TV Ratings: NBC Wins First 12 Weeks of Season (Again)

While last night’s The Voice had its lowest-rated winter finale yet, NBC still won the first 12 weeks of the season thanks to This Is Us, Will & Grace and Sunday Night Football.

NBC had a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, including DVR numbers, according to TV Line. Fox came in second with a 1.8 rating in the demo, while CBS was a close third with 1.7. ABC had a 1.5 18-49 rating, and The CW came in with a 0.7.

The peacock network was down just 11 percent from last season’s first 12 weeks. Fox fell 18 percent, while CBS dropped 15 percent. ABC dropped 17 percent. The CW managed to stay steady with last season’s numbers.

As far as audience goes, CBS still gets to keep the “America’s Most Watched Network” slogan, even if NBC has won the ratings battle for six straight years. CBS had 9.8 million viewers, while NBC had 9.2 million. ABC had 6.3 million viwers and Fox had 6 million viewers. The CW averaged 1.9 million. Unfortunately for CBS, advertisers care more about reaching the 18-49 demographic than reaching as wide an audience as possible.

NBC held the top two slots on the highest-rated shows list, with Sunday Night Football (6.2) and This Is Us (5.1) at the top.

Here’s the Top 6 highest-rated shows:

1. Sunday Night Football (NBC; 6.2 Live+7 18-49 rating)

2. This Is Us (NBC; 5.1)

3. The Big Bang Theory (CBS; 4.2)

4. [TIE] The Good Doctor (ABC; 3.7) & Young Sheldon (CBS; 3.7)

5. Will & Grace (NBC; 3.6)

Here’s the Top 5 most-watched shows by audience:

1. The Big Bang Theory (CBS; 19 million viewers)

2. The Good Doctor (ABC; 17.6 million)

3. SNF (17.5 million)

4. Young Sheldon (CBS; 17.4 million)

5. NCIS (CBS; 17 million)