Grey Cup Ratings Set Record For English-Language TV; Average Audience Up 28%

TSN had “an average audience of 5.5 million viewers” for Sunday’s CFL Grey Cup between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders, “making the game the most-watched Cup recorded on English-language television,” according to Terry Koshan of the TORONTO SUN. Including viewership on French-language net RDS, there was “an average audience of 5.8 million viewers, a 28% increase compared to last year.” More than 13 million Canadians, or “more than one in three, tuned in at some point" on TSN and RDS to watch the game. For the halftime show that featured rock band Marianas Trench and singers Gordon Lightfoot, Carly Rae Jepsen and Justin Bieber, there was “an average audience of 6.1 million” (TORONTO SUN, 11/27). The CP noted a new ratings measurement system in '09 "caused sports TV ratings to skyrocket." The '12 Grey Cup's overall average “falls short of the 6.1 million total viewers who watched Montreal beat Saskatchewan shortly after the new system was introduced” (CP, 11/26).