CTV News was Canada’s most-watched source for comprehensive live coverage of the royal wedding, with the CTV News live special attracting an average audience of 1.1 million preliminary overnight viewers across CTV, CTV News Channel, and CP24 from 4 – 11 a.m. ET on Saturday morning to witness the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Led by CTV News Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme alongside royal historian and biographer Hugo Vickers and Canadian music icon Jann Arden, CTV News’ live special claimed top spot with audiences 18% higher than CBC (997,000 viewers on CBC and CBC News Network), and more than triple that of Global (371,000 viewers) during the head-to-head broadcast period of 4:30 – 10 a.m. ET.
On CTV specifically, more viewers watched the royal wedding head-to-head than CBC or Global, with the network’s live wedding special attracting an average audience of 939,000 viewers, 20% ahead of CBC (782,000 viewers), and 153% ahead of Global (371,000 viewers).
CTV News’ live royal wedding special was watched by 5.4 million unique Canadian viewers, garnering a 24.5% share, with nearly one in four Canadians watching TV during the event’s Saturday morning broadcast period watching CTV News.
The network’s prime-time recap special attracted an average audience of 606,000 preliminary overnight viewers, making it the most-watched non-sports broadcast in the timeslot.
Overall, CTV’s royal wedding coverage, including the live CTV News special and the prime-time recap coverage, was watched by 7.8 million unique Canadian viewers on Saturday.
“Canadians consistently choose CTV News as their destination for major international events,” said Wendy Freeman, President, CTV News. “We were proud to deliver complete coverage of this happy occasion by serving Canadian viewers throughout the day with the commitment, professionalism, and accuracy that they expect from CTV News.”
Meanwhile, ETALK Co-Anchor Ben Mulroney and his family weren’t the only ones front and centre at the royal wedding. ETALK’s one-hour prime-time special ETALK PRESENTS – HARRY & MEGHAN: HAPPILY EVER AFTER, hosted by ETALK Co-Anchor Danielle Graham and Senior Correspondent Lainey Lui, was the most-watched non-sports program in primetime among total viewers Saturday with 616,000 preliminary overnight viewers.