Current trends - methodology
Full methodology and definitions
The reason for publication
Up until now, audience measurement insights were published once a year in Open Data and in the Communications Market Report (CMR). With this new section of the website, we are making audience measurement available on a quarterly basis with never before published interactive data breakdowns and datasets.
The data
The data for these dashboards originates from a third-party source: Numeris. Numeris, a not-for-profit Joint Industry Committee (JIC). The dashboards will be updated quarterly and provide tuning habits in the 5 measured markets (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal) for broadcast Radio, Linear Television and Audiovisual Streaming (currently only 2 markets, to be updated to full national panel in Fall of 2025). For more details about how data is collected visit Numeris.ca.
This dataset is limited in the markets and services captured. Presently, only data from the 5 measured markets, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, are available for both radio and television in these datasets. These markets are used to create estimates at the provincial and national level. Similarly for the audiovisual data, only data from Toronto and the Montreal francophone markets are currently available and used for provincial estimates. On the service side, Numeris’ solution for digital audio is under development. As new markets and services become available, they will be included.
Broadcast year defined
Data is based on the broadcasting year beginning on September 1st of each year and ending on August 31st. As such the first quarter (Q1) of the year is Sept-Nov, Q2 is Dec-Feb, Q3 is Mar-May, and Q4 is Jun-Aug. Sometimes the year will be referred to using the two calendar years overlapping the broadcasting year, for example the 2023-2024 Broadcast year would begin September 2023 and end August 2024. The 2023-2024 Broadcast year can also be referred to the 2024 Broadcast year, using the year the period ends on. For simplicity in interpretation across products, we will make use of the shortened name.
| Calendar year | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2018 - Aug 2019 | Sept 2019 - Aug 2020 | Sept 2020 - Aug 2021 | Sept 2021 - Aug 2022 | Sept 2022 - Aug 2023 | Sept 2023 - Aug 2024 | |
| Broadcast year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Q1 | Sept 2018 - Nov 2018 | Sept 2019 - Nov 2019 | Sept 2020 - Nov 2020 | Sept 2021 - Nov 2021 | Sept 2022 - Nov 2022 | Sept 2023 - Nov 2023 |
| Q2 | Dec 2018 - Feb 2019 | Dec 2019 - Feb 2020 | Dec 2020 - Feb 2021 | Dec 2021 - Feb 2022 | Dec 2022 - Feb 2023 | Dec 2023 - Feb 2024 |
| Q3 | March 2019 - May 2019 | March 2020 - May 2020 | March 2021 - May 2021 | March 2022 - May 2022 | March 2023 - May 2023 | March 2024 - May 2024 |
| Q4 | June 2019 - Aug 2019 | June 2020 - Aug 2020 | June 2021 - Aug 2021 | June 2022 - Aug 2022 | June 2023 - Aug 2023 | June 2024 - Aug 2024 |
Radio audience measurement
Numeris provides national radio audience measurement across Canada through a panel of randomly selected households that are representative of the Canadian population based on specific criteria. Participants are equipped with Personal People Meters (PPMs) to track their listening habits. For further details on Numeris' methodology, please refer to the Audio Measurement section on Numeris' website.
This dashboard captures radio tuning data from Monday to Sunday, between 2:00 AM and 2:00 AM, for individuals aged 12 and older. Audience measurement data is collected at the station level from participating markets, including Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Each radio station is categorized by service type (CBC/SRC, Private Commercial, Non-Commercial) and broadcast language (English or French) based on internal CRTC data.
Numeris data delivers detailed insights for each radio station within a specific market, including key metrics such as Total Quarterly Hours and Universe. This data is then aggregated by market, station type, and broadcast language, providing a comprehensive overview of radio listening patterns across Canada. Please note that while there are stations licensed as Ethnic and Indigenous broadcasts as part of CRTC records, stations licensed with these languages are not presently included as part of national panel dataset provided by Numeris for the reasons outlined in the limitations section.
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) refers to Government funded public broadcasting services nation-wide covering business, world, and latest Canada news.
- Non-Commercial refers to educational programming with no revenue generated through advertisements (i.e. religious, university/campus stations).
- Portable People Meter (PPM) refers to a measuring device used to record the on-off and channel tuning condition of a TV set or radio.
- Private Commercial refers to radio programming by privately owned corporate media, generating revenue using advertisements.
- Quarter refers to a three-month period within the year often associated with the broadcast calendar. Here Q1 refers to September-November, Q2 December-February, Q3 March-May, and Q4 June-August.
- Total Hours per Capita is derived by dividing the Total Quarterly Hours by the Universe.
- Total Quarterly Hours refers to the cumulative hours of listening by all individuals reached by a station or service in a quarter.
- Universe refers to the total estimated population of a specific region, based on the sample size of panelists measured by Numeris. It is used to scale findings from the sample to the broader population.
Television audience measurement
Numeris provides national television (TV) audience measurement through a panel of randomly selected households that are representative of the Canadian population based on specific criteria. Participants are equipped with Personal People Meters (PPMs) to track their viewership habits. For further details on Numeris' methodology, please refer to the Video Measurement section on Numeris' website.
This dashboard captures TV tuning data from Monday to Sunday, between 2:00 AM and 2:00 AM, for individuals aged 2 and older. Audience measurement data is collected at the station level from participating markets including Atlantic, French Quebec, Ontario, and Western Canada. Each station is categorized by service type (Conventional, Discretionary & On-demand, and Non-Canadian & Other) and broadcast language (English or French) based on internal CRTC data.
Numeris data delivers detailed insights for each TV channel within a specific market, including key metrics such as Total Quarterly Hours and Universe. This data is then aggregated by market, station type, and broadcast language, providing a comprehensive overview of TV viewership patterns across Canada.
- Atlantic Region includes New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
- Central Region consists of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
- Conventional refers to national broadcast television services which typically include a significant amount of local programming (i.e. CBC/SRC, Global, TVA). Also referred to as over-the-air (OTA) services.
- Discretionary & On-Demand encompass all services other than conventional television stations that are not available OTA. Subscribers have the option to have those stations as part of their broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) offerings. For example, National news services and mainstream sports services. This includes On-demand services available from service providers, such as cable or satellite companies. Such services include pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD) services, pursuant to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-86.
- Non-Canadian & Other refers to Conventional and Discretionary services of international origin (such as the United States) as well as miscellaneously broadcast content captured by Numeris that do not meet the criteria of Conventional or Discretionary (such as TV guides).
- Portable People Meter (PPM) refers to a measuring device used to record the on-off and channel tuning condition of a TV set or radio.
- Quarter refers to a three-month period within the year often associated with the broadcast calendar. Here Q1 refers to September-November, Q2 December-February, Q3 March-May, and Q4 June-August.
- Total Hours per Capita is derived by dividing the Total Quarterly Hours by the Universe.
- Total Quarterly Hours refers to the cumulative hours of listening by all individuals reached by a station or radio in a quarter.
- Universe refers to the total estimated population of a specific region, based on the sample size of panelists measured by Numeris. It is used to scale findings from the sample to the broader population.
- West Region consists of Alberta and British Columbia.
Video audience measurement (VAM)
Numeris provides video audience measurement capturing linear television (TV), Over-The-Top (OTT) services and online viewing on all devices and platforms in their VAM panel which combines a TV Audience Measurement panel with a dedicated digital panel. Panelists' streaming consumption is monitored through a meter attached to the household router (FocalMeter). For further details on Numeris' methodology, please refer to the VAM section on Numeris' website VAM - Numeris.
This dashboard captures quarterly tuning, from Monday to Sunday, 2:00 AM to 2:00 AM, for panelists aged 2 and older across Ontario and Quebec*. Audience measurement is collected at the platform and channel level. These platforms and channels are then categorized by service type (BVOD, SVOD, FAST, and social media) by CRTC analysts. Please note that social media is not regulated by the CRTC and is included in the dashboard for information purposes only. As a new service, data only begins as of September 2022 with new digital audiovisual services being added every few months. Be advised that not all rapid increases in tuning are due to an increase in listenership as some are attributed to the addition of a new source.
Numeris data delivers detailed insights for each service within a specific market, including key metrics such as Total Quarterly Hours and Universe. This data is then aggregated by market and station type. Presently digital panel data is only available for Ontario and Quebec provinces. As the dataset expands, the dashboard will expand to include the new markets.
*Note that this dataset currently only encompasses the francophone market in Quebec.
- Broadcaster Video on Demand (BVOD) refers to the content and programming made available on-demand by TV broadcasters.
- FocalMeter (FM) refers to a measurement device that records digital media consumption of video or audio content (tagged or from an Inclusion List) for every device and every household member participating in an online panel. It is connected to the household’s ISP router via an Ethernet port.
- Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) refers to Connected TV video platforms that are typically free to watch, are advertising-supported, and provide linear channels and on-demand programming together. Examples include Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and The Roku Channel.
- Linear TV refers to real-time television service that broadcasts schedule programs, conventionally over the air or through satellite/cable. Linear TV follows a schedule, viewers watch shows and movies at a particular time, on a particular channel.
- Quarter refers to a three-month period within the year often associated with the broadcast calendar. Here Q1 refers to September-November, Q2 December-February, Q3 March-May, and Q4 June-August.
- Total Quarterly Hours refers to the cumulative hours of listening by all individuals reached by a station or radio in a quarter.
- Streaming refers to a method of transmitting or receiving data (especially video or audio) over the internet.
- Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) & Other refers to a streaming video service that gives users unlimited access to a wide range of programs for a monthly flat rate. The users have full control over the subscription and can decide when to start the program. They can also pause, fast forward, rewind and stop the show as preferred.
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