CBC/Radio-Canada wins TV battle of Beijing Olympic coverage, sets digital audience record

More than 70 per cent of Canadians watched CBC/Radio-Canada's Beijing Olympics coverage, with half tuning in for an average of 102 minutes each evening throughout 15 days of athlete competition.

The CBC had the highest television audience share of any Canadian network and the most-streamed Games ever on CBC Gem, while streaming of video coverage on its digital platforms was up 11 per cent from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

"In addition to strong broadcast audiences, digital viewing soared, with Canadians streaming [468 million minutes]," said Chris Wilson, CBC's executive director of Sports and Olympics. "We're proud that millions of Canadians united around our coverage from early in the morning to very late at night.

"Despite everything going on in the world, these numbers represent the enduring appeal and relevance of the Olympics in Canada."

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The CBC provided around-the-clock coverage on all platforms, including 1,200 hours of broadcasting and more than 2,400 hours of live content along with partners Sportsnet and TSN.

Canadians spent 276 million minutes on Gem, CBC's free digital video streaming service, an increase of 19 per cent from Pyeongchang.

The Canada-United States women's hockey gold-medal game drew a peak TV audience of 2.7 million, making it the most-watched event of the Beijing Olympics, despite an 11 p.m. ET start time.

The CBC's expanded Indigenous language coverage garnered 226,850 video views, including Canadian hockey games offered in Inuktitut for the first time.

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The network was the most watched in Canada among audiences in the 25-54 age bracket for 12 of 16 nights in prime time among younger