top 10 shows

NFL Super Bowl (CTV, Sunday 6pm) was the most-watched in its history in both Canada and the U.S. In its 4-hour broadcast, the game averaged 4,234,000 viewers across Canada and peaked at over 5,000,000 if the combined CTV and RDS airings are counted. The return of Lost (CTV, Thursday 9pm) performed well with audiences across the country and earned the show the sixth position of the chart, behind American Idol and House. Some Canadian programs appeared in the top 30 last week. Corner Gas (CTV, Monday 8pm) came in 16th position. CBC's Rick Mercer Report (Tuesday 8pm), Little Mosque (Wednesday, 8pm) and new reality show The Week the Women Went (Monday, 8pm) made their appearance in the lower third of the chart with viewerships between the 800,000 and 900,000.

American Idol (CTV, Tuesday & Wednesday 8pm) continues to be at the top of the top ten most watched programs chart in Canada. Although we slightly smaller audiences compared to last week, the giant of reality shows is still gathering large amounts over viewers in front of the TV. Once again, no Canadian shows can be spotted in the top-ten chart other than CTV Evening News (CTV, Weekdays 6pm). However, Rick Mercer Report (CBC, Tuesday 8pm) was the 13th most watched show in Canada, when a very impressive 1,275,000 viewers tuned in despite the tough competition against American Idol. Corner Gas (CTV, Mondays 8pm) followed close with an estimated 10,000 viewers less.

That's right, Canadian TV viewers! American Idol (CTV, Tuesday & Wednesday 8pm) is back and proves that, even though it's entering its seventh season, it still has what it takes to appeal to Canadian viewers. The first two-hour audition episode averaged slightly over 3 million viewers, which at least in Canada undermines the W.G.A. strike. Viewership was slightly down for Wednesday's episode and continued to have a downward trend this week. This will be reflected in next week's chart. The NFL Playoffs (CTV, Sunday 6:35pm) performed well for CTV with a respectable 1,829,000 viewers. Canadian fictions were also present in last week's chart, although they were not part of the ten most-watched shows.

All positions in the top-ten weekly ratings chart were occupied by CTV shows in the week starting Monday, January 7th. New reality show Dance War (CTV, Monday 8pm) did not make it to the chart, and appealed to an unimpressive amount of viewers for a show of its caliber. This comes to no surprise and as a result of the rushed production of unscripted television to stand for the inexistent U.S. fiction. Although Grey's Anatomy (CTV, Thursday 9pm) performed relatively well during the airing of its last taped episode, it did not make it to the top. It was down by 200,000 viewers from the previous episode, which had aired in the first week of December. Criminal Minds (CTV, Wedneday 9pm) beat the popular surgical drama by about 110,000 viewers and became the most watched program of the week in Canada. As predicted, none of the CBC mid-season fictions was able climb their way up the chart. The Border (CBC, Monday 9pm) was 600,000 viewers away from the top position, and that was CBC's best bet. Despite its awkward Friday evening schedule, MVP (CBC, Friday 9pm) kept its viewers wanting more.

The last taped episode of Desperate Housewives (CTV, Sunday 9pm), that revealed the outcome of the deadly tornado, managed to easily dominate the weekly chart during the first week of 2008. In fact, CTV shows occupy positions 1 through 9 in terms of the most popular programs on Canadian television. Some of the most successful ones are the back-to-back episodes of Law and Order (CTV, Wednesday 9pm), and the twelfth edition of Amazing Race (CTV, Sunday 8pm). The Simpsons (Global, Sunday 8pm) was Global's most appealing airing, and the only non-CTV show in the top-ten chart. Although close to the million viewers, the Air Farce New Year Eve special (CBC, Monday 8pm) was in the 16th position, obscured by CTV's offers and CBC's airings of hockey.

Only six of the most watched television programs in Canada broke through the one-million-viewer barrier during the slowest week of the Winter break. Among them, CTV Evening News (CTV, Weekdays 6pm) continues to consistently appear among the top-ten popular shows. Even CTV's weekend evening newscast made it to the chart in the last week of December, a situation that is rather unusual for the program. Given the lower than normal viewership, programs such as the game show Deal or No Deal (Global, Tuesday 8pm) and Global's newscast News Hour (Global, Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 6pm) also made an unusual appearance in the top-rated shows chart. Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, Saturdays 7pm) appealed to an impressive 1,083,000 viewers during the broadcast of the first game, followed by a respectable 709,000 during the second. In the same note, although rather different, say, style, MVP's numbers are out... unfortunately. The sexy, and heavily promoted hockey wives drama performed well below expectations in its premiere last Friday, and only 349,000 viewers tuned in.

The shows leading up to the 2007 holiday television season predominate throughout the top ten positions in the chart. CBC had consistent results with most Christmas specials. The half-hour film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (CBC, Monday 12/17 8pm) was the most watched special with 1.65 million viewers. Frosty, the Snowman (CBC, Monday 12/17 8:30pm) and... ahem... Mr. Bean Christmas (CBC, Monday 12/17 9pm) came in behind with 1.49 and 1.44 million viewers respectively. All of them made for a very uncommon strong Monday evening lineup for the public broadcaster.

If most of the Summer television ratings charts this year consisted of reality shows and reruns, last week's top-ten programs summarizes this nicely. Canadian Idol (CTV, Monday 9pm and Tuesday 8pm) and Big Brother (Global, Tuesday/Sunday 8pm and Tuesday 9pm) have both appeared in the weekly charts throughout the Summer, although one has been more consistent than the other... CTV's lineup of rerun dramas completes last week's top-ten list in Canada. CBC's second edition of Test the Nation (CBC, Sunday 8pm) performed well, although with an average 876,000, it could not win its time slot opposite Big Brother.