Broadcasters reveal top-rated Canadian shows for 2023

CTV's Sullivan's Crossing emerged as the top-rated Canadian drama, while The Amazing Race Canada maintained its lead in unscripted.
By Kelly Townsend
January 15, 2024

The results are in for the top-rated Canadian shows on linear TV for the year of 2023.

Season nine of CTV’s The Amazing Race Canada led the pack as the highest-rated Canadian series of the year, with an average audience of 1.72 million, based on Numeris data disclosed by Bell Media, CBC, Corus Entertainment and Rogers Sports & Media to Media in Canada’s sister publication Playback Daily.

Those numbers are slightly higher compared to 2022, when the reality competition series attracted an average viewership of 1.6 million.

CTV was also the home of the highest-rated Canadian drama for 2023, Sullivan’s Crossing, with an average audience of 947,000 for its debut season, followed by Transplant, with 847,000, down from an average 1.1 million viewers in 2022.

Murdoch Mysteries was the top-rated Canadian series for CBC with an average audience of 812,000, down slightly from the previous year.

Global’s Departure, meanwhile, saw a slight boost in ratings for season three, coming to an average of more than 750,000, a slight increase from 728,000 in the year prior.

The top Canadian performer for Citytv was season two of the revived Canada’s Got Talent, earning an average viewership of 759,000.

Bell Media

1. The Amazing Race Canada (season nine), CTV – 1.72 million
2. Sullivan’s Crossing, CTV – 947,000
3. Transplant (season three), CTV – 847,000

Source: Numeris, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023, P2+, final data

CBC

1. Murdoch Mysteries (season 16, part two and season 17, part one) – 812,000
2. Marketplace (season 50, part two) – 621,000
3. Son of a Critch (season two) – 592,000

Source: Numeris TV Meter, Total Canada, CBC Total, Ind. 2+ AMA, Jan. 1 to Dec. 24, 2023, original airings, confirmed audience data.

Corus Entertainment

1. Departure (season three), Global – 750,300
2. Big Brother Canada (season 11), Global – 707,400
3. Family Law (season two), Global – 668,400

Source: Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023, confirmed data, 3+ airings, Ind. 2+, AMA(000), Global + Corus Eng Specialty, original airings only; Big Brother Canada based on projected audiences due to an encoding issue which resulted in an under-reporting of Numeris audiences.

Rogers Sports & Media

1. Canada’s Got Talent (season two), Citytv – 759,000
2. Hudson & Rex (season six, part one), Citytv – 678,200

Source: Numeris, Ind. 2+, Total Canada AMA (000), Live + 7 Day Consolidated Viewing, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023.

From Playback Daily