MONTREAL – Advertising rates for Montreal Canadiens games have plummeted due to audience fallout after the Habs’ lacklustre performance last season, one media company says.

The RDS and TVA Sports channels — which fall under the umbrellas of BCE Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc., respectively — saw advertisers paying for a per-minute viewership assessed at about 200,000 for the 25-54 age demographic.

That’s down from last fall’s initial viewership estimate of about 295,000 and 275,000 for RDS and TVA Sports, respectively.

Omnicom Media Group said pricing for a 30-second ad placement this fall dropped to about $5,000 from roughly $7,000 last year as a result of the shift.

Last month, TVA Sports announced revenues fell by 60 per cent for a net loss of $9.7 million in the second quarter.

The channel, along with Quebecor chief executive Pierre Karl Peladeau, have blamed the Canadiens’ failure to make the playoffs for a major hit to the Montreal-based communication giant’s ad revenues.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:QBR.B)