• by Wayne Friedman , January 13, 2016

Pasadena, Calif. -- NBC has claimed No. 1 status for four years now among key viewers -- in part due to NFL programming. But now it says non-sports programs have made major headway.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting, Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, says the network is now No. 1 in 18-49 viewers in non-sports programming for the first time since 2003, the last season that “Friends” was on the air. Greenblatt did not go into detail.

Many media-buying executives view sports and non-sports programming as two different kinds of TV buys -- especially with the former focused more on male viewers and heavy sports TV marketers.

Overall, including sports programming, NBC says it has maintained its leadership among 18-49 ratings so far this year. CBS is down 4%, ABC is off 14%, and Fox has lost 5%. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” remains the most-viewed TV series in any categories.

To date, season-to-date ending January 10, NBC has been earning an average Nielsen 3.4 million 18-49 viewers; CBS, 2.9 million; Fox, 2.5 million; ABC, 2.4 million; Univision, 1 million; and the CW, 910,000.

CBS continues to lead in overall viewers with 11.1 million followed by NBC at 9.4 million; ABC with 7.1 million; Fox at 6.0 million; Univision with 2.2 million; and CW at 1.9 million.

Greenblatt also says NBC’s digital video consumption was up 50% in 2015 -- now at 6 billion views.

Going forward, NBC will pursue its holiday season efforts around live musicals. For next year, NBC is working on “Hairspray.”

With regard to Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump's appearance on “Saturday Night Live” -- and the issue of giving other candidates equal time on the network -- Greenblatt says it can be complicated.

He notes that candidates need to request equal time, and they have to qualified. Then a negotiation takes place. “It’s not about giving them the same thing [Trump] had,” he says.