TV Ratings: Yellowstone Is Smart Move For CBS

The prolonged WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have begun to force the broadcast networks into some serious decision-making. 

On Monday, for example, Disney-ABC announced that 10 additional Monday Night Football games, originally set for exclusive cablecasting on ESPN, will now be shared with ABC. 

For its part, Paramount Global only has Sunday afternoon NFL access for CBS. But the conglomerate does have the untapped, seemingly limitless potential to tap into, reports NextTV. 

On Sunday, the premiere episode of Sheridan's seminal series, Yellowstone -- which originally debuted on the Paramount Network back on June 20, 2018 -- generated 6.6 million viewers for CBS. 

The 8 p.m. installment benefited from a particularly strong lead-in, with a 60 Minutes episode featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy generating 11.4 million viewers.  

The network will soon up the Yellowstone burn rate, with plans to air two episodes of the show each Sunday starting this week. But with 46 more episodes of Yellowstone in the can, CBS should be able to keep this up through the 2023-24 TV season, should labor unrest persist. 

There are clearly plenty of viewers who still haven't seen the remarkable show, evidenced by CBS' solid Sunday-night performance. 

Meanwhile, Yellowstone spinoffs --1883 and 1923 -- are also available for broadcast runs, as are the prolific creator's non-Yellowstone efforts for Paramount (Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King and the Lioness among them). 

📺CABLE TV

With Nielsen live plus same day data for the week of Sept. 11, 2023 officially in, Fox News remained in its usual position as the top-rated cable news network in total viewers and among Adults 25-54.

For the week, FNC averaged 1.75 million viewers and 191,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime,  +13% and +10% respectively, from what the network averaged the previous week (the week of Sept. 4). The 1.75 million total primetime viewer average is No. 2 on all of basic cable, and the 191,000 A25-54 primetime viewer average is No. 6 on all of basic cable.

So, who actually finished ahead of Fox News this past week? Well, with college football and Monday Night Football back on the air, ESPN earned the No. 1 ranking both in total viewers and among adults 25-54 this past week, in primetime and in total day as well. The network averaged 2.745 million total viewers in primetime, 1.27 million A25-54 viewers in primetime, 1.12 million total viewers in total day and 537,000 A25-54 viewers in total day.

Back in the cable news universe, MSNBC averaged 1.26 million viewers and 116,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime. CNN had a subpar ratings week, averaging just 483,000 viewers and 98,000 Adults 25-54 in primetime for the week of Sept. 11.

Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

The Five remained in first place among all daily cable news programming, averaging a cable news-high 2.71 million total viewers and 302,000 A25-54 viewers for the week of Sept. 11, 2023.

Fox News had the six most-watched daily cable news offerings once again. Jesse Watters Primetime secured second place among all daily cable news shows with a 2.33 million total viewer average at 8 p.m. Hannity remained in third place with a 2.14 million total viewer average at 9 p.m., with Gutfeld! (1.97 million at 10 p.m.) and Special Report with Bret Baier (1.91 million at 6 p.m.)  rounding out the top five.

Six through 10 in total viewers: The Ingraham Angle (1.87 million at 7 p.m.), MSNBC’s The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell (1.70 million at 10 p.m.), The Beat with Ari Melber (1.52 million at 6 p.m.), Fox News’ Outnumbered (1.5 million at 12 p.m.), and MSNBC’s Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace (1.49 million at 4-6 p.m.), according to TV Newser.

📺BROADCAST TV NEWS

“World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 evening newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (7.570 million), Adults 25-54(1.187 million) and Adults 18-49 (824,000) during the week of Sept. 11, 2023, based on Live + Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research.

“World News Tonight”outdelivered “NBC Nightly News”(6.007 million, 1.030 million and 681,000, respectively) by 1.563 million Total Viewers, by 157,000 Adults 25-54 and by 143,000
Adults 18-49.

“World News Tonight”increased its lead over “NBC Nightly News” versus the previous week in Total Viewers(+10% – 1.563 million vs. 1.423 million), Adults 25-54 (+37% – 157,000 vs. 115,000) and Adults 18-49(+377% – 143,000 vs. 30,000).

For the 5th week in a row, “World News Tonight” improved year to year in Total Viewers (+4%/+265,000 – 7.570 million vs. 7.305 million). “World News Tonight” has won the last 250 of 251 weeks in Total Viewers and 179 of the last 181 in Adults 25-54.