Millions of Canadians flocked to TSN and RDS during their New Year’s Eve celebrations to cheer on Team Canada at the World Juniors. Preliminary overnight data confirms an average audience of 3.6 million viewers tuned in to TSN (2.9 million) and RDS (706,000) on Wednesday to watch Team Canada’s thrilling 5-3 victory against USA at the World Juniors.
The New Year’s Eve battle between Team Canada and USA ranks as:
- The top-rated hockey game on any network to date in the 2014/15 broadcast year
- The most-watched program in Canada on Wednesday
- The third highest World Juniors preliminary round game on record for TSN – behind the 2009 New Year’s Eve game between Canada-USA (3.7 million viewers) and the team’s 2011 World Juniors opener vs. Russia (3 million viewers)
- 19% higher than the Canada-USA battle on December 31, 2011 – the last time the tournament took place in Canada
- The most-watched World Juniors preliminary round game on record for RDSTo date, Team Canada’s 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship games have all ranked as the most-watched program of the day on Canadian television in all key demographics – elevating TSN to the #1 network in Canada on all four days Team Canada has played, ahead of all conventional networks.
Overall, 8.5 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in to watch Team Canada secure its top spot in Group A with a win over USA. Audience levels peaked at 6:24 p.m. ET as 5.9 million viewers watched Team Canada cement its 5-3 win with an empty net goal in the final seconds of the game.
To date, 14.5 million Canadians have tuned in to watch some or all of TSN and RDS’s wall-to-wall coverage of the 2015 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP in Montréal and Toronto.
World Juniors Audience Snapshot: Preliminary Round Highlights
- Team Canada games on TSN have attracted an average audience of 2.45 million viewers – marking a 6% increase compared to preliminary round games in 2011, when the tournament last took place in Canada
- The 2015 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP marks the first tournament that every Team Canada preliminary game drew an average audience of more than 2 million viewers
- Non-Team Canada preliminary round games on TSN averaged more than 525,000 viewers – marking the highest average audience ever for non-Team Canada preliminary round games
- Team Canada games on RDS have attracted an average audience of 474,000 viewers – a new record for the network
<<NOTE TO MEDIA: Additional audience data from the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championshipwill be available in the coming days. >>
TSN and RDS’s 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship coverage continues tonight (Friday, Jan. 2) at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN and 8 p.m. ET on RDS as Team Canada takes on Denmark in the quarterfinals.
Broadcast Schedule
TSN’s broadcast schedule for the 2015 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP is as follows*:
Friday, Jan. 2
- Quarter-final #4: Canada vs. Denmark at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN NetworkSunday, Jan. 4
- Semifinal #1 at 4 p.m. ET on TSN Network
- Semifinal #2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN Network Monday, Jan. 5
- Bronze Medal Game at 4 p.m. ET on TSN Network
- Gold Medal Game at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN1, TSN4, and TSN5
RDS’s 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship broadcast schedule is available on RDS.ca.
*Broadcast schedule subject to change