CBC closes Olympics on a ratings high

Sunday morning's Gold medal hockey game was watched by an average audience of more than 8.5 million, with half that number staying to watch the Closing Ceremony live.

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games closed to big ratings on Sunday, with an average audience of more than 8.5 million tuning in to see the Canadian men’s hockey team take home the Gold medal against Sweden. The game was played across five networks, the CBC, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, TSN and TSN2.

Viewers tuning into the game peaked at 9:19 a.m., with 12 million tuning in to see the final seconds of the game tick down. Overall, approximately 90% of English television viewership from 7:10 to 9:10 a.m. (ET) was tuned into the game, that number climbed to 97% in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria, where the game started between 4:10 and 5:10 a.m.

Following the game, an average audience of 10.7 million tuned into the medal ceremony, with 13.5 million Canadians tuning in for at least part of the program.

The Closing Ceremony was watched live by an average audience of 4.6 million, with 12 million tuning in for at least part of the show.

Overall, the CBC reports that more than 33.3 million Canadians (or 95% of the population) tuned into its coverage of the Olympics at least in part, between Feb. 6 and 23. Those numbers include a record-breaking streaming audience for the pubcaster, with more than 625,000 watching the Canadian men’s hockey team take on the US on Friday over the lunch hour.

Photo: SOCHI, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 23: Gold medalists Carey Price #31, Patrice Bergeron #37, Mike Smith #41, Marc-Edouard Vlasic #44, Rick Nash #61, P.K. Subban #76, Jeff Carter #77 and Sidney Crosby #87 of Canada celebrate during the medal ceremony after defeating Sweden 3-0 during the Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal match on Day 16 of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)