And now for something very un-Canadian — a little bragging.
Shows on CTV — including our dinner-hour news shows and the National News — have dominated the competition recently.
Here’s a press release from the CTV brass:
CTV Ratings Advisory – Sept. 26, 2005
Last night, CTV’s powerhouse Sunday night line-up debuted to take every primetime spot on Canadian television:
- At 9 p.m., the ladies of Wisteria Lane returned with 2.8 million viewers as Desperate Housewives became the most-watched program of the night, topping Family Guy and American Dad (Global, 763,000 viewers) by 261 per cent.
- Break-out mid-season hit Grey’s Anatomy returned at 10 p.m. with 1.8 million viewers to place second, its biggest audience ever. Grey’s Anatomy bested Crossing Jordan (Global, 793,000) by 122 per cent.
- Earlier in the evening, the new season of Cold Case debuted in third place, winning the 8 p.m. timeslot with 1.7 million viewers against The Simpsons (Global, 1.4 million) despite being out of simulcast in Toronto.
- In fourth place, Law and Order returned for its 16th season at 7 p.m. with 1.6 million viewers.
On Saturday night, a one-hour documentary about the Corner Gas phenomenon delivered 745,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research:
- Head to head against CFL Football (CBC, 436,000), viewers chose Beyond Corner Gas: Tales from Dog River (578,000) on CTV.
Two more premieres on Friday night also performed well on CTV.
- At 8 p.m., Ghost Whisperer attracted 1.4 million viewers, crushing Malcolm in the Middle (Global, 381,000) by a whopping 271 per cent and becoming the second most-watched show of the night after the CTV Evening News (1.5 million). Ghost Whisperer also won its timeslot in Toronto and Vancouver.
- The 90-minute, third season premiere of Nip/Tuck won the 9 p.m. timeslot with just over one million viewers, up 66 per cent over Threshold (Global).
- Earlier in the evening at 7 p.m., CTV’s eTalk Daily (477,000) once again bested ET Canada (Global, 436,000).
- CTV had the Top Four programs of the night: 1. CTV Evening News, 2. Ghost Whisperer, 3. Nip/Tuck and 4. CTV National News.
All figures, unless otherwise cited, are courtesy BBM and represent a nation-wide picture of television viewing in Canada. All times stated are Eastern Standard Time.
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