As the 2024-25 broadcast season comes to a close, CBS can celebrate a historic first as it’s the No. 1 broadcast network in Nielsen’s 35-day multiplatform viewing for the full season.
This new ratings measurement from Nielsen debuted at the start of the broadcast season, comparing the performance of original entertainment titles with more than four episodes, excluding sports, across over-the-air, on-demand, and streaming platforms.
CBS had an average of 9.1 million viewers for the whole season, measured between 9/15/2024 and 3/16/2025, earning it the top spot among the broadcast nets.
CBS had 11 original shows in the top 20, and six in the top 10, led by the Sunday night drama series Tracker, which averaged 17.5 million viewers across broadcast and streaming.
NBC took second place with an average of 7.2 million viewers. Its top show was Chicago PD, which averaged 9.8 million viewers. ABC took third place, averaging 6.9 million viewers – its top show was High Potential with 16.1 million viewers. The Fox Broadcasting Network followed it with 4.3 million.
As impressive as CBS’ performance was, the network was no match compared to the streaming giant Netflix, which is the overall champ in this category, averaging 27.1 million viewers courtesy of its hit series Squid Game.
The next entertainment platform was Amazon’s Prime Video, which finished in third place, courtesy of its crime series Reacher, averaging 18.1 million viewers.
