Audiences Surge with Raptors in the Playoffs

The Raptors have entered the finals for the first time since the league was formed in 1995 and tv audiences are surging as a result.

As they are the only NBA team in all of Canada, they are the most watched team represented by the Canadians. “We the North” has become a national phenomenon instead of just a team slogan.

On Sunday June 2nd they competed in their second game in the NBA finals. After their stellar performance in the first game on May 30, Sunday nights game easily became the most-watched NBA game on record in Canada.  As media planners and buyers, we’re fascinated to watch this unfold.

According to TSN Canada more than 10 million unique Canadian viewers watched Warriors’ 109-104 win over the Raptors on Sunday. Game 2 ranks as the second-highest English-language sports broadcast of both the broadcast and calendar years, behind only the SUPER BOWL.

Also, according to TSN, the Raptors continue to break all-time audience records during this unforgettable season, having broken the record for most-watched regular season NBA game with DeMar DeRozan’s emotional return to Toronto on TSN.

The game itself was packed with the loyal fans, regular season ticket holder and many celebrities attended the Sunday night game including Barack Obama, Shawn Mendes, Alecia Cara who also sang the national anthem and of course Drake.

Fans who couldn’t secure tickets to this expensive game were lined up outside the Jurassic park in Downtown Toronto located at the Maple Leaf Square. Even though the gates open at 7pm, by noon about 100 people were already lined up.

The Raptors are competing against the six-time champions the Golden State Warriors. They were the champions in 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018. The raptors are under immense pressure to break their 3 years in a row win streak in 2019.

As of right now the series is at 1-1, the Raptors head to California for the next two games. The third game is today (June 5th, 2019) and we can’t wait to cheer on our Canadian team, and extend pride in our clients commercials airing in the game.

Written with care by Upasana Dhawan