Hamilton’s CHCH-TV announced Tuesday its all-Canadian live New Year’s Eve special, The Countdown to 2026, co-produced with Victoria, B.C.’s CHEK, drew a record audience of more than 1.27 million viewers across Canada.
The fourth edition of The Countdown drew the annual broadcast’s biggest audience yet, with viewers tuning in on conventional TV via CHCH-TV and CHEK, and streaming via Parrot TV and YouTube, said a CHCH press release.
The total number of more than 1.27 million viewers is a combined total of all TV and streaming platforms that carried The Countdown to 2026. The figure is based on Numeris Canada (Total Canada) TV data for the evening of Dec. 31, 2025 for CHCH-TV and CHEK, plus total views from Parrot TV and YouTube live streams on the CHCH News and George Stroumboulopoulos YouTube accounts, according to Nick Bannard, marketing manager at CHCH parent company Channel Zero.
Stroumboulopoulos hosted the two-and-a-half-hour special, which featured performances by award-winning Canadian rock bands Sloan and Big Wreck as well as other Canadian talent including indie alternative artist Jasmyn Burke, Indigenous artist and dancer Miss Chief Rocka, comedian Crystal Ferrier, and podcasters Tracy & Martina.
According to Numeris Canada data for the Toronto/Hamilton extended market for the evening of Dec. 31, CHCH-TV’s broadcast of The Countdown to 2026 was watched by 891,000 viewers. This represents a 61-per-cent increase in viewership over last year’s program, CHCH said in its press release.
In addition, The Countdown to 2026 was the most-watched all-Canadian program in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) on New Year’s Eve, according to Numeris Canada data cited by CHCH. It was the second most-watched program overall in the GTHA, ranked behind only ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show (which was simulcast by Citytv), and ahead of CBC’s Live Cross-Canada Countdown program, according to Numeris Canada data results provided to Cartt by Channel Zero’s Bannard.
Photo of Sloan singer and guitarist Chris Murphy performing on The Countdown to 2026, courtesy of CHCH-TV. Photo credit: Meaghan Eady.
