Record Growth Numbers Accelerate as Canadian Elite Basketball League's Sixth Season Takes Flight
Published on June 12, 2024 under Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) News Release
The Canadian Elite Basketball League's (CEBL) sixth season has launched the same way its fifth season ended - posting record growth numbers across the business.
The year-over-year accension from the same time frame and number of games from 2023's opening weeks includes a 41 per cent increase in league-wide attendance numbers (70,308) and a 189 per cent spike in viewership on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor. The league's 2,717,089 social media impressions throughout Opening Week powered by Neo Financial represented a 113 per cent increase from the same period last season.
Home opener attendance numbers were also up 31 per cent from 2023 as two of the three highest-attended CEBL games ever took place over the course of four days. The largest single-game crowd in league history tipped off the season May 21 when 12,327 CEBL fans filed into Scotiabank Saddledome to see the Calgary Surge and Edmonton Stingers. The Winnipeg Sea Bears followed that up three days later with the third largest single-game crowd ever for a CEBL game, hosting 9,116 fans May 24 in their home opener against the Scarborough Shooting Stars at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg holds the CEBL single-game playoff attendance record of 10,580 fans (Aug. 4/23 vs. Edmonton).
Record growth highlights from the start of the 2024 CEBL season include:
Attendance
41% increase in total attendance over 2023
31% increase in home openers league-wide over 2023
League record 12,327 fans at Calgary Surge vs. Edmonton Stingers season-opening game May 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome
Third largest crowd ever for a CEBL game (9,116) at Winnipeg Sea Bears home opener May 24 vs. Scarborough Shooting Stars at Canada Life Centre
Livestream & Video-On-Demand
Total CEBL+ viewership up 189% over 2023
Video-on-demand impressions up 159% over 2023
652% increase in CEBL+ subscribers in May 2024 compared to May 2023
NOTE: Viewership numbers from CEBL broadcast partners (TSN, TSN+, RDS, RDS.ca, Game+, Courtside 1891 & NLSE) will be available at a later date.
Social Media
2,717,089 impressions (113% higher than opening week in 2023)
4.5% engagement rate (3x higher than industry standard for sports leagues)
4.3% overall growth
67.1% net weekly audience growth (week-over-week)
Website
119,207 page views (31% higher than opening week in 2023)
68,896 unique visitors
More than 50 CEBL games will be broadcast live nationally on TSN and Game+ this season, with an additional eight games in French on RDS. Fans can also livestream all regular season, playoff and Championship Weekend games on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+ and the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Next Level Sports & Entertainment - The U.S. Home for CEBL, will pick up 40 CEBL games for its U.S. audience in 2024, while international streaming service, Courtside1891, will carry 27 games for subscribers outside of North America.
Ticket information for all CEBL games, including single-game tickets for 2024, can be found by visiting cebl.ca/tickets.
Canadian Elite Basketball League Stories from June 12, 2024
- Record Growth Numbers Accelerate as Canadian Elite Basketball League's Sixth Season Takes Flight - CEBL
- Brampton Native Newby Signs with Hometown Honey Badgers - Brampton Honey Badgers
- Honey Badgers Look to Even Season Series against Rattlers in Saskatoon - Brampton Honey Badgers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
