The Canadian Football League saw a major increase in television viewers for Semi-Final Saturday in 2024.
Year-over-year the average for both games jumped 41.7 percent. The East Semi-Final was up 51.4 percent while the West Semi-Final increased 33.1 percent. At BMO Field, the Argonauts took apart the Redblacks 58-38 while the Roughriders knocked out the B.C. Lions 28-19 at Mosaic Stadium.
Chad Kelly completed 18-of-20 passes for 358 yards with four touchdowns in the win, while Tarvarus McFadden and Benjie Franklin scored defensive touchdowns for the Double Blue. Dru Brown completed 46-of-61 passes for 487 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.
Saskatchewan QB Trevor Harris completed 26-of-33 passes for 279 yards with one touchdown while A.J. Ouellette rushed 14 times for 70 yards and two majors. After leading the league in takeaways during the regular season, Marcus Sayles, Nelson Lokombo and Rolan Milligan Jr. intercepted Vernon Adams Jr. for the Riders.
The West Semi-Final went against Hockey Night in Canada’s 7 p.m. ET window, which drew 1,225,700, and faired well. Both CFL games produced a higher number than Thursday Night Football, 778,600, as Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns passes to lead the New York Jets to a 21-13 win over between the Houston Texans on Halloween. The three-down league topped Sunday Night Football on TSN, 748,600, featuring the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings as well.
2024 CFL Semi-Final TV ratings:
Saturday
Ottawa at Toronto — TSN and CTV 867,200
B.C. at Saskatchewan — TSN 858,400
Average: 862,800
2023:
Saturday
Hamilton at Montreal — TSN 572,700 and RDS 271,000
Calgary at B.C. — 644,800
Average: 608,750 (French included: 744,250)
2022:
Hamilton at Montreal — 516,200
Calgary at B.C. — 753,500
Average: 634,850
2021:
Montreal at Hamilton — 684,000
Calgary at Saskatchewan — 1,061,000
Average: 872,500
2019:
Edmonton at Montreal — 626,900 (RDS 405,000)
Winnipeg at Calgary — 1,100,800 (RDS 75,000)
Average: 863,850
2018:
B.C. at Hamilton — 697,800
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan — 1,280,000
Average: 988,900
2017:
Saskatchewan at Ottawa — 975,000
Edmonton at Winnipeg — 1,128,000
Average: 1,051,500
