The Canadian Football League’s run of six straight weeks with an increase in television ratings to start the 2023 season has come to an end, but Week 7 still produced over 500,000 average viewers.
It finished with a barnburner at McMahon Stadium as the Redblacks became the first team in CFL history to record consecutive overtime wins led by rookie quarterback Dustin Crum. However, Ottawa’s showdown with the Stampeders ended up being the lowest-rated game of the four with just under a half-million onlookers.
The Canadian women’s soccer team opened its 2023 World Cup Thursday night at 10:30 p.m. eastern time, drawing 1,499,700 eyeballs on TSN and CTV. That scoreless tie with Nigeria provided some competition for the CFL’s Thursday nighter, Elks vs. Blue Bombers.
There was no head-to-head competition throughout the weekend for the three-down league from Canada’s Major League Baseball team because the Blue Jays started at 10:10 p.m. ET on Friday night in Seattle and 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. That timing surely helped the CFL attract more attention in its timeslots on the same days.
The Argonauts and Tiger-Cats rivalry game had the most viewers in the 25-54 age demographic of any CFL game in Week 7 with 220,600. Edmonton and Winnipeg had 171,500 in the same category while the Redblacks and Stamps pulled 166,300 with the Roughriders and Lions getting 163,600.
2023 Week 7 TV ratings:
Thursday
Edmonton at Winnipeg — 517,200
Friday
Toronto at Hamilton — 563,500
Saturday
Saskatchewan at B.C. — 574,600
Sunday
Ottawa at Calgary — 499,100
Total Week 7 average: 538,600
