2023’s TV Ratings Winners and Losers
The news isn’t all dire in linear TV. According to Variety’s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts, we actually watched more entertainment fare this year on broadcast and cable. CBS’ “NCIS” led the pack, with 12 episodes making the ranker.
More of us are also watching TV’S signature live events, with the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Grammys seeing increases for the second year in a row. Of course, the top telecasts are still mostly NFL football.
Among networks, NBC led 2023 in total viewers (and like last year, just narrowly over CBS) with 4.54 million viewers, while the Super Bowl helped give Fox the lead in adults 18-49 (with a nice 10% yearto-year bump).
Here, Variety recounts which networks were up and mostly, who was down in 2023, as well as our roundup of the year’s mostwatched telecasts.
WINNERS REELZCHANNEL
“On Patrol: Live” has been the gift that keeps giving for the tiny cabler. After picking up the series, Reelzchannel shot up 34% in total viewers in 2023 — the most of any network in the top 50.
GRIT
The fastest-growing broadcast TV network of 2023 is a channel that airs old Westerns and TV shows. That indeed is the recipe for success in the dwindling world of linear TV: Appeal to the aging audience still watching linear TV.
THE OSCARS AND THE GRAMMYS
Academy Awards viewership is on a steady comeback. After the 2022 “slap” edition averaged 17.6 million viewers, 2023 host Jimmy Kimmel helped the kudocast come close to 20 million viewers. The Grammys are seeing a similar climb back, with 13.4 million viewers in 2023 (versus 10.2 million viewers in 2022).
“NEXT LEVEL CHEF”
Wow, does Fox love this Gordon Ramsay series. In 2022, the premiere aired behind the NFC Championship — making it the biggest series telecast of the year in adults 18-49. This year, the Season 2 premiere aired behind the Super Bowl — once again making it the most-watched entertainment telecast in the demo.
LOSERS PAY TV
The pay TV channels have been at the forefront of sending viewers to their streaming counterparts, and that has given them some of the biggest declines of any channels this year. That starts with HBO, down a tremendous 34% among viewers.
KIDS TV
In 2014, the year we started this report, Disney Channel was a top 10 network, with nearly 2 million viewers. In 2023, Disney Channel was ranked No. 80, with 132,000 viewers. Nickelodeon (-34%), Disney Channel (-26%), Disney Junior (-27%), Nick Jr. (-34%) and Cartoon Network (-19%) all know that kids aren’t watching linear TV.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
The NFL still rules primetime, while the NBA Finals and NCAA March Madness made it onto the list of top 100 telecasts of the year. But nowhere to be found was the World Series, which posted its worst ratings ever.