This from the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium, we find through the first 3 days of Olympic competition, the ratings in Canada are way up in primetime for this year. As compared to the 2008 Beijing Olympics on CBC, the London Games are averaging 2.1 million viewers for the 22 daily hours of coverage on the various networks. In primetime, CTV/Sportsnet/TSN and RDS/V are seeing an average of 2.8 million viewers.
For CTV alone, the viewership in primetime is 1.9 million viewers which is 45% higher than CBC’s coverage in Beijing. Overall, the Broadcast Media Consortium is tracking 74% better than Beijing. So CBC has some catching up to do if it wants to match or surpass these numbers when it airs the Olympics in Rio in 2016.
Here’s the press release.
London 2012 Grows 74% Over Beijing 2008: Average Audience of 2.1 Million Canadians Watch Days 1-3
More than four in five Canadians have tuned in, reaching 83% of population
Swimming is most-watched sport so far with Reach of 13 million
CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca sites and apps average 14 million page views and 1.5 million video views each day of competitionLondon, England (August 1, 2012) – After the first three days of events (July 28 – 30), audiences for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium’s coverage of London 2012 are averaging 2.1 million viewers overall throughout its 22 hours of daily coverage, and 2.8 million in prime time alone. The daily average is up a massive 74%* compared to the same period for Beijing 2008. On CTV alone, the Consortium’s tape-delayed prime time coverage of London 2012 (1.9 million) is tracking 45% higher than CBC’s live/taped prime time coverage of Beijing 2008 (1.3 million) for the same time period. From the start of the 2012 Games to date, an incredible 28 million Canadians – or 83.4% of the population – has watched some coverage on Consortium channels.
The popularity of London 2012 is crossing all age and gender lines. Females make up 52% of the A18+ audience, Games-to-date, while the broadcast has reached 85% of all Men 18+, 84% of all Women 18+, and 78% of all younger viewers aged 2-17.
Audiences for swimming events have dominated Consortium coverage so far, comprising the Top 5 most-watched events, including the most-watched event yet in Canada, swimming: men and women semifinals and finals on July 29 which averaged 2.2 million viewers. Overall, swimming events have reached a total of more than 13 million viewers over the past three days on Consortium networks. Additionally, on July 29 nearly 4.5 million Canadians watched some part of the synchronized diving final as Canada claimed its first medal – a bronze for Émilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel.
“We are very pleased with the results of our coverage thus far,” said Adam Ashton, President, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. “With all Consortium platforms showing growth over the first few days of the Games, we are confident that, with many marquee events and top medal contenders still to come, we will continue to achieve new standards for a Summer Games. Congratulations to all of our Canadian athletes as they continue to perform on the world stage – we couldn’t be more proud to deliver their stories and achievements to audiences at home.”
Average audiences on Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium for Days 1 – 3 of London 2012 include:
July 28-30
OLYMPIC MORNING / LONDRES 2012 À RDS
(4 a.m. – 12 noon ET)
1.23 millionOLYMPIC DAYTIME / LONDRES 2012 À RDS
(12 – 6 p.m. ET)
2.74 millionOLYMPIC PRIME TIME / AUJOURD’HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS (7 – 11 p.m. ET)
2.8 millionCTV NATIONAL NEWS is also averaging 1.5 million viewers from the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games to date, more than tripling the average of CBC NATIONAL (PART 1) (466,000) and up 31% compared to its summer average.**
Additional Highlights for Days 1-3:
- Weightlifting: Men’s 56kg is the most-watched event so far on CTV garnering 2 million viewers on July 29
- Beach Volleyball: Men – Canada vs. Great Britain has been the most popular event on TSN, with 664,000 viewers on July 28
- Weightlifting: Women’s 53kg is the most-watched event on Sportsnet, garnering 554,000 viewers on July 29
- V delivered 412,000 viewers for the Beach Volleyball: Men – Canada vs. Great Britain game on July 28
- RDS saw 385,000 tune in to the Beach Volleyball: Women – Great Britain vs. Canada game on July 29
By the end of Day 3, CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca sites and apps saw nearly 6 million visits, delivering a combined 41.7 million page views, pacing 11% higher than Vancouver 2010 with most marquee events still ahead. With a total of 4.5 million video views, more than 184,000 hours of video has been consumed on classic web alone (desktop and laptop). The Ultimate Fan experience – which invites fans to earn points and enter to win prizes – has resulted in 32% more time spent on the site by those visitors compared to users who are not playing the game. While sites within Bell Media usually receive 12% of their traffic from mobile sites, 62% of page views on Consortium digital platforms during London 2012 have come via a mobile device.
Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium is fully engaged with fans. With almost 40,000 interactions on social networks*** facilitated by the Social Team and 425,000**** clicks into the live chats, the Consortium is right there with fans throughout every televised and streamed event during these Olympic Games.
That will do it.
