Vancouver: The Toronto Maple Leafs’ drive to the hockey team’s first Stanley Cup since 1967 has viewers checking into Leafs TV, the number-one-rated digital channel for the week of May 12.

According to Bureau of Broadcast Measurement research supplied independently to Playback, Leafs TV generated a 12 share (the percentage of viewers watching television that week) among viewers aged 2+, while Fox Sportsworld earned a nine share.

Over the week, about 4,400 people watched Leafs TV in an average quarter hour.

Animal Planet (six share), Court TV (six share), Sex TV (five share), MTV Canada (four share), Men TV (four share), Lonestar (four share), Scream (four share) and Showcase Action (four share), round out the top-10-rated digital channels in the 2+ demographic for the week.

The addition of the hit reality show The Osbournes to the viewing schedule pushed MTV Canada to the top of the heap among digital channels catering to adults 18-34, giving it an 11 share, followed by Leafs TV, Court TV, Animal Planet and Fox Sportsworld. Top-rated shows for the 24-54 demographic include TV Land and National Geographic.

Men aged 18-49 tuned in to Men TV, making it a top-rated diginet for that demographic, while women 18-49 boosted the ratings for Discovery Health in their market.

Since the free preview for the diginets ended in January, audience numbers for some stations have fluctuated wildly. (It’s safe to assume Leafs TV will not perform as well once the playoffs are finished, for example.)

Stations like Animal Planet, an early leader, have seen some of their audience decrease. National Geographic, another early favorite, has suffered audience shrinkage, while viewers for the Independent Film Channel Canada have also trailed off.

Speculation among industry observers is that the channels that have run out of fresh programming are falling victim to the ‘repeat’ factor, with audiences choosing not to watch programs again.

Other trends include the increase in the 12-17 demographic, which is starting to tune in to the digitals in increasing numbers from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Likewise, children 2-11 are tuning in more frequently to diginets.

Afternoon viewing, weekdays between noon and 4 p.m., is also increasing, giving rise to speculation that daytime audiences are looking for alternatives to the traditional daytime fare on network television.

About three million Canadian households subscribe to the digital channels, and programming like the hockey playoff-related telecasts and The Osbournes is introducing new viewers to digital every day.

But Rogers Cable is injecting more than $2.3 million into an ad campaign, direct mail and telemarketing to educate potential digital customers and expand the company’s 260,000 subscribers.

While general awareness of digital is promising, says Michael Allen, vice-president of programming and general manager of digital products at Rogers Cable, comprehension of the practical applications is still somewhat of a mystery to Canadians. For instance, many potential customers wrongly think they need a new television set in order to receive digital signals.

Rogers has introduced six new product bundles: three packaged with its Hi-Speed Internet access at $99 per month and the same three options packaged with a slower, Hi-Speed Lite access for $79 per month. Rogers’ customers can choose between a movie bundle (which includes the movie specialties plus 10 other English-language specialty channels), a bundle that includes all the specialty channels and a bundle that offers the ethnic premium services.

The bundles, meanwhile, offer Rogers customers a discount compared to what they would pay separately for the services. If a Rogers customer had previously bought the Hi-Speed service and the Ultimate package of station offerings, they would already be paying about $80 to $85 per month and can add an array of digital channels for less than $20 per month. And, instead of leasing the digital technology required to receive the signals, existing customers can buy the set-top boxes for $199 (including a $50 program credit) and new customers can buy the boxes for $249 (including a $100 credit).

Allen says the goal of the promotional campaign is to grow Rogers’ business and increase the penetration of set-top digital boxes, though he declines to specify Rogers’ projected increase in customers through the campaign. A spin-off benefit, however, is the opportunity for the diginets to sign on more customers. The marketing campaign, he insists, has nothing to do with speculation that some diginets will be lucky to see their first birthdays in September.

‘It’s never been a question of the survivability of these digitals,’ says Allen. ‘They are run by seasoned broadcasters with deep pockets. These are companies that know how to run stations.’

‘The Rogers initiative should be applauded,’ says Martha Fusca, CEO of Stornaway Communications and operator of digital channels ichannel and bpm. ‘It’s a great thing they have decided to do. Too bad it didn’t happen sooner.’

Simplicity in the packaging and the pricing, she says, will encourage Canadians to adopt digital. In the meantime, Fusca, whose company recently laid off more than half its staff, says business is building ‘slowly but surely’ and that the media’s gloomy prognostications about the fate of the digital offerings are counterproductive in building the digital audience.