A big summer — and specifically, two weeks and three days of the summer — helped NBC claim the 52-week ratings crown for the 2023-24 season.
The network’s primetime telecasts of the Summer Olympics, which averaged some 14 million viewers nightly from July 26-Aug. 11, moved NBC into first place for the full year, measured from Sept. 25, 2023-Sept. 22, 2024. The Olympics and other summer programming helped NBC overtake CBS, which won the traditional September-to-May season.
Including the summer months — which also features the start of the NFL season — NBC averaged about 4.9 million primetime viewers for 2023-24, beating out the 4.7 million for CBS. ABC ranks third at 3.9 million viewers, while Fox averaged 2.8 million. NBC improved by 7 percent compared to the 2022-23 season, and ABC rose by 4 percent, while CBS (-6 percent) and Fox (-24 percent) declined.
For the September-to-May season, CBS averaged 5.59 million viewers to NBC’s 5.01 million, ABC’s 4.29 million and Fox’s 3.35 million. TV viewing tends to go down substantially in the summer, even in an Olympic year, hence the lower numbers for the full year vs. the nine-month traditional season.
Among the key ad-sales demographic of adults 18-49, NBC led the 52-week season with a 0.72 rating, equivalent to about 950,000 viewers in that age range. ABC and CBS tied at 0.6 (about 790,000 viewers), and Fox drew a 0.58 (about 765,000 viewers). For the September-to-May run, CBS scored a 0.82 rating, followed by NBC at 0.77, Fox at 0.73 and ABC at 0.66.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
