We don’t talk much anymore about live+same day ratings, since it’s the earliest measurement of a long tail that now includes time-shifted, streaming and more viewership. But if we look at good ol’ fashioned linear live viewing for the week of February 12, CBS has quite the story to tell. Thanks to the halo effect of its Super Bowl LVIII coverage on Feb. 11, the Eye network’s “premiere week” landed the week’s top 16 most-watched shows.
According to CBS, this reps the first time a broadcast network has landed the top 16 slots in broadcast primetime since at least the advent of Nielsen’s People Meter measurement in 1987.
Due to the Hollywood strikes, the broadcast networks are only now getting their primetime scripted series back on the air. Last week, CBS launched the new season for 16 of its 19 primetime entertainment series — averaging 5.08 million viewers for the week, up 32% from its September 2022 premiere week (Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, 2022) average of 3.85 million viewers.
“In an increasingly fragmented media world, CBS’ programming strategy and audience reach continue to stand out and stand tall,” CBS CEO George Cheeks said in a statement.
CBS also reported that its primetime series on Paramount+, CBS and the CBS app was up 83% from last season’s premiere week.
“As soon as the strikes ended, we focused on a programming and promotional plan to launch our new season following the Super Bowl,” said CBS Entertainment prexy Amy Reisenbach. “Our loyal and new viewers overwhelmingly responded and welcomed back their favorite shows in a big way.”
Meanwhile, the Eye says that the post-Super Bowl premiere of “Tracker” is now up to nearly 28 million viewers across all platforms, including seven days of DVR/VOD playback and streaming on CBS, Paramount+, and viewing of the Feb. 15 encore of the premiere.
Here’s the Nielsen ranker from last week in total viewers:
NIELSEN TOTAL VIEWERS RANKER, WEEK OF FEB. 12, 2024
| Rank | PROGRAM | NETWORK | TOTAL VIEWERS |
| 1. | Young Sheldon | CBS | 7,991,000 |
| 2. | FBI | CBS | 7,704,000 |
| 3. | 60 Minutes | CBS | 7,439,000 |
| 4. | NCIS | CBS | 7,319,000 |
| 5. | Ghosts | CBS | 7,054,000 |
| 6. | Tracker | CBS | 6,865,000 |
| 7. | Equalizer | CBS | 6,455,000 |
| 8. | FBI: International | CBS | 5,968,000 |
| 9. | The Neighborhood | CBS | 5,790,000 |
| 10. | Fire Country | CBS | 5,705,000 |
| 11. | Blue Bloods | CBS | 5,667,000 |
| 12. | NCIS: Hawai’i | CBS | 5,555,000 |
| 13. | FBI: Most Wanted | CBS | 5,361,000 |
| 14. | S.W.A.T. | CBS | 5,236,000 |
| 15. | Bob Hearts Abishola | CBS | 5,212,000 |
| 16. | So Help Me Todd | CBS | 4,907,000 |
| 17. | American Idol | ABC | 4,620,000 |
| 18. | The Price Is Right (Wednesday) | CBS | 4,424,000 |
| 19. | America’s Funniest Home Videos | ABC | 4,282,000 |
| 20. | CSI: Vegas | CBS | 4,090,000 |
