Canadian television ratings for Super Bowl LIX fall 15 percent year-over-year

Photo: AP/Matt Slocum

Super Bowl LIX drew an average Canadian television audience of 8.5 million on Sunday, a 15 percent decrease from last year’s NFL championship game.

According to data published by TSN on its media relations account, 16.6 million viewers watched at least some part of the broadcast, which peaked with an audience of 9.6 million during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. Despite the viewership downturn on traditional television, the release indicated that TSN’s streaming audience was up 95 percent from last year to become the most-streamed broadcast in company history.

The game saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 40-22 to capture their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Jalen Hurts was named the game’s Most Valuable Player as he completed 17-of-22 pass attempts for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception and rushed 11 times for 72 yards and one score.

The Eagles dominated most of the contest, holding a 40-6 lead until late in the fourth quarter when Patrick Mahomes hit DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy for touchdowns. In total, Philadelphia’s defence recorded six sacks, two interceptions, and one fumble recovery. Josh Sweat was their most effective pass rusher as he made six total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits, while Cooper DeJean scored on a 38-yard pick-six near the midway point of the second quarter.

The broadcast, a simulcast of Fox, featured play-by-play from Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady and sideline reporting from Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.

Last year, Super Bowl LVIII set a new Canadian record with an average audience of 10 million across CTV, TSN, and RDS. The broadcast reached 19 million unique viewers and peaked at 12.6 million during the halftime show, which was headlined by hip-hop icon Usher. The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 25-22 in overtime to win a second straight Super Bowl as Patrick Mahomes was named the game’s MVP.

The 111th Grey Cup, which saw the Toronto Argonauts upset the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 41-24 in Vancouver, drew 3.5 million viewers across TSN, CTV, and RDS in November. The game reached 9.9 million unique viewers, with 4.3 million tuning in to watch the Jonas Brothers perform the halftime show.

This year’s Super Bowl was played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. with a crowd of 65,719. Kansas City was favoured to win by 1.5 points.