Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony is Most-Watched Television Event in Canadian
History with 13.3 Million Viewers; 26 Million Canadians or 78% of Population
Embrace Day 1 of the Games

- Two in three Canadians watch 3.5 hour ceremony -

VANCOUVER, Feb. 13 /CNW/ - Live coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony Friday night by Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium has made history as the most-watched television event ever in Canadian history. On average, 13.3 million Canadians were watching every single minute of the 3.5 hour ceremony. The figure eclipses the previous record-holder, the Gold Medal hockey game at Salt Lake City 2002 (10.3 million), by 29%. Airing live across 11 television networks in 11 languages, an astonishing 23 million viewers, or two in every three Canadians (69%), tuned in to some part of the ceremony.

A total of 26 million Canadians, representing 78% of the population, experienced the 2010 Winter Games on the platforms of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium yesterday, according to the Consortium's CUME (Canadian Unique Multimedia Engagement) index.

    
    Previous Opening Ceremony Audiences:
    ------------------------------------
    Calgary 1988:          4.24 million (CTV & TVA)*
    Salt Lake City 2002:   3.99 million (CBC & SRC)*
    Beijing 2008:          1.64 million (CBC & SRC)(xx)
    Turin 2006:            1.18 million (CBC & SRC)(xx)
    

"The Canadian Olympic team will break records at these Games," said Ivan Fecan, President and Chief Executive Officer, CTVglobemedia and Chief Executive Officer, CTV Inc. "But, the first record was broken last night."

Detailed Day 1 audience breakdown to follow.

About CUME:

Canadian Unique Multimedia Engagement (CUME) index is the cumulative reach of all Canadians that engage with the major media platforms offered by Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. CUME is a calibrated summary of the most-trusted audience measurement systems for television, online, radio, and print. For detailed information about CUME visit CTVMedia.ca/Olympics and CTVMedia.ca/olympiques.

    
    Sources
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    Television: BBM Canada
    *  Nielsen Media Research
    (xx) BBM Nielsen Media Research


    About Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
    -------------------------------------------------
    

Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium is a unique relationship between leading media conglomerates CTV Inc. and Rogers Media Inc., which together will provide unprecedented coverage and consumer choice in English, French and multi-languages on multiple platforms for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the London 2012 Games of the Olympiad. Official brands include CTV, TSN, RDS, RIS Info Sports, Rogers Sportsnet, OMNI, OLN, V, APTN, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, The Globe and Mail, Corus Québec and select Rogers radio stations across the country.

For further information: Jim Quan, [phone], CTV Inc., [email protected]; Carolyn Fell, [phone], CTV Inc., [email protected]; Pamela Mollica, Consortium, [phone], [email protected]; Andrea Goldstein, Consortium, [phone], [email protected]