Mulder and Scully’s return to network TV produced out-of-this-world ratings for CTV Sunday, as 2.4 million people tuned into the first episode of the two-part reprise of the The X-Files, according to preliminary data from Numeris.
It was the most-watched premiere of the season and the most-watched new series debut since Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2013. Part two continued on Monday, with four new episodes airing through February.
The show’s ratings were particularly strong in Vancouver (where the show is shot), delivering a 67% share among the adult 18-34 demographic and 61% share among adults 18-49. It also scored double-digit share numbers with the A25-54 (11.2), A18-49 (11.5) and A18-34 (11) demographics.
It was a good day all-round for CTV and sister station RDS, with coverage of the AFC Championship game attracting a record 2.8 million viewers, a 30% increase over last year’s AFC Championship.
Audiences for the game — a showdown between quarterback legends Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — peaked at 4.6 million with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Brady’s New England Patriots driving to the Denver Broncos’ end zone.
Sunday evening’s lopsided NFC Championship game, which saw Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers beat down the Arizona Cardinals 49-15, attracted an average of 2 million viewers to CTV and RDS.
More than 17 million Canadians have tuned into CTV, TSN and RDS’s coverage of the NFL playoffs, which concludes with Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7. This will be the last Canadian Super Bowl telecast to use simultaneous substitution, following the CRTC’s controversial decision last year.
Beginning next year, Canadian viewers will be able to see U.S. commercials during the year’s most-watched telecast.
