TORONTO – Canadians appear to have embraced ‘the beautiful game’, with 28.5 million people (or 82% of the population) tuning in to at least some of CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage across all platforms through the Group Stage of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
This figure nearly matches the 28.7 million Canadians who tuned in to the entire 2010 tournament, the national broadcaster announced. Live Group Round match broadcasts averaged a 2+ audience of 1.35 million viewers – 44% more viewers compared to 2010 (944,000 viewers). In addition, the average daily reach of the Group Round matches has increased by nearly 2 million viewers compared to 2010.
Additional audience highlights include:
– 2.5 million more Canadians watched at least part of CBC/Radio-Canada’s 2014 Group Stage coverage on TV or through a digital device compared to the 2010 Group Stage;
– Of the 28.5 million viewers for the opening round, nearly 5 million of them watched via a mobile or desktop digital device;
– Not only did more Canadians tune in each day during the opening round compared to 2010, the average viewer spent more time watching;
– Canadians continue to take advantage of CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital platforms, including CBC’s FIFA World Cup App brought to you by Bell which has been downloaded more than 800,000 times;
– Overall, Canadians have watched a combined 6.5 million hours of video across all digital platforms through the Group Stage in 2014;
– To date, FIFA World Cup™ video views at cbc.ca/fifaworldcup have increased more than 50% compared to 2010 and page views are up 40%.
