Blue Jays Audiences Finish 2011 on a High Note: Season Average Up 17% on Rogers Sportsnet

- Jays on Sportsnet records network’s highest-season average audience ever with 507,000 (2+) viewers per game -

- Season opener against Minnesota is most watched Jays audience ever with 976,000 (2+) viewers-

TORONTO (September 30, 2011) – Toronto Blue Jays audiences reached new heights this season on Rogers Sportsnet with an average television audience of 507,000 (2+)*, the network’s highest-season average ever.

Jays on Sportsnet audiences were up 17 per cent compared to the 2010 average of 437,000 viewers. The 2011 season opener is the biggest Jays audience in the network’s history as 976,000 (2+) tuned in for the Jays’ 13-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. In addition, Sportsnet’s biggest audience this season for a West-Coast start (10 p.m. ET) was 527,000 (2+) as viewers tuned in for Canadian Brett Lawrie’s first game played just outside his native Vancouver, against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 15.

According to BBM Canada, through the end of the 2011 season, Sportsnet attracted an average audience of 100,000 in Adults 18-34, compared to an average of 86,000 over the same period last year, while Men 18-34 averaged 64,000 viewers, compared to 55,000 last year.

Sportsnet’s top five Blue Jays audiences for the 2011 season are as follows:

Friday, April 1 – Minnesota @ Toronto (976,000)

Friday, Sept. 2 – Toronto @ New York Yankees (742,000)

Saturday, Aug. 6 – Toronto @ Baltimore (730,000)

Sunday, April 3 – Minnesota @ Toronto (729,000)

Monday, May 16 – Toronto @ Detroit (723,000)

* Source: BBM Canada (Data is unconfirmed and numbers are subject to change)

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