Never underestimate the appeal of The Shat: host William Shatner helped boost the Genie Award broadcast to 480,000 viewers Thursday on CBC according to overnight estimates. Not bad opposite The Big Bang Theory (3,132,000) on CTV. CBC’s Genie broadcast, live from Ottawa, beat everything on Global Thursday night except Bones and more than doubled the estimated audience of timeslot rival Raising Hope (226,000).Shatner’s Genies also bested Global’s Gemini Award broadcast, which drew 363,000 viewers buried on a Saturday night last November. That Canadian television industry salute was hosted by Glee Canuck Cory Monteith. Kudos to CBC for risking a weeknight in prime for the Canadian film salute.
