CBS Lands the Top 16 Shows of the Week, the First Time a Network Has Accomplished This Since at Least 1987

Multiplatform Viewership for CBS Primetime Series Across Broadcast and Streaming Platforms Soars Double Digits

“Tracker” Series Premiere Following Super Bowl Hits Nearly 28 Million Viewers in One Week in Multiplatform Viewing

The CBS Television Network’s premiere week audience (Monday, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 18) jumped +32% among total viewers from its 2022/2023 opening week (Monday, Sep. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 25), while topping its closest competitor by an average of +2.4 million viewers. In a week where CBS launched the new season for 16 of its 19 primetime entertainment series, the Network averaged 5.08 million viewers compared to its September 2022 premiere week viewership of 3.85 million viewers.

CBS also placed the top 16 broadcast primetime programs last week (see table below), the first time any network has accomplished this since at least 1987, when Nielsen first introduced People-Meters. CBS was the #1 network every night it aired scripted originals (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday) and had the #1 show for six nights (Monday-Friday and Sunday).

“In an increasingly fragmented media world, CBS’ programming strategy and audience reach continue to stand out and stand tall,” said George Cheeks, CEO of CBS.

In addition to its broadcast strength, streaming viewership of CBS’ primetime series across Paramount+, CBS.com and the CBS app was up +83% from last season’s premiere week.

In one week in multiplatform viewing, TRACKER’s series premiere has been seen by nearly28 million viewers across all platforms since its post-Super Bowl debut. (This includes Live+SD viewing, 7-days of DVR/VOD playback and streaming on CBS TVE / Paramount+, and viewing of the Feb. 15 encore.)

“As soon as the strikes ended, we focused on a programming and promotional plan to launch our new season following the Super Bowl,” said Reisenbach. “Our loyal and new viewers overwhelmingly responded and welcomed back their favorite shows in a big way.”

CBS’ PREMIERE WEEK HAD THE TOP 16 PRIMETIME PROGRAMS:

MONDAY

• Up +17% from year ago fall premieres with top four shows of the night.

• NCIS is #1 show of the night, up +26% from its year ago fall premiere.

• THE NEIGHBORHOOD was the #2 show of the night, up +22% from its year ago fall premiere.

• NCIS: HAWAI’I was the #3 show of the night, up +5% from its year ago fall premiere.

• BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA was the #4 show of the night, up +17% from its year ago fall premiere.

TUESDAY

• Up+9% from year ago fall premieres with top three shows of the night.

• FBI is #1 show of the night, up +13% from its year ago fall premiere.

• FBI had more viewers than any other episode last season, and posted its largest audience since March 2022.

• FBI: INTERNATIONAL was the #2 show of the night, up +10% from its year ago premiere.

• FBI: MOST WANTED was the #3 show of the night, up +2% from its year ago debut.

WEDNESDAY

• THE PRICE IS RIGHT is #1 show of the night.

• New season of SURVIVOR launches Wednesday, Feb. 28 and THE AMAZING RACE on Wednesday, March 13.

THURSDAY

• Up +9% from year ago fall premieres with top four shows of the night.

• YOUNG SHELDON is #1 show of the week with its largest audience (7.99m viewers) since 2020, up +16% from its year ago fall premiere.

• GHOSTS posted its largest audience ever, up +9% from its year ago fall premiere.

• SO HELP ME TODD up +2% from year ago series premiere.

FRIDAY

• Up +5% from spring finales.

• FIRE COUNTRY is #1 show of the night, up +7% from its spring finale.

• BLUE BLOODS was the #2 show of the night, up +7% from its spring finale.

• S.W.A.T. returned as the #3 show of the night, up +10% from its year ago fall premiere.

SUNDAY

• Up +13% from spring finales with top three shows of the night.

• 60 MINUTES is #1 show of the night.

• Second episode of TRACKER (6.87m viewers) improved on its lead-in, and was the #2 show of the night.

• THE EQUALIZER returned up +3% from its finale last spring and ranked as the #3 show of the night with 6.46 million viewers.

• CSI: VEGAS improved from its year ago premiere and had its most-watched episode since November 2021.