Rogers Cup Semifinal Between Shapovalov and Zverev is Most-Watched Tennis Match Ever on Sportsnet

– Historic match reached 1.46 million Canadians on Saturday night across Sportsnet and Sportsnet 360 –

– Peak audience hits 741,600 viewers –

TORONTO (August 14, 2017) Canada’s breakthrough tennis star, Denis Shapovalov, not only shattered records in the tennis world last week at Rogers Cup in Montreal, but also Sportsnet audience records.

The 18-year-old’s semifinal match against eventual champion Alexander Zverev was the most-watched tennis match ever broadcast on Sportsnet with an average minute audience of 488,200 across Sportsnet and Sportsnet 360 on Saturday night. The audience number peaked at 741,600 people at 9:53 p.m. ET and the match reached 1.46 million viewers across Canada.

“Shapovalov stormed onto the world’s tennis stage last week, capturing the hearts and minds of Canadians,” said Scott Moore, President, Sportsnet & NHL Properties. “Becoming the youngest player to ever reach a Masters 1000 semifinal was a seminal moment for Denis, Rogers Cup, and Canadian tennis. Sportsnet is proud to continue delivering these historic moments to Canadians across the country.”

In addition, the men’s quarter-final matches on Friday night, which included Shapovalov’s match against Adrian Mannarino, was the most-watched tennis broadcast ever on Sportsnet ONE with an average minute audience of 201,000 viewers.

 Source: Numeris; 2005-2017; Ind.2+ AMA; Sportsnet channels; Total Canada.

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) and Vancouver Canucks (including radio rights on Sportsnet 650). 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, jordan.kerbel@rci.rogers.com, (m) 437.995.3880
Sarah Grossman,sarah.grossman@rci.rogers.com, (m) 416.509.9694