TORONTO – CBC called the final Olympics it will broadcast for at least six years “one of the most successful Games in the network’s history.”
From August 8-24, CBC provided more access for Canadians to the Olympics than ever before, with eight platforms and more than 2,400 hours of total Games coverage.
CBC attracted an overall average audience of 1.294 million viewers to Olympic Prime; 544,000 viewers to Pacific Prime; and 675,000 viewers to Olympic Morning. In 2004, during the Athens Games, the average audiences were 1.118 million viewers for Olympic Prime; 212,000 viewers for Olympic Late; and 322,000 viewers for Olympic Morning, reported the company today.
CBC’s live presentation of the Closing Ceremony from Beijing on Sunday, August 24 – broadcast on CBC Television and simulcast on CBC Newsworld – attracted a combined audience of 933,000 viewers. CBC Television produced an average audience of 857,000 viewers to the live broadcast, while an average of 76,000 viewers watched the live simulcast on CBC Newsworld. The Closing Ceremony encore broadcast on CBC Television, which aired during Olympic Prime on August 24, was watched by an average audience of 1.486 million viewers. CBC Newsworld also aired an encore broadcast of the entire ceremony, with an average audience of 233,000 viewers.
Canada’s Simon Whitfield’s very close race on Monday, August 18 attracted CBC’s largest event peak audience of the Games, as 2.574 million viewers tuned in at 11:49 p.m. ET to see Whitfield shift into high gear and take silver in the men’s triathlon, crossing the finish line just five seconds after Germany’s Jan Frodeno. Ryan Cochrane’s bronze-medal winning 1,500 metre swim produced the second largest event peak audience as 2.567 million viewers tuned into the race on Saturday, August 16 during Olympic Prime at 10:30 p.m. ET.
