Soccer beats hockey in Canada?
Last Friday’s FIFA World Cup match between Canada and Herzegovina, on linear channels alone, drew an overnight, estimated, average minute audience of close to 3.9 million viewers. Most watched on TSN (2,899,000), others on CTV (910,000). An unknown number streamed the game on Crave, so expect the combined-combined total to swell to well over four or perhaps even five million.
Even the non-Crave number is more than twice the combined total audience estimated at 1.8 million viewers for Sunday night’s 6th and final game between the Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sportsnet national share of that audience was 1,039,000, with CBC chipping in another 761,000.
The post game Stanley Cup presentation, where ‘Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour gave the Stanley Cup a big bear hug, drew a combined CBC/Sportsnet total of 554,000 in overnight estimates.
The good news for Bell/TSN is that, unlike this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, Canadian soccer viewers were not just interested in Canada’s team. Germany vs Curacao? That FIFA tilt drew 1,231,000 on TSN plus another 346,000 on CTV Sunday. Cote D’Ivoire vs Equador? Also over a million on TSN. Same with Netherlands/Japan, with that game drawing 1,334,000 on TSN in overnight estimates plus another 522,000 on CTV on Sunday. You just have to drive around the GTA and see all the flags on cars to know that there are plenty of Canadians from all over the world who have a rooting interest in these games.
On Saturday, FIFA matches were also big winners for Bell. Haiti vs Scotland pulled 1,429,000 on TSN plus 544,000 on CTV for close to two million viewers before factoring in the Crave take. The Brazil/Moroco tilt was an even bigger draw: 1,737,000 watched on TSN, 592,000 on CTV for a combined 2.33 million before Crave is tallied. Australia/Turkey (1,022,000 TSN, 452,000 CTV) and Qatar/Switzerland (976,000 TSN; 396,000 CTV) all sailed past the million plus mark.
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After getting pasted by Sportsnet in the early, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup rounds, TSN rebounded with an embarrassment of riches over the past weekend. Saturday they also squeezed in the NBA final between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs (709,000 on TSN2 plus another 289,000 on CTV2 for close to a million viewers combined) as well as a CFL game between BC and Saskatchewan (581,000).
Sportnet wasn’t completely shut out of the action, drawing big crowds with the Blue Jays-Yankees series: 910,000 on Friday; 897,000 on Saturday; and 894,000 on Sunday despite all the FIFA competition.
One sport that struggled to putt around all the FIFA/hockey/baseball competition was golf’s Canadian Open, which drew 184,000 for the final round Sunday on a reduced slate of TSN channels.
