Raptors banner night breaks Canadian television record

It’s been four months since the Toronto Raptors won their first-ever NBA championship, but they’re still breaking Canadian television records.

Tuesday’s season opener was the most-watched NBA regular season game in Canadian history, as fans tuned in to see the Raptors receive their championship rings and raise a new banner to the rafters at Scotiabank Arena.

 

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Approximately 2.6 million viewers watched all or part of the Raptors game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sportsnet One. The game, which the Raptors won 130-122 in overtime, attracted an average audience of 774,000 viewers, up 39% from their 2018 opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The record-breaking night follows the most-watched NBA playoff game in Canadian history, when an average audience of 7.7 million viewers tuned into Game 6 of the NBA Finals on TSN. The Raptors certainly captured the attention of the country last spring, with 56% of the Canadian population (20.5 million viewers) watching all or part of the NBA Finals.