• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 1, 2014

In the most recent week, 10 broadcast network shows -- and one cable show -- pulled in 10 million or more viewers.

The 10 broadcast network shows were: CBS’ “NCIS” (17.1 million); ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” (15.4 million); CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles” (14.2 million); NBC’s “The Voice,” Monday (13.5 million); NBC’s “The Voice”, Tuesday (13.3 million); CBS’ “60 Minutes” (11.3 million); NBC’s “The Blacklist” (11.0 million); CBS’ “Person of Interest” (10.9 million); CBS’ “CSI” (10.2 million); and CBS’ “Criminal Minds” (10.1 million).

The one cable show, the season four finale of AMC’s “Walking Dead,” pulled in 15.7 million viewers -- good for second place overall.

Bigger news is that “Dead” pulled in a big 10.2 million 18-49 viewers -- still a key viewing group for which advertisers will pay premium pricing.

“Dead’s” 18-49 numbers easily topped the best two broadcast network shows in that demographic -- CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” (6.7 million) and NBC’s “The Voice” (5.7 million). Last season, “Dead” was the highest-rated show in the 18-49 demo.

Ah, you say, it was a finale. But the week earlier, “Dead” took in a non-slouchy 12.7 million overall viewers.  

Finding other cable programs near these levels is a tough task. In that week, second place went to A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” with 6.1 million in total viewers.  After that, two WWE Entertainment shows on USA that ran back to back on Monday night at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. posted 4.67 million and 4.62 million respectively.

So is cable really making individual program gains on broadcast? Cable continues to take in overall viewing share, but much of it comes collectively from mid-sized to smaller cable networks.

Apart from “Dead,” where are the really big ongoing cable hits?  Many niche shows and franchises, including a lot of reality series, do well on cable, but little in the way of big scripted shows, which are seemingly a favorite among marketers.

For example, in the week ending March 9, HBO’s “True Detective” was in 12th place at 3.5 million; BET’s “The Game” in 14th place at 3.36 million; and TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles” in 16th place at 3.35 million.

To be fair, lots of other scripted cable shows garner decent levels of viewer support throughout various parts of the year. And plenty of broadcast network shows register weak overall viewership results.

A big question for media planners and buyers might be: How much does one big-rated show matter in this new media world?

Branding a network? AMC might say that’s important. For one thing, it provides big leverage to push advertisers to buy other-- perhaps weaker -- stuff.  Anything else?