TORONTO and MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Super Bowl XLIV became the most-watched ever in Canada, drawing a record audience of 6.7 million viewers.
6.025 million viewers tuned in to CTV and 650,000 watched on RDS on Sunday night as the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 31-17. Nearly one in two Canadians, or 16.64 million viewers, tuned in to some or all of the broadcast on CTV or RDS, according to preliminary overnight data from BBM Canada.
The national audience for Super Bowl XLIV is more than 52% higher than last year’s NFL championship game that had an average audience of 4.3 million viewers.
In related news, CTV has extended its broadcast partnership with the National Football League for another four years. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Under terms of the deal, CTV will retain the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights for NFL regular season Sunday early afternoon game package (1 p.m. ET), and all NFL playoff games, including the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. The deal covers 2010 through 2013 NFL seasons.
