More than half of Canadians – an estimated 18.2 million people – watched at least part of Super Bowl 50 on CTV and RDS Sunday, according to preliminary numbers from Numeris.
The telecast, which saw Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers 24-10, attracted an average audience of 8.3 million people, making it the second most-watched Super Bowl in Canada. Last year’s Super Bowl attracted an average audience of 9.23 million people.
Top 5 Canadian Super Bowl telecasts
- Super Bowl XLIX, 2015: Patriots 28-Seahawks 24 – 9.23 million
- Super Bowl 50, 2016: Broncos 24-Panthers 10 – 8.3 million
- Super Bowl XLVI, 2012: Giants 21-Patriots 17 – 8.18 million
- Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014: Seahawks 43-Broncos 8 – 7.94 million
- Super Bowl XLVII, 2013: Ravens 34-49ers 31 – 7.38 million
The audience peaked at 10.3 million during the halftime show featuring Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. Including both pre- and post-game coverage, Canadians consumed 39 million hours of Super Bowl programming on Sunday.
CTV parent Bell Media also used the game to devote up to $4 million of promotional space to several original Canadian productions, including Letterkenny, Masterchef Canada, Orphan Black, Saving Hope, Bitten and Jade Fever.
It also used the broadcast to launch its new multi-platform campaign for TSN, “Champions Live Here,” which showcased the diverse array of championships on the sports specialty channel. The campaign will be featured in “heavy rotation” across Bell Media’s TV, radio, digital, out-of-home and social platforms.
The broadcast featured key sponsors Labatt Breweries of Canada, Nissan Canada and Toyota Canada, while the long list of advertising partners included Doritos Canada, Hyundai Canada, KitKat, Burger King, Mazda Canada, President’s Choice and President’s Choice Financial, Scotiabank and Sun Life Financial.
The telecast is expected to be the last Super Bowl to feature simultaneous substitution following the CRTC’s controversial January 2015 decision to enable Canadian consumers to see highly-touted U.S. commercials during the game. However, both Bell Media and the NFL are currently challenging the ruling.
