The series premiere of CTV’s Cardinal drew an average viewership of 1.3 million, according to Numeris information provided by Bell Media. The audience data factored in five days of PVR data.

In terms of total viewers, the audience haul makes the suspense thriller the highest-rated debut of a Canadian series in the 2016-17 broadcast year to date (A25-54 and A18-34), according to a press release from Bell Media. As well, the release said that four million people have now watched some part of the debut episode. This includes the premiere airings on CTV and Super Ecran, as well as encore screenings on both channels.

Cardinal bowed on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. in the slot vacated by season one of U.S. drama Designated Survivor, which is currently on a two-month winter hiatus. Designated Survivor pulled in an average of 2.4 million viewers for its first six episodes. 

From Playback Daily