CBS Sets Record With 17th Straight Season Victory in Total Viewers
CBS Sets Record With 17th Straight Season Victory in Total Viewers
The network also has eight of the top 10 non-sports programs in primetime for 2024-25.
This number isn’t that big when compared to the overall industry. CBS is averaging about 5 million viewers per night. In the 1970s when there was just broadcast, their average viewership was almost 30 million per night.
Netflix averages double of current CBS viewership of one program in just four days. I do wonder what the numbers are for catch-up views of cbs/paramount streaming. I doubt it’s enough to catch up to Netflix but I could be wrong.
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/you-season-5-ratings-netflix-views-1236381635/
Another example - the hit “Adolescence” got over 17 million views in a week (and 114 million for the month for just this program).
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/adolescence-now-passed-bridgerton-seasons-190053380.html
Yeah, the dropoff in linear TV viewing is staggering. CBS does the best because their broadcast lineup skews old, not because it's particularly good. It also makes you understand why the suits sell their souls for live sports (especially gridiron football).
It's not a super new phenomenon either. The BBT was CBS's huge comedy hit of the 2010s, but it never had raw numbers that matched "The Single Guy," a two-season nothingburger that got canceled for not adequately holding onto its Friends lead-in audience.
This isn't surprising, they have a near monopoly on retirees who can't figure out streaming.