Reporters on the Job

January 17, 2007

• Muslim Comedy or Hockey: How big is Little Mosque on the Prairie? We asked correspondent Rebecca Cook Dube to give us some context for understanding the 2.1 million Canadian viewers who tuned in for the first episode of the new sitcom about Muslims in a Midwestern town.

"Well, the most popular CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation] program is Hockey Night in Canada, which airs NHL [National Hockey League] games every Saturday night," she notes. "It's like Monday Night Football is in the US, only bigger."

Begun in 1952, Hockey Night in Canada is billed as the world's oldest sports television show. During the regular season, it regularly draws more than 1 million viewers. During the playoffs, it can top 3 million. So this past week, a sitcom about Muslims drew more viewers than Hockey Night. "In Canada, that's pretty popular," notes Rebecca.