Guelph/Fraser Valley – The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) revealed Wednesday the official broadcast viewership, media reach, and digital growth metrics for the CEBL Summer Series held in St. Catharines, Ontario from July 25 to August 9, 2020. The league saw a record 1.2 million viewers across Canada tune in to four days of live television programming on CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster.* The 26 games provided by CBC Sports were among the top live-streamed sports events on cbcsports.ca and the free CBC Gem streaming service this summer.** Additionally, 120,000+ viewers experienced the CEBL Summer Series on the global streaming platform, Twitch.
Games featuring the Guelph Nighthawks and Ottawa BlackJacks were also carried live on radio stations CJOY 1460 in Guelph and TSN 1200 in Ottawa to serve more than 180,000 listeners collectively in the Guelph and Ottawa/Gatineau regions.
When the CEBL Summer Series tipped off July 25 it became the first professional sports league in Canada to return to play since the mid-March outbreak of the COVID-19 virus shut down sports across the country. Games were broadcast live nationally on CBC, CBC Gem, and on cbcports.ca as part of a three-year partnership between CBC Sports and the CEBL.
The CEBL also received widespread international attention as games were carried to more than 130 million people through distribution agreements in Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan by MEDIAPRO Canada, the international media rights and production partner of the CEBL.
In addition, the league and its seven teams also saw a net social media audience growth of 395% while receiving more than 15 million organic content impressions during the months of July and August. The official hashtag, #OurGame, was mentioned 135,423 times across all digital and social channels while social media engagement grew by 326%.
Traditional media coverage also saw a 35% year-over-year growth as more than 320 stories published worldwide featured the CEBL Summer Series for an estimated audience reach of 38.4 million.
A full viewership report on the CEBL Summer Series can be accessed via the link here.
The CEBL is currently preparing for its third season which is scheduled to start in May 2021. CBC Sports will provide broadcast and streaming coverage of the 2021 season. The CEBL will be striving to expand upon its global carriage to deliver more games to Europe, Asia-Pacific, Asia, and the Americas.
