CBS declares television season victory with weeks to go

NEW YORK » The traditional broadcast television season doesn’t end until later this month, but that hasn’t stopped CBS from declaring victory.

CBS issued a statement on Tuesday saying it would end the 2021-22 season as the most-watched television network in prime-time for the 14th straight time, and 19th time out of the past 20, according to figures provided by the Nielsen company.

The early victory dance coincided with CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, announcing its earnings on Tuesday. Although CBS’ lead over second-place NBC (6.35 million to 6.25 million) isn’t large, there was no pushback from NBC. Fox is currently third and ABC fourth. CBS said that “NCIS” will end the season as the most-watched television drama for the 12th time in 13 years. “Young Sheldon” is the most popular comedy.