Viewership numbers for the Lorie Kane Island Challenge were released yesterday by TSN in Toronto.
The program was broadcast on October 4 and 5 in prime time slots and twice more in off prime positions. The cumulative viewership for the first two airings was in excess of one million viewers.
"The number of viewers for the Lorie Kane Island Challenge was on par with other major golf events we've broadcast," says Kieth Pelley, TSN's Senior Vice President of Programming and Production. "We also heard from a lot of viewers who said they enjoyed the opportunity to watch the players showcase their skills on a great Canadian golf course."
Minister of Tourism, Greg Deighan, noted, "Obviously, we are extremely pleased with the response to the broadcast to date. To have over a million viewers tuned in to see Lorie and her friends play some great golf on her home turf is absolutely marvelous. We're also anxiously awaiting the results of the US broadcasts of the event on the Oxygen Network in October, November and December."
Minister Deighan explained that Tourism PEI was especially pleased to see that the broadcast of the event attracted a significant number of adults in the 25-54 age bracket.
"A large percentage of people who watched the Lorie Kane (Island Challenge) on TSN were in our primary target audience, and to be able to reach so many of them with such a positive PEI message is invaluable," noted Minister Deighan.
"Each two hour segment of the four hour broadcast in Canada and the US included a three minute PEI infomercial that we produced. This, coupled with the media value of the actual broadcasts, will give a very substantial impact, not only for golf on PEI, but for PEI as a tourist destination in general. Once all the airing dates have occurred, my department will evaluate the overall media value to the Island," continued Deighan.
"This is only a partial picture of the numbers at this point. It has certainly exceeded our goals already and the US broadcasts haven't even happened yet," concluded Minister Deighan.