen so far,鈥� he said.

Back to the future

Before the advent of cable and satellite TV, streaming, DVDs and most of the other current in-home electronic entertainment options, people watched the handful of local television channels via an antenna. Now, some are doing that again.

鈥淎s they continue to kind of cut the cord, I think there鈥檚 a reeducation for people,鈥� Sosnoff said.

To try to help those without a TV that picks up Matrix over the air or via a subscription to a programming distributor, a promotion was discussed on the pregame show for the last KMOV/Matrix Blues telecast in which 1,000 antennas were being given away.

鈥淲e had 700 of them that were gone in the first 30 minutes, and the rest of them were gone before the hour was up,鈥� Sosnoff said. 鈥淚 was pretty impressed by that.鈥�

Antennas are being sold by retailers in a wide range of prices, starting at about $20. So that might be the best route to go for those who want to watch Tuesday鈥檚 Blues games over the air, or the Cardinals games this season that only will be televised on Matrix. Six of those ballgames have been announced thus far, half of which only will be televised on Matrix (but also streamed by FanDuel).

鈥淚t鈥檚 not hard to pick up,鈥� Sosnoff said of the Matrix signal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 totally going back to the future.鈥�

On the air

The over-the-air telecasts are produced by FanDuel, using its regular Blues personnel on and off the air.

For the game next week, a three-broadcaster arrangement is planned for the game. Joey Vitale, the team鈥檚 lead radio analyst, will move to the TV side to work with regular Blues television announcers John Kelly (play-by-play) and Jamie Rivers (commentary). Rivers will be reporting from between the benches. Cam Janssen, who fills in occasionally for Vitale on radio, will do so again for this contest.

The pregame, between periods and postgame show will originate from a location at Enterprise Center that鈥檚 higher than FanDuel uses, which was utilized for the previous Blues over-the-air telecast of a home game. Alexa Datt hosts, with commentary from Hockey Hall of Famers and former Blues players Bernie Federko and Chris Pronger.