Game 5 of the NBA Finals yesterday set yet another Canadian TV record, according to Rogers Media.
According to Sportsnet, Game 5 of the Toronto Raptors versus the Golden State Warriors “reaches 13.4 million Canadians on Sportsnet and Citytv.”
The game was the most-watched broadcast in Canada in 2019 and the most-watched NBA game in the country ever, as it averaged 6.4 million viewers.
Rogers Media says Game 5 was the most-watched program ever for the company, plus most-watched program on TV in Canada this broadcast and calendar year, surpassing The Big Bang Theory finale by 11%.
Viewers spiked at 11:32pm EDT with 8.5 million viewers near the last moments of the fourth quarter, while the Sportsnet app saw 1.2 million unique visitors and 1.7 million total visits on June 10, 2019.
Rogers says Game 5 had a 22.8% national share of TV audiences across Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE and Citytv, while in Toronto, it was at 40.2% share on Sportsnet Ontario and 17.8% share on Citytv Ontario.
If you exclude Olympics broadcasts, Game 5 of the NBA Finals “ranks in the Top 10 most-watched sports broadcasts on record in Canada,” and the “21st most-watched overall sports broadcast on record in Canada,” said Rogers Media.
Game 6 takes place on Thursday, June 12, 2019, with Bell Media’s TSN holding the Canadian viewing rights to the broadcast, which surely will set yet another Canadian TV record, with the Raptors on verge of making history.
During the final minute of Game 5, thousands of Bell TV customers saw their connection dropped, missing the key moments of the game. Let’s hope broadcasts from Bell Media’s TSN of Game 6 will hold up to record-breaking audiences on Thursday.
