2012 Year-End Summary: As New Data Shows 85% of Canadians Watch Sports Each Month, TSN Remains Canadian Sports Leader in Audience, Production, and Viewer Engagement

2012 Year-End Summary: As New Data Shows 85% of Canadians Watch Sports Each Month, TSN Remains Canadian Sports Leader in Audience, Production, and Viewer Engagement


- Majority of Canadians watch a live sporting event every week -

- TSN is the #1 specialty channel in Canada and the top digital
destination for sports fans -

- TSN set audience increases and record ratings for key properties
including GREY CUP, NHL Playoffs, UEFA EURO 2012, and coverage of
Canada's women's soccer team-



To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/UJSa98


TORONTO, Dec. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - With new data from BBM Canada showing
that the vast majority of Canadians watch sports on television each
month, TSN wraps up a milestone 2012 with increased audiences for key
properties, world-class production, and enhanced viewer engagement that
further solidifies its position as Canada Sports Leader.



Led by its industry-leading coverage of the biggest events in sports and
broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets, highlights for TSN in 2012
include the 100(th) GREY CUP, London 2012 Olympic Games, the IIHF World Junior
Championship, UEFA EURO 2012, and the acclaimed documentary series
ENGRAVED ON A NATION.


Sports Viewing in Canada

Overall, sports viewing remains one of the primary reasons Canadians
watch television - with new audience data from BBM Canada confirming
that more than two thirds of men, women, and children in Canada (22.6
million) watch a live sporting event on television in the average week,
while 85% of all Canadians watch sports on television every single
month. Over the course of a full year, more than 99% of the TV viewing
population watches sports at some point. Meanwhile,



-- TSN is the most-watched specialty channel in Canada
-- TSN's overall audience is 62% higher than its closest
competitor
-- TSN reached 30 million Canadians in 2012
-- TSN platforms delivered more than 5,000 hours of live sports
programming in 2012
-- TSN has produced more than 2,500 hours of original Canadian
programming

TSN Audience Highlights


-- TSN is the fourth most-watched channel on Canadian television
following CTV, Global, and CBC
-- TSN2 is Canada's most-watched sports digital network and third
most-watched sports channel
-- 100th GREY CUP-TSN'sbroadcast set an audience record with an
average audience of
5.4 million
viewers, making it the most-watched GREY CUP ever on
English-language television, and marking a 26% increase over
the previous year
-- Canada's women's soccer team - an average of
3.84 million
Canadians watched Team Canada's dramatic semifinal game against
the United States on TSN (2.35 million), CTV, and V during
London 2012
-- CFL-regular season audiences on TSN were up 6% compared to 2011
-- CFL Playoffs- overall, more than 8.3 million Canadians tuned in
to watch some of the 100th GREY CUP PLAYOFFS on TSN
-- MLS- debut of Montreal Impact against Vancouver Whitecaps FC
was the most-watched MLS game ever in Canada with 500,000
viewers on TSN and RDS
-- NFL- audiences on TSN are up 8% compared to last season
-- NHL Playoffs-audiences on TSN were up 6%compared to last season
-- TRADECENTRE '12-
2.7 million
unique viewers tuned in at some point during the eight-hour
TRADECENTRE '12 broadcast
-- UEFA EURO 2012- an average of nearly
3 million
Canadians watched the final of UEFA EURO 2012 on TSN and RDS,
making it the most watched EURO final ever
-- U.S. OPEN - nearly
500,000
Canadians watched Canada's Milos Raonic take on Andy Murray in
the 4th round, making it the most-watched U.S. OPEN match ever
on TSN
-- Wimbledon - the historic Gentlemen's Championship on TSN was
the most-watched final ever on Canadian television, up
20%
compared to the previous high

TSN Acquisitions and Extensions

-- MLSE properties - Bell officially acquired an ownership position in Maple Leaf Sports &
Entertainment (MLSE) in August after receiving all regulatory and
sports league approvals. As part of the transaction, TSN secures long
term content rights for high profile professional sports teams, the
Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Marlies, and Toronto FC, with:



-- 50% of regional Maple Leafs games - giving TSN approximately 16
more games per season than its current broadcast schedule
-- 50% of regular season Toronto Raptors games
-- 50% of regional Toronto FC games
-- TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto
has live radio broadcast rights to half of all Toronto Maple
Leafs games and will have broadcast rights to 50% of all
Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and Marlies games once current
broadcast deals expire

-- AUSTRALIAN OPEN- TSN secured a multi-year rights extension that will see Canada's
Sports Leader broadcast the season-opening Grand Slam through to 2021.
TSN continues to be the home of all of tennis' marquee Grand Slam
events including the FRENCH OPEN, WIMBLEDON and U.S. OPEN.


-- BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE-TSN secured media rights to a comprehensive soccer package over the next
three seasons that gives TSN media rights to half of all games through
to the 2015-16 season. The deal begins in 2013-14 and includes almost
190 games per season - more than tripling the network's current Premier
League package up from 50 games per season.


TSN Digital Platforms  



-- TSN.ca and its mobile
platforms will register more than 2.3 billion page views in
2012
-- The
TSN Play of the Year: Hockey Edition
received over 1.5 million votes to help crown Ondrej Pavelec's
stunning save as the TSN Play of the Year
-- TSN added four new and improved
Fantasy Sportsthat
attracted more than 250,000 players across Canada
-- The
TSN Windows 8 App
launched in November
-- TheTSN Xtra App
debuted on Bell Fibe TV in November
-- The popular
JAY & DAN PODCAST is
currently the #1 sports audio podcast in iTunes after debuting
in September

TSN Social Media


-- On Twitter, TSN's
Bob McKenzie
has close to 450,000 followers - more than any other media
personality in Canada. TSN's
Darren Dreger
is a close second with 354,200.
-- TSN's Facebook Page
has more than 420,000 'Likes' - a 56% increase in 'Likes'
compared to 2011 - and nearly double the combined 'Likes' of
its closest competitors
-- In 2012, TSN's Facebook Page reached an average of 1.1 million
fans each week, peaking at more than 4.1 million fans during
the London 2012 Olympic Games

TSN Radio


-- TSN Radio 1050 becomes home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and
Marlies, with broadcast rights to half of all Maple Leafs and
Marlies games
-- National radio broadcaster for UEFA EURO 2012, BARCLAYS PREMIER
LEAGUE, and the 100th GREY CUP
-- TSN Radio in Montreal moved to 690 on AM dial for improved
transmission

TSN Brand Partnerships and Events


-- The Dominion All-Star Curling Skins Game-
The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company became title
sponsor of TSN's annual curling skins event in a new multi-year
curling partnership
-- Hockey Hall of Fame-
TSN is once again the official TV and radio broadcast partner
of the Hockey Hall of Fame through to 2022, as part of a new
10-year sponsorship agreement
-- Kraft Celebration Tour-The
annual summer tour has become a yearly highlight as
SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts live from 10 Canadian communities in 10
days
-- Kraft Hockey Goes On
- Kraft and TSN reached an exclusive media partnership for
Kraft Hockey Goes On, a program announced in November that will
recognize volunteers in the hockey community. The program
awards $1 million in prizes and donations to Hockey Canada
affiliated minor hockey associations across the country.
-- Purolator Tackles Hunger-returned
to TSN for its 10th season with
Chris Schultz
as spokesperson. The program exceeded its goal of helping to
collect the equivalent of one million pounds of food.
-- Wendy's Kick for a Million-
The popular integrated CFL promotion returned for an eighth
successful year generating more than 14 million online entries

ENGRAVED ON A NATION

TSN's acclaimed eight-part original documentary series ENGRAVED ON A NATION celebrating the history of the Grey Cup was directed by some of
Canada's most accomplished and award-winning filmmakers. In total, 8.75 million Canadians watched some of ENGRAVED ON A NATION on Bell Media networks.
Commissioned by Bell Media, TSN's ambitious original documentary series
demonstrated how one of the oldest trophies in professional sport has
played an intrinsic role in shaping Canada's history and national
identity.


Industry Recognition


-- 2013 Paul Loicq Award-TSN's
Gord Miller was
honoured by the International Ice Hockey Federation for his
commitment and dedication to the World Juniors and 18 years of
broadcasting excellence with TSN
-- 5 To Watch-Shawn
Redmond, TSN's Vice-President of Programming, was named to the
list at the Celebration of Leadership in Canadian Sport
Business Awards
-- CFL: Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award
-Brian Williams
was honoured on Grey Cup Sunday for his contributions to the
CFL, the game of football, and Canada's sporting culture
-- iTunes Podcasts Best of 2012
-
CABBIE PRESENTS: THE PODCAST
and the
JAY & DAN PODCAST
were named best sports podcasts of 2012 by the iTunes editorial
team
-- Mental Health-
Michael Landsberg
was recognized for his ongoing commitment to the mental health
community with the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario Hero
Inspiration Award and the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness
and Mental Health Champions Award
-- Shorty Award-
TSN'sCheck-In App for Facebook
was shortlisted by the Shorty Industry Awards, widely
considered as the epitome of social media accolades
-- Sports Media Canada
- Rod Smith was
honoured with the Excellence in Sports Broadcasting award for
his work on the London 2012 Olympic Games

Impact of NHL Lockout

Audiences on TSN were down slightly in the Fall due to the lack of NHL
programming on TSN. Fortunately the depth and breadth of TSN's
broadcast schedule allowed the network to capitalize on additional
programming opportunities that drove audiences for viewers and
advertisers. Even without NHL games, TSN delivered a strong fall
schedule that included NASCAR Sprint for the Cup, NFL Monday and Sunday
night games, and CFL playoff games. TSN complemented its schedule with
new programming that included expanded coverage of the MLS Playoffs,
CANADA CUP OF CURLING, VANIER CUP, NCAA Football, and ESPN programming,
including prime time broadcasts of the acclaimed 30 For 30 documentary
series.


About TSN

TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad
portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content
across industry-leading platforms including TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN Radio and TSN Mobile TV. Official broadcaster of the Grey Cup,
IIHF World Junior Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015,
TSN's slate of live sports coverage includes NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS,
Season of Champions Curling, UEFA Euro 2016, MLB Sunday Night Baseball,
Barclays Premier League, Golf's Majors, NASCAR Sprint Cup and
Nationwide Series, F1, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate
Canada events. TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE
Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.



Sources: BBM Canada and Omniture


SOURCE TSN

TSN

CONTACT: Greg McIsaac, (w) 416.384.5180, (c) 416.458.3591, greg.mcisaac@bellmedia.ca
Chobi Liang, (w) 416.384.7584, (c) 416.859.4738, chobi.liang@bellmedia.ca
Renee Rouse, (w) 416.384.7599, (c) 416.428.4807, renee.rouse@bellmedia.caTwitter: @TSN_PR


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