Burgundy on curling draws big TV numbers

It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it seems that a large number of folks didn’t seem to mind Ron Burgundy spending some time in the booth with Vic, Linda and Russ on TSN’s curling broadcast.

The opening draw of the Roar of the Rings – which featured Will Ferrell in character for two ends – drew and audience of 632,000. That’s an increase of 32 per cent over the opening draw for the same event in 2009. The viewership peaked about half-way through the broadcast when 900,000 people tuned in to watch. Those are huge numbers for a Sunday afternoon, especially when curling is up against NFL football and other sporting events. 

While the curling was certainly an attraction, it’s hard not to think that the appearance of Ron Burgundy – the Anchorman – helped boost the numbers. The show also attracted attention far and wide including reports in the media in the U.S. (here, here and here) and the United Kingdom (here).

The evening draw of the Canadian Curling Trials showed a significant drop in viewers, bringing in 302,000. That’s still a very good number especially on a Sunday night, typically the biggest TV viewing day of the week. Most of the biggest shows of the week air on Sunday.