Record Growth Numbers Accelerate as Canadian Elite Basketball League's Sixth Season Takes Flight

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.

- CEBL -

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.