Surprise, surprise: NBC wins another season in the TV ratings

Copy and paste if you've already written this one: NBC won the 52-week TV season among adults 18-49, the most coveted demographic by advertisers, according to Nielsen. This is the second consecutive victory of this kind; NBC has now won an impressive eight of the past nine years. (NBC was runner-up in the 2019-20 season against Fox.)

NBC averaged a 0.9 prime-time rating among the 18-49 age bracket, surpassing Fox's by 0.8. Both ABC and CBS had 0.7s. (NBC also ranked #1 in adults 18-34 and 25-54.)

In terms of total viewership, NBC was second. CBS averaged 5.3 million compared to NBC's 5.2 million; ABC drew 3.9 million viewers per night and Fox 3.7 million. CBS has now gained viewership in the past 12 of 15 seasons from September to September; NBC has hosted the Olympics each of the three years that CBS hasn't had the most viewership.

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" was the most streamed series for the 11th consecutive season. Other network highlights include the final season of “This Is Us,” which was the highest-rated broadcast entertainment series of the year. "Saturday Night Live" was No. 2. Other network highlights included newcomer "La Brea" and its powerful "One Chicago" lineup.

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Traditionally, Nielsen measured the TV season as September through May. Summer was usually reserved for reruns. That's not quite the case anymore, and June, July, and August are now a mix of encores and originals; there are even summer hits, like NBC's "America's Got Talent." The networks are split on what they consider "season" - that decision pretty much comes down to what suits them individually. With "AGT" and the Summer Olympics every four years, NBC is focusing on the full 12-month schedule.

"NBC remains best-in-class in broadcasting and is a key pillar of our diverse portfolio," Frances Berwick, president of entertainment networks at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement. press Monday. . "As we begin our new season and look to the future, NBC continues to lead the pack in every programming genre in the ever-expanding television landscape."

"NBC's programming has always had a strong and emotional connection with viewers," added Susan Rovner, president of entertainment content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. "We are extremely proud of this #1 ranking, which is a testament to the hard work of the producers, cast and everyone else who works extremely hard to create quality programming for our loyal audiences throughout the year."< /p>

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