TORONTO – One in four Canadians tuned-in to Saturday’s 12 ½ hour marathon broadcast of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on Sportsnet, City and CBC.
The broadcast, live from Corner Brook, NL, included a two-hour pre-game show followed by four games which included all seven Canadian NHL teams across three channels. The annual event, now in its 18th year, reached a total of 9.1 million viewers, says a news release from Sportsnet quoting Numeris data.
Additional key audience highlights of the 2018 Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada include:
– Average minute audience of 1.23 million Canadians marked a 7% increase over the 2017 edition and up 21% from 2016’s telecast.
– The first Hockey Night in Canada game between the Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators was the most-watched game of the day with an average minute audience of 1.54 million viewers. It was also the most-watched program in all of Canada on Saturday.
– Sportsnet was the most-watched specialty network in Canada on Saturday with an audience share of 5.3 for the day.
Both Scotiabank and Rogers/Sportsnet donated $20,000 each to the United Way in Newfoundland and Labrador for their relief efforts in Corner Brook and the surrounding regions caused by the flooding the week before.
“It was something special,” said Rogers Media president of Sportsnet & NHL Properties Scott Moore, in the release. “The city of Corner Brook was in a state of emergency just a few days before we arrived. To witness first-hand how this community pulled together, volunteered their time, and worked incredibly long hours was truly inspiring. I think Corner Brook left an indelible impression on the rest of Canada with its beauty, history and hospitality.”
