As 2015 comes to a close, 12-month data from Numeris highlights what Canadians have been watching on television over the past calendar year. Once again, live television events are the most-watched, led by sports championships and awards broadcasts. Among sports tournament broadcasts, we love American and Canadian football, junior and pro hockey, baseball and soccer – but curling and golf too. For regularly scheduled programming, while we wholeheartedly embrace competition series, we prefer dramas over comedies. On specialty, Justin Bieber roasts, red carpet pre-shows, and all things zombie rank high, along with fantasy and historical dramas (and yet more competition series). Meanwhile, the television program Canadians watch the most is an original production showcasing our country.
Below is a closer look at the most-watched TV broadcasts and programs Canadians watched in 2015:
Canada’s Most-Watched Entertainment Television Events
| Rank | Broadcast | Network | Date | Audience |
| 1 | THE 87th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS® | CTV | 2/22/2015 | 5.53 million |
| 2 | THE 72ND ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS® | CTV | 1/11/2015 | 3.30 million |
| 3 | THE 57TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS® | City | 2/08/2015 | 2.87 million |
| 4 | THE SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL | Global | 2/15/2015 | 2.68 million |
| 5 | AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS® | CTV | 11/22/2015 | 2.17 million |
| 6 | ADELE LIVE IN LONDON | CTV | 11/25/2015 | 2.14 million |
| 7 | 67th EMMY® AWARDS | CTV | 9/20/2015 | 1.85 million |
| 8 | PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS | Global | 1/07/2015 | 1.45 million |
| 9 | THE 2015 JUNO AWARDS (CAN) | CTV | 3/15/2015 | 1.43 million |
| 10 | THE 2015 BILLBOARD AWARDS | CTV | 5/17/2015 | 1.27 million |
Canada’s Most-Watched Sports Tournament Broadcasts
| League/Tournament | Broadcast | Network | Date | Audience |
| NFL | SUPER BOWL XLIX | CTV | 2/1/2015 | 8.26 million |
| IIHF World Junior Championship | Gold Medal, Canada vs. Russia | TSN | 1/5/2015 | 5.95 million |
| MLB | ALCS Game 6, Toronto vs. Kansas City | Sportsnet | 10/23/2015 | 5.08 million |
| CFL | 103rd GREY CUP | TSN | 11/29/2015 | 4.06 million |
| NHL | Playoffs Round 1, Montreal vs. Ottawa | CBC | 4/26/2015 | 3.77 million |
| FIFA Women’s World Cup | Quarterfinal, England vs. Canada | CTV | 6/27/2015 | 2.97 million |
| Pan Am Games | Opening Ceremonies | CBC | 7/10/2015 | 1.66 million |
| IIHF World Championship | Gold Medal, Canada vs. Russia | TSN | 5/17/2015 | 1.35 million |
| Curling – Brier | Final | TSN | 3/8/2015 | 1.25 million |
| Golf – Masters | Final | Global | 4/12/2015 | 1.19 million |
Canada’s Most-Watched Regularly Scheduled Television Programs
| Rank | Program | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE AMAZING RACE CANADA (CAN) | CTV | 2.54 million |
| 2 | THE BIG BANG THEORY | CTV | 2.48 million |
| 3 | SURVIVOR | Global | 2.22 million |
| 4 | QUANTICO (NEW) | CTV | 2.17 million |
| 5 | NCIS | Global | 2.01 million |
| 6 | MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. | CTV | 1.93 million |
| 7 | CSI: CYBER (NEW) | CTV | 1.924 million |
| 8 | NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (NEW) | Global | 1.923 million |
| 9 | MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER (NEW) | CTV | 1.921 million |
| 10 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CTV | 1.88 million |
Canada’s Most-Watched Dramas
| Rank | Program | Network | Audience |
| 1 | QUANTICO (NEW) | CTV | 2.17 million |
| 2 | NCIS | Global | 2.01 million |
| 3 | MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. | CTV | 1.93 million |
| 4 | CSI: CYBER (NEW) | CTV | 1.924 million |
| 5 | NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (NEW) | Global | 1.923 million |
| 6 | MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER (NEW) | CTV | 1.921 million |
| 7 | BLINDSPOT (NEW) | CTV | 1.817 million |
| 8 | THE FLASH | CTV | 1.816 million |
| 9 | HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER | CTV | 1.77 million |
| 10 | CODE BLACK (NEW) | CTV | 1.74 million |
Canada’s Most-Watched Comedies
| Rank | Program | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE BIG BANG THEORY | CTV | 2.48 million |
| 2 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CTV | 1.88 million |
| 3 | THE ODD COUPLE (NEW) | CTV | 1.65 million |
| 4 | THE GOLDBERGS | CTV | 832,000 |
| 4 | MIKE & MOLLY | City | 832,000 |
| 6 | 2 BROKE GIRLS | City | 826,000 |
| 7 | MODERN FAMILY | City | 710,000 |
| 8 | THE MCCARTHYS | CTV | 700,000 |
| 8 | LIFE IN PIECES (NEW) | City | 700,000 |
| 10 | THE RICK MERCER REPORT (CAN) | CBC | 654,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched Competition Series
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE AMAZING RACE CANADA (CAN) | CTV | 2.54 million |
| 2 | SURVIVOR | Global | 2.22 million |
| 3 | MASTERCHEF | CTV | 1.82 million |
| 4 | THE AMAZING RACE | CTV | 1.69 million |
| 5 | MASTERCHEF CANADA (CAN) | CTV | 1.66 million |
| 6 | BIG BROTHER | Global | 1.36 million |
| 7 | AMERICA’S GOT TALENT | Global | 1.32 million |
| 8 | BIG BROTHER CANADA (CAN) | Global | 1.12 million |
| 9 | HELL’S KITCHEN | City | 977,000 |
| 10 | SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE | CTV | 961,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched Canadian Series*
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE AMAZING RACE CANADA | CTV | 2.54 million |
| 2 | MASTERCHEF CANADA | CTV | 1.66 million |
| 3 | THE BOOK OF NEGROES (NEW) | CBC | 1.63 million |
| 4 | ROOKIE BLUE | Global | 1.59 million |
| 5 | SAVING HOPE | CTV | 1.35 million |
| 6 | MOTIVE | CTV | 1.24 million |
| 7 | BIG BROTHER CANADA | Global | 1.12 million |
| 8 | MURDOCH MYSTERIES | CBC | 897,000 |
| 9 | VIKINGS | History | 850,000 |
| 10 | ASCENSION (NEW) | CBC | 736,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched New Series of 2015
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | QUANTICO | CTV | 2.17 million |
| 2 | CSI: CYBER | CTV | 1.924 million |
| 3 | MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER | CTV | 1.921 million |
| 4 | BLINDSPOT | CTV | 1.82 million |
| 5 | CODE BLACK | CTV | 1.74 million |
| 6 | SUPERGIRL | Global | 1.67 million |
| 7 | THE ODD COUPLE | CTV | 1.65 million |
| 8 | THE BOOK OF NEGROES (CAN) | CBC | 1.63 million |
| 9 | LIMITLESS | Global | 1.61 million |
| 10 | HEROES REBORN | Global | 1.23 million |
Canada’s Most-Watched Entertainment Specialty Events & Pre-Shows
| Rank | Broadcast | Network | Date | Audience |
| 1 | THE ROAST OF JUSTIN BIEBER (NEW) | Comedy | 3/30/2015 | 1.19 million |
| 2 | 2015 MTV VMAs*** | Much & MTV | 8/30/2015 | 856,000 |
| 3 | 2015 MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS (CAN) | Much, MTV, M3 & MTV2 | 6/21/2015 | 405,000 |
| 4 | MTV VMA PRE-SHOW | Much | 8/30/2015 | 391,000 |
| 5 | THE JUSTIN BIEBER ROAST PRE-SHOW (NEW) | Comedy | 3/30/2015 | 389,000 |
| 6 | LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: THE 2015 GRAMMY AWARDS® | E! | 02/08/2015 | 306,000 |
| 7 | MMVA RED CARPET (CAN) | Much | 6/21/2015 | 298,000 |
| 8 | NICKELODEON KIDS’ CHOICE AWARDS | YTV | 3/28/2015 | 292,000 |
| 9 | LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: THE 2015 ACADEMY AWARDS® | E! | 2/22/2015 | 275,000 |
| 10 | LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: THE 2015 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS® | E! | 1/11/2015 | 219,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched Regularly Scheduled Specialty Series
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE WALKING DEAD | AMC | 1.64 million |
| 2 | FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (NEW) | AMC | 1.14 million |
| 3 | VIKINGS (CAN) | History | 850,000 |
| 4 | DOCTOR WHO | Space | 702,000 |
| 5 | GOLD RUSH | Discovery | 695,000 |
| 6 | THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND | History | 692,000 |
| 7 | BETTER CALL SAUL (NEW) | AMC | 684,000 |
| 8 | CANADA’S WORST DRIVER (CAN) | Discovery | 602,000 |
| 9 | HIGHWAY THRU HELL (CAN) | Discovery | 587,000 |
| 10 | TALKING DEAD | AMC | 583,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched Regularly Scheduled Pay TV Series
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | GAME OF THRONES | HBO Canada | 1.40 million |
| 2 | TRUE DETECTIVE | HBO Canada | 486,000 |
| 3 | GIRL MEETS WORLD | Family | 319,000 |
| 4 | THE NEXT STEP | Family | 308,000 |
| 5 | LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER | HBO Canada | 273,000 |
| 6 | BALLERS (NEW) | HBO Canada | 258,000 |
| 7 | THE BRINK (NEW) | HBO Canada | 241,000 |
| 8 | DISNEY K.C. UNDERCOVER | Family | 234,000 |
| 9 | DISNEY AUSTIN & ALLY | Family | 225,000 |
| 10 | SILICON VALLEY | HBO Canada | 215,000 |
Canada’s Most-Watched Late-Night Talk Shows
| Rank | Series | Network | Audience |
| 1 | THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART | CTV | 426,000 |
| 2 | THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH (NEW) | CTV | 407,000 |
| 3 | THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT (NEW) | Global | 258,000 |
| 4 | THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON | CTV Two | 215,000 |
| 5 | THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART | Comedy | 203,000 |
| 6 | THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH (NEW) | Comedy | 195,000 |
| 7 | LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS | CTV | 191,000 |
| 8 | THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE (NEW) | Comedy | 100,000 |
| 9 | @MIDNIGHT | MUCH | 93,000 |
| 10 | THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN | OMNI 2 | 71,000 |
Source: Numeris (BBM Canada), Jan 1 – Nov 29, 2015, Top 10 Programs based on most-regular timeslot for series defined by greatest number of telecasts
* Excluding News Programming
** Special event broadcasts includes Championship finals and special events
*** Based on 9-11:30PM daypart audiences
