For the primary time since 2008, a community apart from CBS can declare the title of the most-watched broadcaster in primetime. NBC will win the primary 2025-26 season in complete viewers — the primary time that’s occurred because the latter days of Should-See TV.
With the September-to-Could TV season coming to an in depth, NBC will end with an across-the-board win amongst all viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The victory is thanks in no small half to two-plus weeks in February, when the second most-watched Super Bowl ever and a resurgent Winter Olympics put NBC out of attain of its fellow broadcast networks.
Via Could 17, NBC has averaged 5.83 million viewers in primetime this season, up about 14 p.c from 2024-25. CBS — which had gained each season since 2008-09 in complete viewers — is second with 4.63 million (down 19 p.c), a bit of forward of ABC‘s 4.33 million (up 1 percent). Fox rounds out the big four networks with 3.41 million viewers (down 11 percent). Unless otherwise noted, all figures in this story are Nielsen linear ratings only and don’t embrace streaming (which might bump up the averages for all 4 networks by a big quantity).
The entire viewer win for the season is NBC’s first because the 2001-02 season, when Buddies and ER had been two of the highest three reveals on TV. The community additionally had the highest present this season in Sunday Night time Soccer, which prolonged its document of consecutive No. 1 finishes to fifteen seasons. SNF averaged 21 million viewers on NBC and 23.5 million together with streaming on Peacock and different digital platforms.
CBS fell the farthest, partly due to some declines in particular person reveals. However the community additionally rested most of its scripted sequence, together with sturdy performers like Tracker, NCIS and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, in January and most of February, two of the higher-use TV months of the 12 months.
ABC edged up, and measuring leisure programming solely (i.e., not sports activities and information), it’s the one community to develop 12 months to 12 months in complete viewers. Fox had some successes with reveals like Greatest Drugs, Doc and Worry Issue: Home of Worry; its year-to-year decline is defined largely by having had the Tremendous Bowl final season and never this season.
NBC additionally led the important thing ad-sales demographics of adults 18-49 and 25-54. Within the 18-49 demo, it scored a 1.01 ranking (equal to about 1.37 million viewers in that age vary) in primetime for NBC’s first win in that measure because the 2021-22 season (additionally a Tremendous Bowl/Winter Olympics 12 months). Fox got here in second with a 0.64 ranking/871,000 viewers, adopted by ABC (0.57/776,000) and CBS (0.45/613,000).
Amongst adults 25-54, NBC posted a 1.32 ranking, equal to 1.66 million viewers. Fox (0.83/1.04 million) edged ABC (0.77/968,000) for second place, and CBS was fourth at 0.64/804,000.
