Allez Alouettes: Montreal posts best regular season TV rating on RDS since 2015

Photo courtesy: Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes’ fourth-quarter comeback in Week 5 was highly entertaining and drew attention from Quebece not seen in 10 seasons.

French-language sports television network RDS had over 331,000 average viewers tune in as the Als scored 15 unanswered points in the final frame to win 30-26 and improve to 4-0 in 2024.

According to Numeris data, it’s the largest number since Nov. 1, 2015, when Montreal played Edmonton in Week 19. That makes the Alouettes win the most-watched regular season game on RDS in a decade.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 35-of-42 passes (83 percent) for 374 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while favourite target Tyson Philpot nabbed 12 receptions for 134 yards and Walter Fletcher posted 160 offensive yards on 14 touches, including the game-winning touchdown.

The Als have carried momentum in the French market since going on an unexpected run to win the 110th Grey Cup by upsetting the heavily-favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Hamilton last November.

Elsewhere on Canadian sports TV, Canada’s men’s soccer team played its first-ever Copa America knockout stage game and brought in 1,448,300 on TSN. 22-year-old Ismaël Koné won the match for the red and white in penalty kicks.

The American League East last-place Blue Jays ratings continue to drop and rise. Last Thursday, 352,100 watched the Jays day game, followed by 360,000 on Friday night, 700,600 on Saturday, and 623,900 on Sunday to finish the weekend strong.

2024 Week 5 TV ratings

Thursday
Toronto at Saskatchewan — 519,600 TSN

Friday
Ottawa at Winnipeg — 529,200 TSN

Saturday
Calgary at Montreal — 353,200 TSN and 331,500 RDS (684,700 total)

Sunday
B.C. at Hamilton — 436,400 TSN

Total average: 459,600 (French included: 542,475)