CBS or Netflix? Nielsen Says Both

by

For the past 17 years, every spring has seen CBS boasting about being the most-watched broadcast network on television, as well as leading Nielsen’s list of the most-watched linear TV series for the season. However, this year, there was a new spin to their annual triumph. They announced success in the traditional ratings battle last month, and this week they added another accomplishment: victory in a more recent Nielsen metric – multi-platform ratings. This measurement considers viewership from both conventional TV and streaming platforms during the initial five weeks that a show or episode is available to watch. As per these numbers, CBS has an average of 9.1 million prime-time viewers weekly, significantly outperforming primary competitors NBC (7.2 million), ABC (6.9 million), and Fox (4.3 million).

In simpler terms, along with celebrating their recent success, CBS took the opportunity to share an update on their current status using figures from Nielsen’s combined ratings for both broadcast and streaming programs. These ratings provide an average number of viewers per episode for network shows, whether they air on TV or stream online. Interestingly, CBS performed well in this area as well, with six of their top 20 shows aired between September 15, 2024, and March 15 of the current year, according to these ratings.

To put it another way: Netflix has been performing exceptionally well in the current television season. In fact, half of Nielsen’s top 20 multi-platform shows are streamed on Netflix. The most popular titles include “Squid Game” with 27.1 million viewers and “Adolescence” with 19 million, ranking first and second respectively. Interestingly, this season has seen Netflix achieve significant success in comedy. Three of its half-hour series – “Nobody Wants This”, “Running Point”, and “A Man on the Inside” – all made it to the top 20. Remarkably, these shows outperformed the only two broadcast shows that made the list, CBS’s “Ghosts” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”, which tied for No. 18.

In the report by CBS, they didn’t specifically mention this, but it’s worth noting that sister platform Paramount+ performed well too. Taylor Sheridan’s shows, namely Landman and 1923, found their way into the top 20. Similarly, ABC’s mystery series High Potential and Will Trent also made the list. Amazon’s Reacher even topped the chart overall. Notably absent from the top 20 were any titles from NBC, Fox, Peacock, or Max. However, it’s important to note that these statistics end in mid-March, before HBO’s hit series The Last of Us was released or Peacock re-aired Poker Face. In essence, streaming platforms other than Netflix and Prime Video are struggling to produce more widely popular shows. (As a side note, Hulu streams ABC shows, so this is still a victory for Disney.)

Read More

2025-05-08 23:58