2.6 million Canadian viewers watched the Prime East games at 7 p.m. ET, a Fall Saturday hockey record premiere
Edmonton Oilers @ Vancouver Canucks match up at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) attracted over 1.4 million viewers, the second highest audience numbers ever for a Fall Saturday night Prime West premiere
Saturday night’s NHL on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast set audience records, as 2.6 million Canadians watched the Prime East broadcast, making it the most viewed Fall Saturday night hockey premiere on record in the East! Across the country, audiences turned to CBC in record numbers as the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) followed by the Edmonton Oilers visiting the Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). Overall, more than 9.8 million Canadians, the equivalent to more than one in four Canadians, watched CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA programming on Saturday night.
“Hockey is clearly more than a game for Canadians, and they’re tuning-in in record numbers to CBC’s coverage of NHL hockey” said Neil McEneaney, interim executive vice-president, CBC English Services. “Year after year, we up our game, and Canadians are responding in kind with enthusiasm and passion that will be carried all the way through to the end of the season and Stanley Cup finals.”
Ratings data from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM) show the average audience for the Toronto/Ottawa game was more than 2.6 million viewers. Overall, the game reached nearly 8 million Canadians. Audience numbers peaked at 10:14 p.m. ET with more than 4.5 million viewers, just as the Toronto/Ottawa shootout concluded.
Saturday night’s late game featuring the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks saw a substantial 45% increase in numbers over the Saturday night Prime West season opener in the 2011/2012 NHL season.
CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues this Saturday, October 12 with Edmonton at Toronto (7:00 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) and Ottawa at San Jose or Montreal at Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET. Hockey Tonightstarts things off at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT). All games are streamed live online at CBCSports.ca.
(Television audience numbers source: BBM Canada, Total Canada, Preliminary Overnights, Ind. 2+, 25-54, 2013)
Hockey Night in Canada: 2nd Screen presented by Budweiser returns for another season, connecting fans at CBCSports.ca/2ndscreen where users earn points toward potential prizes through predictions, in-game trivia and online engagement. Viewers across the country can also connect with CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA online at CBCSports.ca/HockeyNightInCanada, through Twitter (@hockeynight) and Instagram using #HockeyNight, Facebook and Pinterest. Fans can also stay up-to-date with the Hockey Night in Canada app for iOS, Windows 8, Blackberry 10 and Android as well as via Xbox and Google Currents.
Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi presented by Chevrolet with play-by-play commentator Harnarayan Singh (@IceSinghHNIC) alongside analysts Inderpreet Cumo (@InderpreetHNIC) and Bhola Chauhan (@BholaHNIC) continues this season with Punjabi-language broadcasts of each nationally televised game every Saturday night on CBC-TV. The Punjabi-language broadcasts are available live on select television channels including Bell Satellite TV (channel 232), Bell Fibe TV (ch. 233), Delta Digital TV (ch. 294), Rogers Digital TV (ch. 799), Shaw Digital TV (ch. 328) and Shaw Direct as well as online at CBCSports.ca.
As announced during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA has teamed up with CBCMusic.ca to find Canada’s next great hockey song through Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest. Canadians can submit their original inspirational, energetic and heart-pumping pop or rock songs at CBCMusic.ca/SongQuest.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Bassett, publicist, CBC
Simon.Bassett@cbc.ca 416.205.8533 (Office)/416.988.1590 (Mobile)
