From George Michael and the Spice Girls to Queen and The Who, the London 2012 Olympic Games came to a record-breaking close as an average of 7.5 million Canadians rocked out with athletes from around the world. The LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY becomes the most-watched Summer Olympics broadcast on record in Canada. The 4 p.m. ET broadcast was watched on average by 5.1 million viewers on CTV alone, more than three times the audience of the ATHENS 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY.
Reaching nearly 17 million Canadians in total, the conclusion of the Games marked yet another day of gold medal audiences for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. In all, Canadians watched a total of 662 million hours of coverage throughout the 2012 Games, with the average viewer consuming almost 21 hours of content during London 2012. An additional 3.4 million hours of content was viewed at CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca, while more than 1.1 million CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps were downloaded.
“Our broadcast of the London 2012 Olympic Games has proved to be record-setting,” said Adam Ashton, President, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. “Audiences like these set a new benchmark for Summer Olympic Games broadcasts in our country. Thank you to the athletes for allowing us to share their stories with the nation. We have them to thank for our success.”
An incredible 31.9 million Canadians, or 95% of the population, watched coverage on Consortium channels from the start of London 2012, with viewing up a remarkable 88%* over Beijing 2008. Anaverage of 2.1 million viewers tuned in throughout Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium’s 22 hours of daily coverage, and overall, television viewing in Canada increased 13% during the Games versus the same days last year. London 2012 event viewership peaked on Sunday, Aug. 5 as Usain Bolt ran to his first gold of the London 2012 Olympic Games in the 100m final, with online viewership peaking on Thursday, Aug. 9 with 2.5 million site visits and 1.9 million video views as the Canadian Women’s soccer team won bronze, and Usain Bolt made history with his second repeat gold medal performance.
CTV won daytime and prime time on every day of the Games, with both total viewers and in the key demos of A25-54 and A18-49. TSN also saw ratings growth, increasing its full-day audience to become the second most-watched network in Canada throughout the Games, with Sportsnet ranking #4 and RDS #5, both ahead of CBC.
Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium delivered more than 5,550 hours of coverage of the 2012 Games, with events available across the Consortium’s platforms, consisting of CTV, RDS, TSN, Sportsnet, OMNI.1, OMNI.2, OLN, V, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca.
Most-Watched 2012 Summer Games Events:
| Rank | Average Audience | Event | Networks | Date |
| 1. | 6.2 million | Athletics: Men’s 100m Final | CTV, V and RDS | Sunday, Aug. 5 |
| 2. | 3.8 million | Women’s Soccer Semi-Final: CAN/USA | TSN, CTV and V | Monday, Aug. 6 |
| 3. | 3.1 million | Athletics: Men’s 1500m Semi-Final | CTV and V | Sunday, Aug. 5 |
| 4. | 3 million | Swimming: Women’s 50m Freestyle Final | CTV and RDS | Saturday, Aug. 4 |
| 5. | 3 million | Athletics: Women’s 400m Hurdles (Round 1) | CTV and V | Sunday, Aug. 5 |
| 6. | 2.9 million | Swimming: Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final | CTV and RDS | Saturday, Aug. 4 |
| 7. | 2.8 million | Swimming: Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final | CTV and RDS | Saturday, Aug. 4 |
| 8. | 2.7 million | Athletics: Men’s 200m Final | CTV, V and RDS | Thursday, Aug. 9 |
| 9. | 2.6 million | Women’s Beach Volleyball Quarter-Final: CZE/USA | CTV | Sunday, Aug. 5 |
| 10. | 2.5 million | Cycling: Men’s Omnium 15km Scratch Race | CTV and RDS | Sunday, Aug. 5 |
Most-Watched Video Clips of the 2012 Summer Games:
