Monday, March 29, 2010

Canadian TV reports 13 million people watch some of Paralympics

From The Canadian Press. In the picture, Canada's Lauren Woolstencroft rockets to a gold medal in women's giant slalom (standing).


VANCOUVER, B.C. — Canada's official Games broadcaster says more than 13 million Canadians watched some part of the 2010 Winter Paralympics.

The most-watched event of the Games was the closing ceremonies, with CTV-Rogers reporting that more than 5.4 million saw some part of the ceremony, while viewership peaked at 1.9 million.

The TV-watching public almost didn't get to see any of it, as the broadcaster decided only a few days before Sunday's show to air it at all.

It was the third tweak to their broadcast schedule for the Games, which included airing the opening ceremonies live in B.C. after criticism from viewers and the Paralympic committee.

Overall, there were 65 hours of coverage by CTV, a record for the Paralympic Games.

Fans were also able to watch the Games on the Paralympic committee's online television channel which the committee said set a new record with 50,000 viewers.