Early numbers for the 52-game FIFA U-20 tournament are up to expectations, says network sports boss Scott Moore, and should build as the games progress.

Canada’s first game of the FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament drew a respectable 459,000 viewers to CBC on July 1, despite airing over the busy Canada Day long weekend. Airing at 7:30 p.m., the game, which saw the Canadians lose 3-0 to Chile, peaked at 551,000 viewers, according to BBM Nielsen.

The 52-game tournament, hosted by cities including Toronto, Victoria, Edmonton and Montreal, got underway on June 30, with the Poland/Brazil game generating 188,000 viewers at 2 p.m. for CBC, while 244,000 soccer fans tuned in to see Argentina take on the Czech Republic at 7 p.m. The 2007 tournament marks the first time CBC has broadcast FIFA U-20 games since its inception.

‘We’re very happy with the ratings for the U-20 so far,’ CBC Sports head Scott Moore tells Playback Daily. ‘These are in line with our expectations and we believe the numbers will grow as the tournament moves along.’

Also airing on the Canada Day long weekend was CTV’s broadcast of the Concert for Diana, which was watched in part by 2.8 million viewers between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on July 1. The six-and-a-half-hour broadcast averaged 519,000 viewers, and came six days before Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis on July 7. Ratings for Live Earth were not available at press time.