City Pulls in Record-Breaking 2.64 Million Viewers for GRAMMY Awards® ; The Beat Goes On: Extends Rights for an Additional Two Years

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TORONTO, Feb. 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Music's Biggest Night^® turned into City's biggest night for the second year in a row, with the 57^th Annual GRAMMY Awards^® attracting an average audience of 2.64 million viewers (P2+), making it the most-watched program in the network's history. This represents an increase of 2.9% over the previous high (2.54 million P2+ for last year's GRAMMY broadcast). 

The GRAMMYs won the night nationally (P2+), peaking at 3.68 million viewers during Madonna's gravity-defying smash performance of her new single "Living for Love." The exclusive Canadian telecast reached a total nationwide audience of 8 million viewers who watched some or all of the broadcast. Additionally, City's exclusive multiplatform red carpet special, Entertainment City: Live at the GRAMMYs^®, saw double digit growth, increasing 47.4%, pulling in an average minute audience of 648,000 (P2+).

Coming off of two years of record-breaking numbers, City also announced today it has extended its current-three year deal for exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to the GRAMMY Awards^® by an additional two years. The new agreement, which runs through 2018, includes both the live awards ceremony and The GRAMMY^® Nomination Concert Live event. Additionally, digital rights bring Canadians even closer to the action, no matter where they are, with live streaming of both the GRAMMY pre-show and awards broadcast available online and on mobile, and coverage across Rogers's suite of world-class news and entertainment brands. 

"Innovation is central to our relationship with the GRAMMYs, and since our acquisition in 2014 we have continued to enhance our program offerings to Canadians, this year bringing together the power of Rogers's robust suite of media assets to create a unique second screen experience for our viewers," said Colette Watson, Vice President of Television & Operations, Rogers. "The GRAMMY Awards continue to strike a chord with our core demographic, and we look forward to bringing fans even more exclusive never-before-seen access to the industry's most important awards show for years to come." 

This year, in a Canadian first for the GRAMMYs, City produced an exclusive 90-minute, second-screen broadcast, streamed live on Citytv.com/GRAMMYs from City's GRAMMY headquarters at L.A. Live, that saw thousands of Canadians tune in online for even more interactive and up-to-the minute fashion, music, and entertainment news.

Bringing together thousands of music industry creative and technical professionals from all over the world, the GRAMMY Awards are the recording industry's most prestigious honour. Presented annually by The Recording Academy^®, the GRAMMY Awards recognize excellence in the recording arts and sciences. The transaction was negotiated by Alfred Haber, Inc., international distributor of the GRAMMY Awards, in association with The Recording Academy.              

*Source: Numeris (BBM Canada), Total Canada, based on Overnight data, Feb. 8, 2015
**Source: Numeris (BBM Canada), Total Canada, based on Overnight data, Jan. 26, 2014 

Social Media Links
Official Website Citytv.com/GRAMMYs
Like City Facebook.com/Citytv
Follow City @City_tv 
Follow Entertainment City @EntCity 
Follow City PR @Citytv_PR 
Follow the GRAMMYs @TheGRAMMYs

About City
City™ television stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Saskatchewan offer viewers intensely local, urban-oriented, culturally diverse television programming.  A distinct alternative to other conventional television stations, City engages its viewers with dynamic on-air personalities and delivers an entertaining mix of news, local-interactive formats, such as Breakfast Television and Cityline, as well as local Canadian and acquired prime-time entertainment programming.  City is part of Rogers Broadcasting Limited, a division of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI and NYSE: RCI), which is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. For more information on City stations and programming, visit Citytv.com.

SOURCE City

Media Contacts: Michelle Lomack, City, [email protected], 416.764.3190; Stephanie Perron, City, [email protected], 416.764.3253