World Cup final moves into the top 5
It really wasn't much of a game, unless you love yellow cards and flopping around, but Sunday's World Cup final is now among one of the most-watched events in Canadian television.
CBC drew an average of 5,131,000 viewers for Sunday's game, putting it fourth among most-watched sports events in the past year. The king, for now and probably all time, was the Olympic men's hockey final (16.6 million) with the Super Bowl (6,025,000) and world junior hockey final (5,3 million) following. But the World Cup fits in next, just ahead of last November's Grey Cup game (5,087,000.)
Sunday's game doubled the audience of the 2006 final, with the new ratings system as always a big factor.
Here are the top-rated weekend sports shows in English Canada, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings: Overall, CBC averaged 1.265 million for its month-long coverage and probably set some sort of record with more tha 8 million live streams on its website.
1. World Cup, Netherlands vs. Spain, Sunday, CBC: 5,131,000
2. World Cup, Germany vs. Uruguay, Saturday, CBC: 1,894,000
3. CFL, Roughriders at Lions, Saturday, TSN: 1,186,000
4. CFL, Argonauts at Blue Bombers, Friday, TSN: 806,000
5. CFL, Alouettes at Eskimos, Sunday, TSN: 657,000
6. CFL, Stampeders at Tiger-Cats, Saturday, TSN: 454,000
7. MLB, Red Sox at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 449,000
8. MLB. Red Sox at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 361,000
9. Soccer, Soccer Day In Canada, Saturday, CBC: 355,000
10. Rodeo, Calgary Stampede, Saturday, CBC: 351,000
11. MLB, Red Sox at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 311,000
12. Auto Racing, F-1 British Grand Prix, Sundady, TSN: 280,000
13. Rodeo, Calgary Stampede, Friday, CBC: 227,000
14. Equestrian, Spruce Meadows Show Jumping, Satuday, CBC: 220,000
15. Soccer, Colorado at Toronto FC, Saturday, CBC: 215,000