The trials posed by the COVID-19 pandemic did not hamper The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship from achieving new heights of international success. There is not much to be said as the results from the tournament speak for themselves. Let’s take a look back at the results, yes?
The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship was the first major international sports event hosted during a pandemic. The event not only reached its Canadian fans but worldwide fans as well. In Canada, an average of 1.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the live games on TV. The 2021 World Junior Championship aired on TSN Sports became the most-watched event since 2015. It piqued 13.5 million Canadian viewers’ attention, an equivalent of 36% of Canada’s population.
Internationally, 12 countries broadcasted at least one game, and over 100 million viewers worldwide tuned in to watch. Also, Russia’s Channel One had 15 million viewers watching the quarter-final game between Russia and Germany.
The event not only left a memorable impact on television audiences but on social media fans as well. A total of 162.9 million impressions and 7.1 million engagements were generated on Hockey Canada and IIHF’s social media channels. Moreover, 22 million page views got registered on IIHF.com; this number marks a 70.58% increment from the total page views registered in 2020.
In so many ways, the world’s top junior hockey tournament proved worth the IIHF and Hockey Canada’s efforts to bring the event to life. It proved to be a worthwhile investment, too; the 50/50 online jackpot generated over CAD$38 million in total sales. The raised funds would be used to finance projects involving ordinary people in society.
We can all agree that the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship was undeniably a huge success, right? Despite being held when restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were still effective, the event achieved big numbers and entertained fans at the comfort of their own homes.