Friday’s broadcast of the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup brought in an average audience of more than 1.6 million viewers to the CBC in Canada, up 73% from the first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The audience peaked at just under 2.4 million viewers at 5:50 EST near the conclusion of the match between Brazil and Croatia.

CBC’s coverage also saw 400,000 people viewing the opening game on a digital platform. Overall a release from the pubcaster says the game reached more than 5.2 million Canadians during the first game.