Morning Glory: 1.6 Million Viewers Watch Canada's Women's Soccer Team Win Bronze to Kick-Off Day 13

- 2.7 million viewers watch Usain Bolt sprint to gold in the men's 200m final -
- A massive 3.8 million viewers tuned in as Canada battled rival United States in Monday's epic women's soccer semifinal; Day 10 delivers largest overall reach to date with 22 million viewers -
- London 2012 viewing leads Beijing 2008 by 81% -
- More than 1.07 million CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps have been downloaded -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/NnAC2c

LONDON, Aug. 11, 2012 /CNW/ - An average audience of more than 1.6 million viewers kicked-off their day Thursday morning as Canada's women's soccer team won bronze, marking the team's first medal in Olympic history. Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium audiences peaked with an impressive 3.1 million viewers at 9:50 a.m. ET when Canada's Diana Matheson delivered a stunning goal in the 92^nd minute. With a total reach of 5.8 million viewers, Canadians woke up early to see the team finally claim a spot on the podium. Then, in the afternoon's marquee event, the men's 200m final, an average audience of 2.7 million viewers watched Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt cruise to gold, becoming the first Olympian to defend both the 100m and 200m titles.

Earlier in the week, a massive average audience of 3.8 million viewers watched the Canadian women's soccer team battle to the bitter end against rival United States in the epic women's semifinal on Monday (Day 10). The match now ranks as the second most-watched event for the Consortium at London 2012, behind only the men's athletics 100m final on Sunday (6.2 million). A total of 10.7 million Canadians - or nearly one third of the Canadian population - saw some part or all of the soccer match. On TSN alone, the match delivered an average audience of 2.4 million viewers, making it the second most-watched Olympic Games event ever on the network, behind only the men's gold medal hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Women's soccer captured the imagination of the digital audience on both semifinal and bronze medal game days. On Day 10, just after the women's semifinal match against the United States, live video traffic peaked on Consortium digital platforms with nearly 70,000 viewers online. Both days that featured women's soccer games brought Games-time high proportions of people viewing live video, with almost half of total videos consumed coming from live streams, compared to an average of 30%. The day of the bronze medal showdown with France also brought more site visits (2.5 million) and delivered more video views (1.9 million) than any other single day of the Games. Days 10 and 13 also saw significantly increased social interaction, with a combined 21,000 interactions on social platforms and an additional 410,000 clicks into live chats.

Additional Highlights for Days 10-13:

• Monday's women's boxing quarterfinal featuring Canadian Mary Spencer on CTV and Sportsnet was the #2 event of the day with an average audience of 2.2 million
• Sportsnet achieved its second highest audience of the 2012 Games on Tuesday with an average audience of 525,000 for Canadian boxer Custio Clayton's quarterfinal bout
• The final stage of Thursday's men's decathlon on CTV, RDS, and V was the #2 event of the day as an average audience of 2.2 million watched Canadian Damian Warner set six personal bests to finish fifth
• Also on Thursday, the gold medal women's soccer match between the United States and Japan delivered an average audience of 534,000 viewers on TSN, with a total reach of 2.6 million
• By the end of Day 13, more than 1.07 million CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps had been downloaded

Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium confirms that viewing for London 2012 continues to widely outpace that of Beijing 2008, with viewing up overall by an impressive 81%*. Day 10 alone delivered the largest overall reach to date with 22 million viewers, bolstered by the Canada/United States women's soccer semifinal. On Day 13 (Aug. 9), viewing was up 93% over the same day versus Beijing 2008. From the start of the 2012 Games to date, an incredible 31.5 million Canadians - or 94% of the population - has watched some coverage on Consortium channels. Additionally, London 2012 continues to be a wide-reaching event, with 94% of all women, 94% of all men, and 91% of all children experiencing some part of the 2012 Games on television.

Average audiences on Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium for Days 1 -13 of London 2012 are: 

	July 28 - Aug. 9
OLYMPIC MORNING / LONDRES 2012 À RDS (4 a.m. - 12 noon ET)	1.2 million
OLYMPIC DAYTIME / LONDRES 2012 À RDS (12 - 6 p.m. ET)	2.9 million
OLYMPIC PRIME TIME / AUJOURD'HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS (7 - 11 p.m. ET)	2.8 million

To date, there have been 30.3 million visits to Consortium digital platforms and 187 million page views. Visitors have watched 21 million videos for three million hours. There have been more than two million clicks into the Bell Social Scene chats that accompany live video on classic web, and viewers of the television broadcast can follow that social chat on mobile devices and interact with fellow fans.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Twitter
@CTVOlympics
@RDSolympiques

Facebook
facebook.com/CTVOlympics
facebook.com/RDSolympiques

Google+
CTVOlympics
RDSolympiques

YouTube
YouTube.com/CTVOlympics
YouTube.com/RDSolympiques

About Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium is a unique relationship led by Canada's #1 broadcaster, CTV with 80% interest, along with Rogers Media Inc. with 20% interest. The Consortium is providing unprecedented English, French, and multilingual coverage and consumer choice on multiple platforms during the London 2012 Olympic Games, through August 12, 2012. Official brands include CTV, TSN, RDS, RDS Info, Sportsnet, OMNI Television, OLN, V, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, and select Rogers radio stations across the country. In addition, select stations will also air the London 2012 Paralympic Games from August 29 - September 9, 2012. The Consortium delivered the Top 5 most-watched events in Canadian television history during its revolutionary coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Source: BBM Canada
CTV electronic audience databases incorporate data beginning in 1994.
Audiences prior to August 31, 2009 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research Mark II meters.
*Based on total time tuned
Online: All digital numbers are via Omniture unless otherwise noted

SOURCE: Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium

Renee Rouse, 416.384.7599, [email protected]
Amy Doary, 011.4(0) 77.14079701, [email protected]
Carolyn Fell, 416.384.2817, [email protected]