It was dinosaurs 1, dragons 0 on Sunday, as Canadian viewers resisted the pull of Game of Thrones to watch the Toronto Raptors’ Game 7 showdown with the Indiana Pacers.
Sunday’s Raptors telecast on Sportsnet attracted an average audience of 1.53 million, according to preliminary data from Numeris, making it the most-watched game in the franchise’s 21-year history.
A total of 4.4 million Canadians 2+ watched at least part of the game, with the audience peaking at 2.63 million at 10:30 p.m., as the Raptors sealed an 89-84 victory that propelled them into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2001.
The game was one of four Sportsnet-branded events running across both Sportsnet and CBC Television to garner at least 1 million viewers. The Rogers Media specialty channel finished the month with a 6.9 audience share, up from 5.8 in the year-earlier period.
On Saturday, the telecast of the NHL Draft Lottery, which saw the Toronto Maple Leafs break the Edmonton Oilers’ seemingly iron-clad grasp on the first overall pick in June’s NHL draft, attracted an average of 1.57 million viewers.
Game 2 of the second round NHL playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals attracted an average of 1.5 million viewers on CBC.
Elsewhere, last year’s ratings juggernaut the Toronto Blue Jays attracted an average of 1.1 million viewers for their Saturday game with the Tampa Bay Rays. Five Blue Jays games early in the season have already surpassed 1 million viewers, while audiences for Jays telecasts on Sportsnet and Sportsnet One are up 58% compared to the same time last year.
Marketing and MarketingMag.ca are also owned by Rogers Media.
