Grey Cup Numbers enjoy a year over year increase
Grey Cup Sunday TV ratings 2023:
Winnipeg vs. Montreal — 2,823,900 on TSN, 752,600 on RDS for 3,576,500 total. 2nd year increase in a row
14.5% increase overall. Not sure what the RDS numbers we’re last year but I would think that would be the driving force here
Upwards trend which is a good thing but a long ways from the 8.3 million viewers for the 1983 final of on both CTV and CBC.
The Final needs to be on CTV but they are too invested in the NFL for that to happen.
True, but even if it was on CTV they wouldn’t get a sniff of 1980’s numbers in today’s fragmented TV market. The times they have a changed.
That I can agree with.
CTV? no need. With the game streamed, everyone in Canada, the US and around the world has access to the internet.
Not everyone has CTV
Even with the RDS numbers the game was below the 2017, Ham/Winn and well below the numbers from years ago.
The RDS numbers in Quebec was 750k but the RDS numbers for the Super Bowl last Jan was 1 Million
But did the total of 2.8 million include streaming?
Still 8.3 >2.8 last time I checked.
I believe they count streaming.
It would be nice if there’s an accurate number but this will do for now.
I see the following as good and bad for MLS.
Once Messi retires, does MLS simply pin their hopes on Apple TV+ on the next global star in his swan song in MLS?
Over 29 million across all platforms watched this game on Monday night in the US.
Most viewers felt that the coverage via the ABC and ESPN simulcast had a playoff-feel to it, much as did the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ 21-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs drew better than 29 million viewers across all platforms, the most for a Monday Night Football telecast in 27 years. The last time MNF drew a bigger audience was in November 1996, when 31.5 million people watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers.
Another article reported that the coverage was a dress rehearsal for Super Bowl coverage for ABC, and I feel that ABC did quite well:
At halftime, Berman also covered the Grey Cup and congratulated the Alouettes and referenced the legendary Roger Doucet as well.
What’s not to love?
Here’s another key point such that I don’t see any going back to merely cable-only ESPN, and thank goodness Disney has improved production of Monday Night Football when on ABC compared to the trash production it had been on ESPN since it took over from ABC back in 2006:
For the season so far, Monday Night Football — which has simulcast games on ABC for all but two weeks (when the network and ESPN carried separate games) — is averaging about 16.65 million viewers per week, a 26 percent jump over the same point last season. The addition of ABC for the full season has fueled much of the growth, though Monday’s ESPN audience by itself was ahead of the same week in 2022.
Yes you can go to the Numeris site and they explain that ratings now include streaming and the recording of games.
Wow, the Cowboys’ game was the third-most watched game ever for the NFL regular season?
Only the 2022 game in the same time slot on Thanksgiving Day USA had higher ratings in recent years, and it is also the record.
These numbers are despite all three games on Thanksgiving Day this year, plus the “Black Friday” game, as basically duds and in stark contrast to so many games on Sunday.
I remember well the second place game listed from back in 1990 on Monday Night Football. The Giants and 49ers had a rematch in a classic game for the NFC Championship in the playoffs that season.
In case anyone wonders why the Dallas Cowboys have a permanent spot on the NFL’s Thanksgiving slate, look no further than the ratings of Thursday’s game against the Washington Commanders.
Despite the Cowboys crushing their NFC East rival in a 45-10 blowout, the game still drew an astonishing amount of viewers as millions celebrated the holiday. According to CBS Sports PR, the game averaged 41.438 million viewers, the third-most of any regular-season game in NFL history. It also peaked with 44.265 million viewers.
Some other highlights include the night game in Seattle, which drew solid numbers in prime time:
I have to think the Dolly Parton halftime show was partly responsible 
I didn’t watch even though I could have done so. But it’s a day after three duds of games, and it’s during daylight hours at a time of year when daylight is at a high premium.
And so, it was a very bad idea compared to the ratings such a game would get in another time slot. Don’t do it again NFL. Find another day if you are going to play here, Amazon.
On the other hand, look where we are in 2023 with ANY NFL game compared to NCAA Pro Football.
The Dolphins’ easy win still delivered the largest football audience on Black Friday since 2011, when an Arkansas-LSU college game averaged 10.4 million on CBS. It dominated college football head-to-head, more-than-doubling the competing Missouri-Arkansas game on CBS (4.09M) and UTSA-Tulane on ABC (1.72M). For more Friday sports viewership, see the linked page.
The NBA In-Season Tournament, which sorely needs a better name like perhaps “The NBA Cup”, appears to be a ratings and attendance success:
- The league set a new record for attendance in the month of November, with an average of 18,206 fans attending each game.
- Kings-Warriors on Nov. 28 averaged 2 million viewers on TNT — a 93% increase from the comparable window in 2022.
Related - I think Mark Cuban may have sold a majority stake in the Mavericks near the peak valuation, especially since the Mavericks have the highest average attendance in the tournament so far.
NBA obviously reading the CFL Forum. I argued for a CFL mid-season championship years ago.