Sportsnet continues to be Canada’s #1 sports brand on TV in 2015 following a July powered by the new-look Blue Jays,2015 MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, Pan Am Games and the launch of Tim & Sid. For the month of July, Sportsnet delivered a 4.5 audience share and an average minute audience of 171,000 – more than any other sports brand on TV network in Canada*.
Over the last 15 months, Sportsnet has been the #1 sports brand on TV in Canada (May 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015).
Following an historic Trade Deadline that saw the Blue Jays add five new faces, the Blue Jays on Sportsnet capped off a strong July by delivering an average audience of 889,000 during the trading period of July 28 to 31, 2015. Additionally, Sportsnet recorded its second most-watched Blue Jays broadcast of the season (behind Home Opener) on Friday, July 31, delivering an average audience of 1.08 million.
In just its first month on the air, the “edu-taining” duo of Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro have quickly grown the 5 to 7 p.m. ET timeslot year-over-year, while the prime-time edition of Sportsnet Central remains the most-watched sports news show in Canada for the second consecutive month.
Highlights from Sportsnet’s audience growth in July is as follows:
Blue Jays
- Sportsnet’s top 3 Blue Jays audiences this season (excluding the Home Opener):
o #1 – July 31: Kansas City @ Toronto (1.08 million)
o #2 – June 19: Baltimore @ Toronto (1. 01 million)
o #3 – July 30: Kansas City @ Toronto (889,000)
Tim & Sid
- Launched on July 1, 2015, the audience for Tim & Sid has grown that timeslot by 19%
Sportsnet Central (Prime-Time Edition)
- The prime-time edition of Sportsnet Central continued to grow in July, delivering an average audience of 144,000 – 19% higher than its closest competitor during the month
Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games
- Sportsnet’s coverage of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games delivered an average audience of 232,000 viewers in July. The most-watched event on Sportsnet was the Men’s soccer first-round match between Canada and Brazil on July 12, with an average audience of 299,000 viewers
2015 MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby
- The 2015 Home Run Derby on Sportsnet on July 13 delivered an average audience of 761,000, making it the fourth most-watched Home Run Derby in the network’s history
- The 2015 MLB All-Star Game on July 14 delivered an average audience of 581,000, the third most-watched MLB All-Star Game in the network’s history
Digital
- From Jan. 1 – June 30, 2015, Sportsnet.ca delivered an increase of 57% unique visitors and 46% page views, in comparison to the same period in 2014 (Note: these figures are PC only)
- Year-over-year in the month of June (the most recent month available for comScore data), Sportsnet.ca increased its total unique visitors by 10%and total page views by 93%, in comparison to June 2014. (Note: this includes PC, smartphone and tablet)
*Sportsnet channels include Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific; Sportsnet ONE; and Sportsnet 360
TV Source: Numeris, AMA(000) & Share of Total TV English, Jan 1/15 – July 31/15 for YOY (confirmed up to July 19/15), Apr 6 – Jul 31/15 v. same time last season for Blue Jays, Total Canada. All audiences are 2+, unless otherwise noted.
Digital Source: comScore Multiplatform Metrix, June’15 vs. June’14, Total Canada