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9.55 Billion Minutes of Stanley Cup Playoffs Watched in Round 1 on Sportsnet and CBC

Apr 25, 2017

TORONTO (April 24, 2017)  Nearly two-thirds of all Canadians watched NHL playoff action these past two weeks on Sportsnet and CBC, with Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs reaching 22.2 million Canadians.

Five of the Top 10 most-watched NHL broadcasts of all-time on Sportsnet were recorded in Round 1, with last night’s Washington @ Toronto decisive Game 6 coming in at #1 with a reach of 8.4 million Canadians and an average audience of 3.47 million viewers.

“Canadians are the most devoted hockey fans in the world and the audiences we’re seeing from Round 1 reflect that,” said Greg Sansone, Vice President of Programming, Sportsnet.  “With a record 18 games going into overtime in the first round, this is a special time to be a hockey fan in Canada.”

The single most watched game of Round 1 was Game 2: Toronto @ Washington, delivering an average audience of 3.64 million viewers.  Audience levels peaked at 5.36 million viewers at the end of the first overtime.

The five series featuring Canadian teams averaged 1.8 million viewers per game, while the overall average audience for all of Round 1 was 1.3 million viewers.

Fans were also turning to Sportsnet digital platforms for their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs content:

  • On Sportsnet.ca – daily visitors were up 36% over last year, while video views were up 45%
  • On Sportsnet NOW – web visitors increased 82% over last year, while visitors to the app increased 167%
  • On Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE – unique users per game were up 86% over last year, while total minutes streamed were up 71%

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues Wednesday night with Game 1: Edmonton @ Anaheim at 10:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet, and Game 1: Nashville @ St. Louis at 8 p.m. ET on CBC.  Visit Sportsnet.ca for programming details.

TV Source: Numeris, Total Canada, RSPN Total, SN National/360/One, Ind. 2+, 4/12/17 – 4/23/17 vs. same weeks in 2016 and 2015, AMA(000), TotMins(000,000), CumeRch(000)
Digital Sources: Adobe Analytics, Brightcove Analytics, and Neulion

About Sportsnet
Sportsnet is Canada’s #1 sports media brand, connecting Canadian sports fans to their favourite teams and athletes.  Delivering storytelling on a local, regional, national and global level, the multiplatform brand consists of Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet NOW, and the Sportsnet app.  Sportsnet consists of four regional channels (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific), and the nationally-distributed Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet World.  Sportsnet is the official Canadian NHL national multimedia rights holder, and is also the official regional television broadcast rights holder for the Calgary Flames (including radio rights on Sportsnet 960 The FAN), Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs (including radio rights on Sportsnet 590 The FAN), Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. Sportsnet also has exclusive TV & radio coverage of all 162 Blue Jays games, as well as other MLB games, Toronto Raptors, NBA, Grand Slam of Curling, Rogers Cup, CHL, IndyCar, and extensive soccer programming including Premier League, Bundesliga, FA Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers.

Media Contacts:
Jordan Kerbel, [email protected], (m) 437.995.3880
Meghann Cox, [email protected], (m) 416.258.3296