The Canadian Football League posted solid English-language television ratings for this year’s division final games.
The Argonauts dispatched the Alouettes in the East Final by a score of 34-27 as the dual threat of Andrew Harris and A.J. Ouellette generated 163 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The game was also broadcast by RDS, TSN’s French-language affiliate, though those ratings are not available.
Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke could not take down the two-time defending Grey Cup champions in the West Final, losing 28-20 at IG Field in Winnipeg. The 24-year-old has NFL workouts lined up for next week, while the Blue Bombers have travelled to Regina for the 109th Grey Cup where they are six-point favourites over Toronto.
These English numbers are a 16.6 percent decrease from last year, though Montreal, who draw an audience on RDS, did not play in the 2021 East Final. Previous reports have indicated that the Alouettes draw an average audience of approximately 200,000 per game on RDS. If that were the case this past weekend, ratings would have dropped by 7.4 percent.
The featured 4 p.m. ET NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers drew 721,000 viewers on CTV as Christian Watson, the brother of CFL linebacker Tre Watson, caught three touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers. The NFL’s 1 p.m. ET slot on CTV garnered an average audience of 695,000, though the matchups varied by region.
Sunday Night Football between the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers brought in 607,000 viewers on CTV2 and TSN combined as Christian McCaffrey put up 87 yards and one touchdown in a 22-16 victory.
The West Final was the No. 1 rated English sports broadcast of the day with the NFL taking up the next three spots and the East Final checking in at five.
Divisional finals TV ratings 2022:
Montreal at Toronto — 629,000
B.C. at Winnipeg — 1,200,000
Average: 914,500
Division finals TV ratings 2021:
Hamilton at Toronto — 846,000
Saskatchewan at Winnipeg — 1,346,000
Average: 1,096,000
Division finals TV ratings 2019:
Edmonton at Hamilton — 898,400
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan — 1,631,900
Average: 1,265,150
Division finals TV ratings 2018:
Hamilton at Ottawa — 729,000
Winnipeg at Calgary — 1,222,030
Average: 974,650
Division finals TV ratings 2017:
Saskatchewan at Toronto — 1,406,000
Edmonton at Calgary — 1,337,000
Average: 1,371,500
Division finals TV ratings 2016:
Edmonton at Ottawa — 1,178,100
B.C. at Calgary– 1,049,000
Average: 1,113,550
