Fall Classic Delivers Record Audience: Game 7 is Most-Watched World Series Game Ever on Sportsnet

– World Series average audience up 11% this year over last –

TORONTO (October 31, 2011) – Sportsnet has hit a grand slam with its biggest World Series audience ever, as an average of 1.1 million viewers (2+)* tuned in to Game 7 on Friday, Oct. 28 as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers for their 11th World Series title. Audience levels peaked at 1.8 million viewers (2+) during the sixth inning.

The Game 7 series-clinching audience broke the network’s previous World Series high of 913,000 viewers during Game 4 of the 2004 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

This year’s World Series on Sportsnet averaged 688,000 (2+)* viewers over the seven games, marking an 11 per cent increase over the 2010 average of 622,000 viewers. This year’s 2011 Fall Classic is the third most-watched World Series on Sportsnet, behind 2009 NY Yankees vs. Philadelphia (749,000) and 2004 Boston vs. St. Louis (742,000).

Sportsnet’s coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2011 regular season also was one for the record books with an average audience of 507,000 viewers per game, 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.

* Source: Preliminary data from BBM Canada

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