The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter discusses the impact of Nielsen's new ratings system on WWE and AEW, announces John Cena's final opponent, and provides a preview of WWE Crown Jewel event.
Nielsen's latest data reveals that kids and teens are streaming a mix of popular shows like Bluey, Ginny & Georgia, and surprising titles like Love Island and The Rookie, with Bluey and Ginny & Georgia leading in viewing minutes during June.
In November, overall TV usage reached a nine-month high, driven by major events like the presidential election and the World Series. Despite this, cable and broadcast TV lost some viewing share, while streaming services hit a new record, accounting for 41.6% of TV usage. Notably, YouTube, Prime Video, and the Roku Channel achieved their highest usage levels to date. Cable news saw a spike during election week but only a slight month-to-month increase overall. Broadcast networks also saw a slight increase in viewing time but lost share to streaming.
Nielsen's new cross-platform ratings reveal that ABC's 'High Potential' and CBS's 'Tracker' are leading in viewership this fall. 'High Potential' tops the 18-49 demographic when streaming is included, with a significant boost from Hulu, while 'Tracker' leads in total viewers. ABC's 'Abbott Elementary' and '9-1-1' also see substantial increases in ratings with streaming data. This new measurement approach provides a more comprehensive view of show performance across live, time-shifted, on-demand, and streaming platforms.
The season finale of 'Agatha All Along' significantly boosted its viewership, reaching 744 million minutes on Disney+, marking its highest weekly total. 'Only Murders in the Building' also saw a spike with its season finale, achieving 599 million minutes on Hulu. Meanwhile, 'The Lincoln Lawyer' maintained its top position in the Nielsen streaming rankings with 1.45 billion minutes on Netflix. Other notable mentions include 'The Diplomat' and 'Lost,' which also performed well in their respective categories.
The Season 4 finale of "Only Murders in the Building" achieved the show's highest weekly audience with 599 million minutes viewed on Hulu, according to Nielsen data. This surpassed its previous record of 590 million minutes during the Season 3 rollout. Despite this success, the show ranked sixth on Nielsen's streaming originals list for the week, with "The Lincoln Lawyer" leading the overall streaming list with 1.45 billion minutes on Netflix.
CBS' new drama "Tracker" emerged as the most-watched entertainment series of the 2023-24 TV season, a first for a freshman show since "Survivor" in 2000. The show benefited from a post-Super Bowl premiere and a shortened TV season due to Hollywood strikes. Football dominated the top spots, with "Sunday Night Football" on NBC leading overall. CBS' "Young Sheldon" was the top comedy, while "The Voice" outperformed "American Idol" in total viewers. "NCIS Hawai’i" was a notable cancellation despite strong viewership.
Fallout continued to dominate the Nielsen streaming charts with 1.5 billion viewing minutes from April 22 to 28, making it the only Prime Video series to top the list three times. Bluey and Grey's Anatomy followed in second and third place, respectively. Netflix's Baby Reindeer saw a significant viewership boost, while Shōgun reached a series high with its finale. Bridgerton's first two seasons reappeared on the originals list, and Dead Boy Detectives debuted strongly on Netflix.
"Fallout" has become the first Prime Video series to top Nielsen's streaming ratings for three consecutive weeks, logging 1.53 billion viewing minutes from April 22 to 28. Despite a decline from its debut week, it remains one of the most-watched programs, alongside "Bluey" and "Grey's Anatomy." Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" also saw significant viewership, ranking as the second most-watched streaming original.
Taylor Sheridan's TV shows, including "Yellowstone," "1923," and "1883," have performed strongly on Paramount+, with "Yellowstone" leading the pack with 5.58 billion streaming minutes viewed for its fifth season. While some shows like "Mayor of Kingstown" have received modest viewership, upcoming projects like "1944" and "2024" are expected to continue Sheridan's success on the streaming platform.
The most-watched TV show of the 2022-23 season was "Yellowstone," followed by NFL football games and CBS dramas. CBS took the overall crown for total viewers, while Fox was tops among adults 18-49. Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" was the first streaming program to make the top 100 list. Broadcast sitcoms like "Young Sheldon" and "Ghosts" saw an increase in ratings, while premium cable series struggled. Basic cable scripted series are on the decline, with "Yellowstone" and "The Walking Dead" being the only ones to consistently rank among TV's top shows.
CNN's primetime ratings have dropped 61% in March, the steepest dip in viewership among the big three cable news giants, according to Nielsen data. Despite the poor ratings, CNN's CEO David Zaslav has given his support to network managers urging them to steer clear of politically oriented commentary and partisanship. CNN has struggled to replicate the same audience interest from a year ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The network saw more modest declines in total day viewership as well as viewers in the 25-54 demo.