RT MORE POPULAR IN CANADA THAN SKY NEWS

MOSCOW, JUNE 14, 2012 – Across Canada’s major metropolitan areas, over 100,000 people watch RT daily – more than watch Sky News and other leading international channels, a recent study has revealed.

According to a survey conducted by TNS Canada, RT’s daily audience in Canada leads that of Sky News, Euronews, Deutsche Welle, NHK, Press TV and France 24. For example, it’s almost triple the viewers of Euronews, nearly double Britain’s Sky News and more than 11 times higher than France 24. RT’s audience is also more loyal than most, showing more interest in staying with the channel after first switching on. Of the viewers who watched RT once, nearly one in three started watching the channel on a daily basis. This represents higher audience retention than that achieved by any other channel, except for Canada’s own CTV News Channel and CBC News Network. Furthermore, along with these two leading Canadian channels, RT leads all other channels in the level of monthly audience that watches daily. More than 72% of the surveyed population considers the news coverage of such mainstream outlets as BBC News, CNN and CBC News Network to contain at least some bias, especially in coverage of the developments concerning the USA and the Middle East. At the same time, survey responders named RT’s different take on the news compared to the mainstream media, diversity of programming, and its high informational content as RT’s main comparative advantages vis-à-vis other channels. “This was our first Canadian survey and its results are a pleasant surprise. Most Canadian residents aren’t just tired of the mainstream media, they stopped trusting the information they receive from it and many have chosen our channel as the alternative,” said RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan. The study says RT’s average Canadian viewer is male, 25-34 years of age, with a higher education and average income level. More than 5 million people can now access RT across Canada, since the channel launched its round-the-clock broadcasts on 9 TV broadcast operators, including IPTV provider, Roku. The survey was conducted by TNS Canada in November 2011. Over 4,000 interviews were completed via Internet Panel among a sample of adults in metropolitan areas with populations of 100,000 and over. The Canadian division of TNS is one of the largest marketing and social research services networks in Canada.