TORONTO – With every single game live and in high definition, the World Cup has been drawing big ratings for Canadian broadcasters Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.
As reported by Cartt.ca, the two sports networks got together to ensure coverage would be as deep as possible.
After two rounds of play, the networks’ live and encore broadcasts combined have attracted a record average audience of 550,000 viewers, eclipsing by 77% the previous benchmark recorded in France 1998 (310,000 viewers for the first two rounds).
The following ratings success stories can also be reported for live game broadcasts:
* TSN’s and Sportsnet’s combined average audience for live tournament broadcasts to-date is 431,000 viewers over 56 games, a 46% increase over the live average of France 1998 (the previous high) and a 138% increase over Korea 2002. Coincidentally, the two networks each attracted identical individual average audiences of 431,000 viewers for live broadcasts to-date over 28 games.
* Sportsnet’s and TSN’s combined average audience for live Round 1 coverage attracted an average of 386,000 viewers over 48 games, a 42% increase over France 1998 and a 131% increase over Korea 2002.
* TSN’s and Sportsnet’s combined average audience for live round of 16 coverage attracted an average of 683,000 viewers over eight games, a 61% increase over France 1998 and a 170% increase over Korea 2002.
When looking at the audience figures by round, both networks’ individual ratings are also up considerably over France 1998 and Korea 2002. TSN’s average audience for round 1 drew 376,000 viewers, a 38% increase over 1998 and a 125% increase over 2002, while the round of 16 drew 721,000 viewers, a 70% increase over 1998 and a 185% increase over 2002.
Sportsnet’s round 1 audience averaged 396,000 viewers, a 46% increase over 1998 and a 137% increase over 2002, while the round of 16 attracted 641,000 viewers, marking a 51% increase over 1998 and a 153% increase over 2002.
The Round of 16 match featuring England vs. Ecuador remains the most watched game through the first two rounds with 1,004,000 viewers (figure includes live and encore broadcasts).
Go to www.tsn.ca or www.sportsnet.ca to see the round of eight game schedule.
