Headline, Industry News

CTV says two in every three Canadians saw part of Olympic opening ceremony

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Two in three Canadians watched part of Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony, making for record TV ratings according to host broadcaster CTV.

The network said Saturday that the 3 1/2-hour show at B.C. Place Stadium drew a record average audience of 13.3 million, erasing the previous record of 10.3 million for the 2002 gold medal hockey game at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

CTV said 23 million viewers, or two in every three Canadians (69 per cent), saw some part of the show, which aired live on 11 networks in 11 languages.

However, the rating system has changed in recent months with the new format – for the most part – increasing audience numbers.

The Olympics are being broadcast by CTV, Canada’s largest private broadcaster, and Rogers Media, a unit of cable TV, cellphone and media giant Rogers Communications Inc.

The two partners won the Vancouver Games TV rights in Canada by outbidding the CBC, which had broadcast the five previous Olympics.

Olympic TV ratings were also strong in the United States, where The Nielsen Co. said an estimated 32.6 million people watched the opening ceremony on NBC, the U.S. rights holder.

That was up 48 per cent from the 22.2 million who watched the first night of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

With files from The Associated Press

Source: The Canadian Press