Canada’s second appearance at the FIFA World Cup on Sunday set more records, attracting an average audience of 4.4 million viewers across TSN, CTV and RDS.

Canada’s 4-1 loss to Croatia surpassed the Men’s National Team opener vs. Belgium, which attracted an average audience of 3.7 million viewers, to become the most-watched FIFA World Cup Group Stage match on record, according to overnight data from Numeris.

Overall, the match reached 9.8 million unique Canadian viewers, with more than one-in-four Canadians tuning in to watch some or all of the live broadcast. Audiences peaked at 5.4 million viewers at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The game is now the second-most-watched sports broadcast of the year behind Super Bowl LVI, and the third-most-watched FIFA World Cup match on record. 

Bell Media says thus far, a total of 18.8 million unique Canadian viewers have tuned in for live FIFA World Cup game coverage across the three networks, accounting for nearly 50% of the Canadian population.

Saturday’s Argentina/Mexico match on Saturday attracted an average audience of 1.8 million viewers, while the Spain/Germany meeting on Sunday garnered an average audience of 1.5 million viewers.

Canada returns to the pitch Thursday, Dec. 1 against Morocco, with pre-game coverage beginning at 7 a.m. ET on TSN and CTV, and 9 a.m. ET on RDS, as well as the networks respective websites and apps.

Subscribe Now – Free!

Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 30 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.

The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.

Let’s get started right now.