The NFL Dominates TV's Top 100 Shows...Again

Previous top TV shows: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018

Five big questions re: the top TV shows:
1) Which networks had the largest primetime audience?
2) How old is the average audience for linear TV networks?
3) Which linear telecasts had the largest audience?
4) What share of the top TV telecasts does the NFL account for?
5) What share of the top TV telecasts does politics account for?

Big question #1: Which networks had the largest primetime audience?

Top 10 networks by total primetime viewers in 2024 (YoY growth) according to Variety:
1) CBS - 5.1M (↑ 12%)
2) NBC - 5.0M (↑ 10%)
3) ABC - 3.9M (↓ 1%)
4) Fox - 2.8M (↓ 15%)
5) Fox News - 2.5M (↑ 30%)
6) ESPN - 1.7M (↓ 2%)
7) MSNBC - 1.3M (↑ 4%)
8) Univision - 1.0M (↓ 17%)
9) Telemundo - 965K (↑ 12%)
10) Ion - 833K (↓ 16%)

Big question #2: How old is the average audience for linear TV networks?

Average age by linear TV network according to Nielsen:
1) MSNBC - 70
2) Fox News - 69
3) CBS - 68
4) CNN - 67
5) HGTV - 66
6) ABC - 66
7) The CW - 65
8) NBC - 65
9) Fox - 58
10) TNT - 56
11) Bravo - 56
12) MTV - 51

PSA: The average American is 39 years old.

Big question #3: Which linear telecasts had the largest audience?

Top 10 TV telecasts of 2024 by total viewers according to Nielsen:
1) Super Bowl LVIII (CBS) - 123.7M
2) Presidential Debate No. 2 (multiple networks) - 67.1M
3) NFC Championship Game (Fox) - 56.3M
4) AFC Championship Game (CBS) - 55.5M
5) Presidential Debate No. 1 (multiple networks) - 51.3M
6) AFC Divisional Playoff (ESPN/ABC) - 50.4M
7) Vice-Presidential Debate (multiple networks) - 43.2M
8) Presidential Election Returns (multiple networks) - 42.3M
9) NFC Divisional Playoff (NBC) - 40.4M
10) NFC Wild Card Playoff (Fox) - 40.2M

Big question #4: What share of the top TV telecasts does the NFL account for?

NFL Football’s share of top 100 TV telecasts according to Nielsen:
1) 2018 - 61%
2) 2019-  73%
3) 2020 - 72%
4) 2021 - 75%
5) 2022 - 82%
6) 2023 - 93%
7) 2024 - 72%

Big question #5: What share of the top TV telecasts does politics account for?

Political’s share of top 100 TV telecasts according to Nielsen:
1) 2020-  15%
2) 2024 - 16%