Variety annually ranks the most-watched linear TV networks—encompassing broadcast, cable, and pay TV—based on Nielsen's prime-time viewership data, declaring winners and losers in total viewers and adults 18-49 demographics.
In its latest 2025 analysis, CBS emerged as the top network with an average of 4.443 million total viewers, despite a 12% decline from the prior year, followed by NBC (4.243 million, down 15%) and ABC (4.042 million, up 5%). Fox News ranked fifth overall (2.759 million, up 12%), while ESPN led cable networks in sixth place (1.967 million, up 18%).
This yearly feature uses Nielsen's data to measure average audiences during prime-time hours: Monday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT, and Sunday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT. For 2025, the rankings incorporated Nielsen's new NPM Big Data Plus Panel methodology for the first time, blending traditional panel data with set-top box and smart TV datasets to capture a broader view of viewing habits; the period covered runs from December 30, 2024, to November 30, 2025 (using Live+7 ratings, which include seven days of delayed viewing), plus December 1-14, 2025 (Live+SD, or same-day ratings).
Comparisons are made to the previous year's data, with exclusions for non-ad-supported channels and those not rated by Nielsen.
In the key adults 18-49 demo for 2025, Fox led with 885,000 viewers (up 10%), boosted by sports like NFL coverage, ahead of ABC (780,000, down 2%) and NBC (776,000, down 21%). The analysis highlights trends such as broadcast networks' resilience amid cord-cutting, cable's reliance on sports and news, and overall shifts influenced by events like elections or major sports seasons.
Looking back, the 2024 rankings followed a similar structure but used panel-only data from January 1 to December 1, 2024 (Live+7), plus December 2-15, 2024 (Live+SD). CBS again topped total viewers that year with around 5 million average, while Fox dominated the 18-49 demo thanks to Super Bowl LVIII. Variety's reports often include full top-50 lists for both metrics, providing context on percentage changes that reflect broader industry dynamics like streaming competition and live event viewership.