It was a bad weekend for Toronto but a good one for CP24, as the news channel broke audience records for its coverage of the G20 summit and the accompanying protests.

The CTV-owned channel delivered 3.2 million viewers on Saturday as violent riots erupted in downtown Toronto, up to 3.6 million on Sunday, which now goes down as the most-watched day in the station’s history. Protesters damaged several businesses in the city and set police cars on fire, as arrests surpassed 900 by Monday. The station also tripled its daily online page views. (All numbers 2+.)

Meanwhile, CTV News Channel’s audience grew by 500% on Saturday, which was also the highest-rated day in the channel’s history, according to CTV. The broadcaster boasted in its release that its viewing was 54% higher than CBC News Network.

CTV Toronto also saw boffo numbers for its flagship dinnertime newscast CTV News at Six, which saw 370,000 viewers tune in. That’s an increase of 76% versus its 2009-10 Saturday average.

From Playback Daily