The marketing and research association ThinkTV has updated its Total TV (Canadian linear TV and broadcaster streaming channels) viewership numbers, showing that Ontario audiences are still largely tuning into broadcasters, despite a year-over-year decline.

According to the Ontario Spring 2024 report, adults 18 or older spent 16.7 hours consuming Total TV per week, compared to 19.6 hours in 2023, a nearly 15% drop compared to the 2023 Ontario report.

The report said the same demographic watches 3.1 hours of YouTube, down from 4.5 hours in 2023, followed by 1.5 hours for both TikTok and Netflix, followed closely by Prime Video at 1.4 hours. The figures represent a slight increase for Netflix and Prime Video at 1.3 and 1.2 in 2023, respectively, and a decrease for TikTok, which saw 1.8 hours in the prior year.

The newly released data shows that 60% of Ontario adults watch both linear TV and streaming. Of those aged 25 to 54, 64% view both linear and streaming TV, while 19% watch streaming only and 17% watch linear only.

For younger adults in the 18 to 34 demo the story is similar, with 62% watching Total TV, 24% watching streaming only and 14% only watching linear TV.

Average weekly reach with Ontarians 25 to 54 is 77.6% for Total TV, down from 81.7% in 2023. YouTube was No. 2 at 62.8%, down slightly from 71% last year, with Prime Video landing in third spot at 53.5%, a slight increase from 51.5% in 2023. For the 18 to 34 demo, average weekly reach came in at 72.8% for Total TV, down from 76.2% in the prior year, 64.6% for YouTube, down from 68.5%, and 52% for Prime Video. up from 50.4%.

Viewing behaviour of Francophone adults in Quebec differs from Ontario audiences with 56% of all adults accessing Total TV and spending 27.5 hours a week with Total TV. That’s down slightly from 28.2 hours per week in 2023.

The spring Quebec 2024 report found on average that Total TV reaches 91% of all adults 18 or older in Quebec each week. YouTube has an average weekly reach of 48.7% in the province with Prime Video at 33.7%.

For Francophones aged 25 to 54, Total TV captures 63% of their time spent with video, an increase from 56% in 2023. YouTube follows with 16% of their video time (down from 20%), followed by Netflix at 7% and TikTok with 6% (both down from 8% in 2023) and Prime Video at 5% (up from 3%).

The younger demo, 18 to 34, spend slightly less time with Total TV with 58%, which is a sharp increase from 41% the prior year. Time with other platforms includes 19% of their time with YouTube (down from 28%), 7% of time spent with Netflix (on par with 2023 figures), 5% with Prime Video (also on par) and 8% with TikTok (down from 12% in 2023).

ThinkTV is supported by its member companies including Bell Media, Corus, Rogers, CBC, Blue Ant and many others. Its board of directors include chair Alan Dark from Rogers Sports & Media, and vice chair Perry MacDonald from Bell Media.

The reports are generated using visual audience measurement (VAM) data from Numeris. The data only covers Ontario and Quebec, there is no national market data currently available.

A version of this article first appeared in Media in Canada

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