CBS Sets Record With 17th Straight Season Victory in Total Viewers
The network is set to finish its 17th straight season as the No. 1 broadcaster among all viewers in primetime, a streak that dates back to the 2008-09 season. The 17 consecutive season wins tops the previous mark, also held by CBS, of 16 straight from 1955-70 (when household ratings were the primary measure).
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Although there are few weeks left before the official end of the September-to-May TV season, as measured by Nielsen, CBS' lead over its rivals is large enough that the rankings are very unlikely to change. So as it did a year ago and several other times in the recent past, the network is planting its victory flag now.
There's good news across the board, however: Among the big four broadcasters, three have improved their primetime averages from this time last season, and the fourth, ABC, is even with its year-ago numbers. The gains largely come down to networks having a full season's worth of programming: As writers and actors went on strike for better contracts in 2023, most scripted programming was pushed to the first quarter of 2024, resulting in shorter seasons and a hodgepodge of mostly lower-rated shows filling the first half of the 2023-24 season.
Through April 20, CBS is averaging 5.72 million viewers in primetime with all programming, up from 5.59 million a year ago (a gain of about 2 percent). NBC is also up by about 2 percent at 5.1 million viewers. ABC's 4.28 million viewers is virtually even with 4.29 million last year, while Fox is up by 14 percent at 3.83 million — with a record-setting Super Bowl responsible for a good portion of that improvement. (All figures are Nielsen's 'most current' ratings, a combination of seven-day linear figures for most weeks and same-day numbers for the most recent days. Streaming isn't included.)
Stripping out sports, CBS' lead is a little larger. It's averaging 4.99 million viewers in primetime, up 14 percent from the same time last season. NBC places second with 4 million viewers excluding sports, followed by ABC (3.58 million) and Fox (2.16 million).
Tracker is set to repeat as the most watched non-sports series in 2024-25. The drama starring Justin Hartley is the only network entertainment show to average more than 10 million viewers before streaming; it's currently at 10.84 million viewers over seven days, with two episodes remaining in its season. CBS has the top seven and eight of the top 10 non-sports shows in total viewers with Matlock (second), 60 Minutes (third), FBI (fourth), Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage (fifth), Blue Bloods (sixth), NCIS (seventh) and Elsbeth (ninth) joining Tracker. NBC's Chicago Fire (eighth) and Chicago Med (10th) complete the top 10.
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