CANADIAN OLYMPICS BROADCASTER REPORTS RECORD RATINGS

The media group broadcasting the Summer Olympics in Canada, the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (also known as CTV Olympics), is reporting a 74-percent increase in viewers compared to its audience for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It also noted on Thursday that 28 million Canadians, representing 83.4 percent of the population, have watched at least some part of the Olympics telecasts. “We are very pleased with the results of our coverage thus far,” Adam Ashton, president of the CTV said in a statement. “With all Consortium platforms showing growth over the first few days of the Games, we are confident that, with many marquee events and top medal contenders still to come, we will continue to achieve new standards for a Summer Games.” Unlike the U.S., Canada is airing major events live whenever they occur, then airing repeats during primetime. Some viewers in the U.S. have subscribed to proxies or virtual private networks that allow them to access the CTVOlympics.ca website, which is carrying events that are blacked out in the U.S. The CTV said that the number of viewers to its website is running 11 percent higher than the number for the Vancouver Winter Olympics two years ago, perhaps helped by its American viewers.