Hot News: CBC FIFA World Cup watched by Canadians in record numbers

CBC's FIFA World Cup coverage from Brazil set new records for television and online viewing.

Approximately 30.7 million Canadians tuned in at some point during the month-long tournament from Brazil, which represents 89 per cent of the country's population. Of that total, 6.6 million watched at least part of a game online.

An average of 4.93 million watched on television to see Germany's dramatic 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final Sunday, making it the most watched match of the tournament and the most watched Word Cup final ever, edging the 2010 mark.

Viewership for the final peaked at 7.4 million in the game's final stages, with 11.3 million tuning in at some point during the English-language broadcast.

'Canadians continue to turn to CBC for the best in sports coverage and the audience turnout we've experienced with this World Cup is a great sign heading into our upcoming slate of major international amateur athletic competitions,' Jeffrey Orridge, executive director, sports properties and general manager, Olympics, CBC, said in a statement. 'We could not bring an event of this magnitude to Canadians across multiple platforms without the continued hard work and dedication of the men and women behind the scenes and in front of the cameras who make CBC Canada's best venue for watching world class sporting events.'

The average viewership for Sunday's championship was greater than last year's Grey Cup, the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, and every Stanley Cup playoff game. Digital boom

The average television audience for the tournament reached 1.7 million, an increase of 39 per cent over the previous high.

Canadians found ways to get the latest action and information even when not near a television.

CBC's FIFA World Cup App, brought to you by Bell, and its French-language counterpart, were downloaded more than 1.1 million times.

Website traffic saw an increase of 45 per cent in page views and 51 per cent in video views compared to the 2010 World Cup.

Canadians logged 13.5-million hours of video viewing across all digital platforms, with about a half-million catching at least some part of the championship final on a digital platform.

Sources: Numeris, Adobe Site Catalyst, Omniture HBX, Akamai, Apple, Google

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