TORONTO – The number of soccer fans in Canada are gaining on the number of hockey fans, if the World Cup Final ratings are any indication.
While game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals drew 4.7 million viewers to CBC this spring, viewership of the final game of the World Cup peaked at 4 million viewers, CTV announced today.
"When Italy’s Fabio Grosso lined up his historic penalty kick, a record 4 million Canadians were watching in anticipation," says the press release. "When his Cup-winning goal lifted Italy into the history books, it capped the most watched World Cup game ever in Canada. BBM reports a new single-game record as a national average audience of 2.84 million Canadians watched the final on CTV yesterday."
Nielsen Media Research says the audience set a new World Cup record in Canada, reporting a 98% increase in viewership since 2002 (1.08 million on CBC) and surpassing the previous high set in 1998 by 38% (1.55 million viewers on TSN).
In Toronto-Hamilton, only two sporting events – the Super Bowl and Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final – were seen by more Canadians this year.
And, all 64 games were available to Canadians live – and in high definition.
In all, an estimated 1.2 billion people, or 17% of the world’s population, is reported to have watched yesterday’s final. Here in Canada, after a complete 64-game broadcast schedule, the 2006 FIFA World Cup finishes with a string of record ratings stories for its Canadian broadcast partners Rogers Sportsnet, TSN and CTV.
* TSN live coverage of the July 4 quarter-final match featuring England vs. Portugal attracted 1.567 million viewers, surpassing all previous World Cup audiences in Canadian television history
* Sportsnet attracted its largest audience of the tournament with 1.180 million viewers for the semi-final game featuring Germany vs. Italy (July 4).
* Sportsnet’s live coverage of the third place game between Portugal and Germany on Saturday attracted 761,000 viewers, a 60% increase over 1998.
* TSN’s and Sportsnet’s combined average audience for live tournament broadcasts is 508,000 over 63 games, a 52% increase over 1998.
* TSN’s live average audience over 31 games is 524,000 viewers, a 57% increase over the 1998 average.
* Sportsnet’s live average audience over 32 games is 495,000 viewers, a 48% increase over the 1998 average.
