by Dave Stewart.
If television ratings are any indication, The Sports Network (TSN) would love to come back to Charlottetown.
The 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts was the most-watched Scotties ever for the network, which has been broadcasting the event live through the week for the past 25 years.
“It was fantastic,’’ Greg McIsaac, director of communications for TSN, told The Guardian in an email on Tuesday. “Scotties and Prince Edward Island put on quite a show, again.’’
It was the third time Charlottetown has hosted the national women’s curling championship. Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones captured the 1999 championship title at the Civic Centre while Manitoba’s Connie Laliberte took the crown in 1984 at the Charlottetown Forum.
TSN broadcast more than 60 hours of live curling during the Scotties, Feb. 9-17.
McIsaac said TSN averaged a record 510,000 viewers during each of the draws.
The numbers were even better for the final.
The final between Amber Holland’s Saskatchewan rink and Jennifer Jones’ Team Canada averaged 1.08 million viewers, making it the second most-watched final ever in Scotties history.[editor’s note: last year’s final between Jennifer Jones and PEI’s Kathy O’Rourke rink was the most-watched final ever, attracting an average of 1.2 million viewers].
“Scotties and Prince Edward Island put on quite a show, again.’’ – Greg McIsaac, TSN
Audience levels peaked at more than 1.7 million as Saskatchewan captured its first national women’s title in more than a decade.
McIsaac said people should also note that the record number of viewers stuck with curling despite the fact the Academy Awards’ broadcast overlapped the Scotties final.
Click for full story in The Guardian.
Photo: Team P.E.I. skip Suzanne Birt calls a shot during the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in February.