A turbulent year for Canadian broadcasters and advertisers reveals major sporting finals still pulled in the biggest TV audiences in 2014.
Full-year ratings from Numeris underline the continuing dominance of the Super Bowl, which was the most watched Canadian TV tentpole on CTV and RDS with 7.9 million viewers. The 2014 Oscars on CTV came in second in the Canadian TV rankings with 6.4 million viewers, followed closely by the gold medal hockey game at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi in third place on the CBC with 5.7 million viewers.
Read more ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Remains Canada’s Most Watched TV Show
The CBC also drew 4.9 million eyeballs for the FIFA 2014 World Cup soccer competition final between Germany and Argentina. The CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, has looked to one-off TV events like the Olympics and the World Cup for ratings, while rivals like Bell Media and Rogers Media fuel a sports rights boom for pro leagues such as the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA.
That included Rogers paying $5.2 billion for a 12-year deal with the NHL to please advertisers targeting hockey-mad Canadians. On the scripted TV front, The Big Bang Theory was the top-rated comedy north of the border, pulling in an average 2.7 million viewers for CTV, according to Numeris.
Gotham, also on CTV, was the top-rated drama in 2014 with 2.6 million. And the second season of The Amazing Race Canada on CTV was the most watched reality TV show.
