By Greg O’Brien
THERE ARE NO MODERN parallels for the Covid-19 crisis which is exacting a toll on every man, woman and child in the world. There is nothing to which we can compare it.
You can find tallies of confirmed cases, and worse, and what each Canadian province and city are doing about it on many platforms, because the main constant in all of this for Canadians has been journalism. Of course, video can be seen everywhere, but it’s the TV broadcasters who are filming everything and carrying the heaviest load in getting the word out.
TV channels from CBC to CTV, Global and CPAC, CHCH, TVA, Citytv, even cable community channels are airing so many press conferences live – and then breaking it down with analysis. Journalists are risking their lives to make sure we are all informed about the pandemic; what we must do to protect ourselves, our loves ones and our neighbours; or reflecting the heroic work of doctors, nurses and other front line employees like truckers and grocers; or bringing us experts to explain just how long social distancing has to happen and why – and when we hope it will make a difference. Journalists inform and comfort us in times like this.
The examples of the truly excellent work being done by broadcasters and other journalists are legion. Some are serious news stories. Some are sad. Others provide more light-hearted fare.
Thanks to all of that, Canadians are tuning in like they haven’t in years, and not just to the news, but to TV entertainment programming as well.
On Friday, Cartt.ca received a spreadsheet of Canadian viewership data from a source within the TV industry who asked not to be named because they are not permitted to release the data, which was a comparison of last week’s raw TV ratings (March 16-22) with the same week of 2019 (March 18 to 24). The increase in viewership numbers year-over-year are staggering, especially for the news channels.
CBC News Network saw a 452% increase in average minute audience in the 25-54 age bracket compared to the same time frame last year, to more than 53,000 viewers. CTV News Channel saw a 260% increase, CP24 a 105% increase, BNN Bloomberg a 178% increase and Corus’ regional news channel BC1 has also logged major viewership increases compared to last March.
Despite the fact the sports networks viewership levels have predictably fallen way off since all live sports are now suspended, overall TV viewing is up 12% in the 25-54 age bracket (from 14.1 hours to 15.8 hours) when comparing last week to the same week of 2019. The dataset sent to us only has the 25-54 age bracket.
We asked Rob Dilworth of DILigent Marketing Solutions (and a former vice-president of research for Bell Media) to help us analyze the numbers and they might be even a bit more impressive than they look now, since the ratings we received from last week are overnight ratings, and we compare them here to last year’s which include all viewership over the week, including DVR-delayed viewing.
Eight channels (which had a minimum of 1,000 viewers in 2019) have more than doubled their 25-54 audience in this comparison while the main broadcast networks of Bell Media (CTV, up 32% to 117,800), Corus Entertainment (Global, up 25%) and CBC, up 5.3%, all saw big increases. “I surmise that is because of the news coverage,” said Dilworth.
But lest you think Canadians are only increasing their news consumption, the ratings show they’re looking for escape, too. Adult Swim saw a 128% increase in viewers, CTV Comedy is up 19.5%, History rose 11.6% and movie channel Hollywood Suite saw a 282% increase in viewers.
Even kids’ channels like Family Channel (up 181%), YTV (up 18.7%) and Treehouse (up 14.7%) had far more viewers among the 25-54 group, too. (Ed note: We’d love to see the 2+ ratings.)
Now, we’re not going to release the full dataset here because, as Dilworth told us, the numbers are a little “wobbly.” There are a number of planned and emergency free previews in the TV market right now and normally broadcasters and marketers would never compare weeks in this way – but there has never been weeks like these and the trend tells a good news story for a beleaguered industry.
The unfortunate part about these strong ratings – numbers which harken back to 2010 levels, said Dilworth – is that ad revenue has fallen away because the economy is seriously sick as well. While packaged goods looks like they may be holding their own, restaurant, alcohol and travel ads have all but ceased (except for this excellent Hotels.com “Captain Obvious” ad which is a neat PSA urging us all to stay home).
Other advertisers are still in market – like Garnier hair products advertising its root touch-up products because this is a real issue for many sequestered Canadians, carmakers like Ford (telling people to contact them to rearrange payments if they are in financial difficulty) and Subaru (which is using its spots to thank front line workers) – maintaining some sort of ad spend in the face of uncertain economic times. That’s encouraging, too.
Dilworth expects other brands to follow suit because people are watching, so advertisers will return. “There are a lot of people out there catching your message, so make it the right one,” he advises.
In this dire, uncertain time, it might be hard for broadcasters to see past the anxieties of the day and wonder if what you’re doing matters. For the TV industry, for broadcast journalists (radio, too, but we don’t have access to those ratings), just know you’re providing an essential service both informing and entertaining Canadians who are trying their best to make their way through the most serious crisis of our time healthy – and they need your help to do it.
Photo borrowed from Global Television journalist Sean O’Shea’s twitter feed, which shows the sign he placed on the floor of Pearson International Airport in Toronto as he filmed a segment Monday.
