The TV Season's Top 10 Shows, the Most-Watched Cancellation, and Other Fun Facts
The NFL (as usual), 'Tracker,' and 'DWTS' were among this TV season's big winners. Let's dive into the details!
The final tallies are in for the 2025-26 broadcast-TV season, courtesy of Nielsen.
NBC's Sunday Night Football as usual ranked No. 1 for the season, up 9% year-over-year with an average audience of 20.6 million total viewers (including Live+7 playback). ABC's share of Monday Night Football placed a distant second with 11.6 million viewers, followed by CBS' Tracker (the most-watched entertainment and scripted program) with 10.56 mil.
IN THE 18-49 DEMO, Sunday Night Football dominated primetime fare (up nearly 13% with a 5.4 rating), followed by ABC's Monday Night Football (2.15), ABC's Saturday Night Football (1.69), and ABC's Dancing With the Stars (with a massive 1.51). Of the Top 20 non-sports entertainment programs, ABC claimed eight, followed closely by CBS' seven. NBC netted three, and Fox two.
IN TOTAL VIEWERS, Tracker threepeated as broadcast TV's most-watched drama, with its CBS lead-in Marshals claiming a solid second. CBS' Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage repeated as TV's most-watched comedy. All told, CBS delivered 12 of the Top 20 most-watched non-sports entertainment programs, distantly followed by ABC's four, NBC's three, and one for Fox.
Listed below are my hand-curated rankings for the broadcast networks' assorted primetime offerings. Hit the comments to share what elates or outrages you.
