TSN Brass Are Smiling

Toronto, ON (March 14, 2011) – While Team Manitoba swept away Team Ontario during last night’s Final of the 2011 TIM HORTONS BRIER, TSN was sweeping up fans all week long with its coverage of the tournament.

Preliminary overnight data from BBM Canada confirms that overall audiences for the 2011 TIM HORTONS BRIER averaged 682,000 viewers on TSN – the most ever in tournament history and 13% higher than last year. In total, more than 7.8 million unique viewers tuned in at some point to TSN’s 62 hours of live BRIER coverage from London, ON this year.

BBM Canada also confirms that the following audiences were achieved for TSN’s coverage of the 2011 TIM HORTONS BRIER:

• An average audience of 1.3 million viewers watched Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton defeat Ontario’s Glenn Howard to win his third career BRIER championship, making this year’s championship final the second most-watched broadcast ever in tournament history.

• The BRIER match-ups on Saturday delivered record audiences for TSN, as both games set new benchmarks for the Page Playoff and Semifinal draws: the 3-4 Page Playoff game featuring Team Alberta vs. Team Ontario attracted an average audience of 990,000 viewers, while the Semifinal draw with Team Ontario vs. Team Newfoundland and Labrador was watched by an average audience of 1,004,000 viewers.

• In a battle of Olympic gold medal-winning skips, Sunday’s first-ever Bronze Medal game at the BRIER featuring Alberta’s Kevin Martin versus Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue attracted an average audience of 438,000 viewers on TSN2, making it the most-watched curling broadcast ever on the digital network and the third-highest audience in TSN2 history.

• Friday’s 1-2 Page Playoff game featuring Team Newfoundland and Labrador versus Team Manitoba delivered an average audience of 855,000 viewers.

“The TIM HORTONS BRIER is consistently one of the most popular and entertaining sporting events on the TSN calendar. Curling fans always look forward to the tournament to see championship curling at its finest and this year’s BRIER certainly did not disappoint with its phenomenal end-to-end action,” said Stewart Johnston, President, TSN. “TSN is extremely proud of its long-standing partnership with the Canadian Curling Association. It is a privilege to be the official broadcaster of Season of Champions curling and deliver the BRIER to its passionate fans across the country.”

“Viewership for the CCA’s Season of Champions properties continues to increase and our fan base is certainly growing across the country. The TIM HORTONS BRIER is a flagship event within the Season of Champions and the Canadian Curling Association is so pleased to have TSN as our exclusive broadcast partner for the long-term,” said Greg Stremlaw, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Curling Association. “TSN continues to do a wonderful job of helping expose curling to all demographics and our Association is so appreciative of the significant publicity that the BRIER received both leading up to and during this event. This clearly created a win-win scenario for all involved.”

TSN’s exclusive curling coverage continues in 2011 with the CAPITAL ONE WORLD WOMEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP from March 19 to 27 in Esbjerg, Denmark, and the FORD WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP from April 2 to 10 in Regina, SK.