Audience Results

While funding results in this report illustrate activities in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, audience results reflect the most recently completed broadcast year, specifically, 2012-2013.

Overall English-language Viewing Trends

Canadian vs. foreign programs

Domestically-produced programs accounted for 37% of full-day viewing in English-language television, down one share point from last year. During peak-viewing hours, 34% of English-language television viewing was devoted to Canadian programming, down two share points from 2010-2011.

CMF-funded genres vs. other genres

Overall viewing to English-language programs (both domestic and foreign produced) in the four CMF-supported genres (Children’s & Youth, Documentary, Drama and Variety & Performing Arts)  was stable at 42% for full day, but still represents a five-year low dating back to 2008-2009. The share to CMF-supported genres’ peak-hour viewing hours was also stable compared to the previous year, holding at 46%.

CMF-funded programs vs. non-funded Canadian programs

When examining full-day viewership to Canadian programs in only the CMF-supported genres, share to CMF-funded programs grew three points from the previous year to 54%, demonstrating a fifth-straight year of growth.  In peak-viewing hours, CMF-funded programs captured a 58% share, rising two share points from last year, setting a five-year record and a sixth-straight consecutive year of growth.

Overall Viewing of English-language programs in CMF-supported Genres

Popularity of CMF-financed English-language programs continues to grow, with 5-year highs posted in total viewing hours as well as shares during peak periods. CMF Drama series continue to be strong performers both in the summer season and increasingly in the regular fall/winter season, and Documentary programming posted notable share gains in 2012-2013. The volume of CMF-funded content (as measured by total volume of hours scheduled) available across conventional, specialty, and digital services has grown consistently over the past 5 years. In 2012-2013, total hours of CMF programming scheduled was 16% higher than in the previous year.

Consolidation in the broadcast television industry in recent years has provided new opportunities for corporate ownership groups that straddle the conventional, specialty and digital specialty arenas. Through this consolidation, the promotion, exploitation and exhibition of broadcaster-financed content across these multiple assets has increased, partly accounting for the boost in the number of hours scheduled.

In Children’s & Youth, the share of full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs rose by one share point to 35%, highest in 5 years, while viewing to non-CMF Canadian programs dropped by two share points to 4%. This suggests that the CMF-financed projects’ share gain came at the expense of non-CMF Canadian programs.  In peak viewing hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs increased by five share points to a 5-year record high of 47%, with the growth coming at the expense of  non-CMF Canadian projects which dropped to a 1% share and foreign programs which dropped 2 share points to 52%.    

In Documentary, the share of full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs grew by two share points to 17%, highest in 5 years, while viewing to non-CMF Canadian and foreign programs dropped by one share point each. In peak-viewing hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs increased by four share points to 17%, highest in 5 years, while viewing to foreign programs declined five share points to 51%. The growth posted here seems to be driven by a combination of more scheduled hours of content, and the emergence of “docu-soap”-style programs which have attracted larger audiences to the genre over the past few years.

In Drama, the full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs increased by one share point to 8%, highest in 5 years, likely at the expense of foreign dramas which slipped by one share point to 83%.  In peak-viewing hours, CMF-funded programs remained stable at its five-year high of 10% share, while non-funded Canadian dramas posted a one share point increase to 7%. Foreign dramas by contrast dropped by one share point to an 83% share, marking another five year low and reflective of a slight but ongoing trend since 2008-2009.  This suggests that the modest but consistent share increase for CMF-funded dramas has come at the expense of foreign-produced dramas.

In Variety & Performing Arts, the share of full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs dropped by three share points to 19%, while viewing to non-CMF Canadian projects decreased by another three share points to a record-low 1%; foreign programs at 80% share was the highest in 5 years. During peak-viewing hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs dropped by six share points, to 12%, while viewing to non-CMF Canadian programs dropped by two share points to 1%. A number of CMF-financed big budget variety competition series were either placed on hiatus or cancelled in 2012-2013, causing the notable declines seen here.

CMF-funded vs Other Canadian vs Foreign Programs by Genre
Full Day – English

CMF-funded vs Other Canadian vs Foreign Programs by Genre
Peak-Hours – English

Top Performing CMF-funded English-Language Programs

The following is a list of the Top 10 English-language programs funded by the CMF which aired during the 2012-2013 broadcast year. 

Eight CMF-funded programs airing in the 2012-2013 broadcast year achieved average audiences of over 1 million viewers. Nine of the top ten programs were from the Drama genre, achieving audiences that ranged from 0.9 to 1.8 million viewers.  One Variety & Performing Arts program, with an average audience of close to 1.3 million viewers, made the Top Ten list. 

The top performing CMF-funded series, Flashpoint, averaged over 1.8 million viewers, followed by Saving Hope at just under 1.5 million.  The top domestic program overall was the CFL Grey Cup at 5.4 million viewers, followed by the debut season of The Amazing Race Canada at 3.4 million  Other Canadian programs with audiences that out-performed the top CMF projects include the, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hockey Night in Canada and The Juno Awards.

By way of comparison, the top performing foreign series in a CMF-supported genre, The Big Bang Theory, attracted an average audience of over 3.7 million viewers during the regular season, while six other drama series (N.C.I.S., Two and a Half Men, Grey’s Anatomy, N.C.I.S.: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, C.S.I.) delivered over 2 million viewers on average. For added context, the program with the largest audience overall in 2012-2013 was the NFL Super Bowl at 6.6 million viewers.

Source: CMF Research (Numeris) 2012-2013 Broadcast Year
Notes: Top 10 data was derived from the Original First Run (OFR) audience data submitted for CMF Performance Envelope calculations.

Overall French-language Viewing Trends

Canadian vs. foreign programs

Canadian programs continued to account for the majority of viewing in the French-language market with a 60% share of full-day viewing, down two share points from last year.  More significantly, however, this has reflected a continuing trend observed over the past several years where viewing to foreign programs (both CMF-supported and non-CMF-supported genres) has taken an increasing share of full-day viewing in the French-language market, now at a record high (going back to 2005-2006) of 40% in 2012-2013.  This trend is also reflected in peak-viewing hours, where the share of viewing to Canadian programs has slipped to 62% in 2012-2013.  Consequently, the share of viewing to foreign programs has risen to 38% in 2012-2013, also a record high.

While domestically produced programs have traditionally dominated weekly schedules of French-language broadcasters, versioned foreign programs are becoming more prevalent on French-language broadcasters’ schedules.  While these versioned foreign programs typically draw less than half the audience of top performing domestic projects, they are nevertheless posting share gains in French-language television at the expense of Canadian-produced programs.

CMF-funded genres vs. other genres

Almost half of television viewing in the French-language market went to programs in CMF-supported genres, with these programs attaining a 45% share of full-day and 44% of peak-hour viewing in 2012-2013. This is down 2 and 3 share points, respectively, from the previous year.

CMF-funded programs vs. non-funded Canadian programs only

When examining viewership to Canadian programs in CMF-supported genres only, CMF funded programs captured a 49% share of full-day viewing, rising two share points from the previous year and eighteen percentage points since 2008-2009.  In peak-viewing hours, CMF-funded programs captured a 66% share, up one share point from the previous year and 24 percentage points from 2008-2009.  Note that similar to the English-language market, the expansion of CMF’s definition in the Variety and Performing Arts genre and several marquee programs in this genre attracting record number of viewers have likely contributed to these significant gains in audience share.

Overall Viewing of French-language programs in CMF-supported Genres

Among French-language programs in the CMF-supported genres, the overall share of viewing to CMF-funded programs was at its highest level in five years, in both full day and peak viewing hours. However, there has also been a general trend of increased viewing to versioned foreign programming over the same five year period. Also note that the total amount of CMF-financed programming aired has increased by close to 9% in 2012-2013 compared to the previous year, whereas non-financed Canadian programs in CMF genres decreased by 2% in the same period. An increase in the availability of CMF programming in the French market likely accounts for much of the growth in share observed over the past year.

In Children’s & Youth, the share of full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs increased by five points from the previous year, to a five-year high of 59%, while in peak viewing hours, the share of CMF-funded programs slipped two percentage points to 69%.  Despite the slight drop in share during peak hours, the 10 most viewed CMF Children’s & Youth titles attracted better audiences than the top 10 from the previous year, suggesting that viewing in this genre is still strong.

In Documentary, full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs decreased by one share point to 9%, while in peak-hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs decreased by two share points to 13%. The top 10 CMF projects in Documentary trended lower in overall viewing compared to last year’s top 10. There was also a notable decline in total hours of CMF documentaries scheduled during peak periods, which would have also contributed to the share declines observed in peak hours.  

In Drama, full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs grew by one share point, to a five-year high of 21%. In peak viewing hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs rose by three share points to 37%, another five-year high. Viewing to foreign produced dramas remained relatively consistent during the full day and peak hours, dropping one and two share points respectively. However, viewing levels are still markedly higher than five years ago, demonstrating the general growth in acquisitions of foreign programming versioned for the French-language market. 

In Variety & Performing Arts, full-day viewing to CMF-funded programs grew by 2 share points to 84%, a five-year high.  In peak-viewing hours, viewing to CMF-funded programs remained steady at 84%, matching its five-year high from last year. The strong performance in share has been greatly aided by the broadening of the definition of eligible Variety & Performing Arts projects by the CMF.  Noteworthy examples include La Voix in 2012-2013, and Star Académie from 2011-2012

CMF-funded vs Other Canadian vs Foreign Programs by Genre
Full Day - French

 

CMF-funded vs Other Canadian vs Foreign Programs by Genre
Peak Hours - French

 

Top Performing CMF-funded French-Language Programs

The following is a list of the Top 10 French-language programs funded by the CMF which aired during the 2012-2013 broadcast year. 

All titles on the Top 10 list achieved audiences of more than 1 million viewers, a further eight titles have also met this criterion, bringing the number of CMF programs with over one million viewers to eighteen in total.  The top two CMF-financed projects (La Voix, Céline Dion: sans attendre) were also the top projects overall, in any genre foreign or domestic, in 2012-2013.

Two of the Top 10 programs were from the Variety & Performing Arts genre, achieving audiences that ranged from 2.5 – 2.6 million viewers.  Seven programs on the Top 10 list were Drama projects, with audiences that ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 million viewers.  One feature-length Documentary, Dérapages, made the overall Top 10 programs list.  This is significant as it achieved an audience of nearly 2 million viewers, a rare accomplishment for a documentary whether it be in the English or French markets.  No programs from Children’s & Youth made the Top 10 list.

The top performing CMF-funded series, La Voix, was watched by over 2.6 million viewers.  This was also the top domestic program overall, as well as the top program either foreign or domestic.  By way of comparison, the top performing foreign series in a CMF-supported genre, Vengeance (aka Revenge), attained on average 757,000 viewers, while four other foreign series (Downton Abbey, Esprits Criminels, Dallas, Dr. House,) posted at least 500,000 viewers on average.

Source: CMF Research (Numeris) 2012-2013 Broadcast Year
Notes: Top 10 data was derived from the Original First Run (OFR) audience data submitted for CMF Performance Envelope calculations.