What did a record-setting and historic 6-0 win for Canada over Qatar in the men's FIFA World Cup mean for the country? Apparently viewers can't get enough, as TSN and other Bell Media outlets set an audience record for World Cup telecasts.
Record-Breaking Viewership
According to TSN's research, the game at Vancouver's BC Place on Thursday drew a record average audience of 5.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Cup group stage match ever in Canada. Given the engagement from that match and the nature of the blowout victory, expect those numbers to continue to rise for the Canadian rights-holders.
Overall, TSN reports that 11.7 million unique viewers tuned in for at least part of Thursday's game, which the network says is a 34% increase over Canada's second match four years ago in Qatar. The audience peaked at 7.3 million viewers at 8:01 p.m., just as the final whistle was going to make the result official.
Additionally, the 5.2 million figure makes Thursday's match the most-watched World Cup game by Canadian audiences since the 2014 final, a 1-0 Germany win over Argentina.
Interest Continues to Build
With momentum and interest surrounding the team building, so too are the ratings. The Canada opener the week before — a 1-1 draw vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium — attracted a solid audience of 3.2 million viewers for CTV and TSN. That number may have been hindered some by a 3 p.m. kickoff, whereas the Qatar game started at 6 p.m., past the end of the work day for most in eastern Canadian time zones. As for the unique viewer number, that game drew 8.6 million.
Obviously the success and excitement attached to the Qatar game would have not only brought new viewers in, but kept the audience engaged for longer. The 6-0 win, highlighted by a Jonathan David hat trick, triggered a strong reaction across the country and continued to pay off for TSN's status as exclusive Canadian rights-holders. Production-wise, TSN's World Cup presentation is a mammoth undertaking. The network is showing all 104 games in the competition for a combined 325 hours of coverage.
How High Can They Go?
Next up for Canada is a Wednesday meeting against Switzerland that will have a 3 p.m. ET start (noon in Vancouver). That start time could hinder the early viewership, but given what's at stake — a win or a draw would secure first in Group A for Canada and a Round of 32 date back in Vancouver — interest should be considerably higher. It would be reasonable to expect another notable bump for the Switzerland match. The real explosion would come in the Round of 32 match, of course, with 10 million or more not out of the question.
