Race For Prime-Time 18-49 Demo Tightens, Overall Viewing Down

With about three months to go until the end of the 2018-2019 TV season, numbers have tightened in the race for top honors among 18-49 viewers. Overall numbers are still lower for virtually all networks versus a year ago.

NBC is now tied with Fox at a 1.8 rating/8 share, with CBS just a bit behind -- at 1.7/7, according to Nielsen’s live program-plus-seven-day time-shifted viewing (and same-day time-shifted viewing for the most recent weeks) numbers through March 3.

ABC came in at 1.3/5. Univision has a rating of 0.5/2, while CW and Telemundo each scored a 0.4/2. All top networks are down, versus the same time period the year before -- except for Fox and Univision, which were flat versus a year ago.

A year ago at this time, NBC was in the lead (thanks to running both the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl) with a 2.6/10, followed by Fox at a 1.7/6; CBS with a 1.6/6; and ABC at a 1.4/4. The CW was at 0.6/2, followed by Telemundo and Univision each with a 0.5/2.

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Early on in this season -- in the fall -- Fox posted strong viewing numbers, due to its exclusive airing of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.”

This year, CBS easily resumes top levels again for best total viewer crown — versus NBC's supremacy a year ago.

CBS is at 9.3 million viewers (up versus 9 million a year ago); NBC, 7.8 million, (down from 10.1 million); Fox, 6.2 million (higher, from 5.5 million); and ABC, 5.5 million (down from 5.9 million). CW at 1.4 million (was at 1.7 million a year ago); Univision, 1.4 million (1.6 million in 2018), and Telemundo, 1.2 million (1.3 million last year).

The race for 25-54 viewers is also close this year, with NBC at a 2.4/8; CBS, 2.3/8; and Fox, a 2.2/8. ABC is at a 1.6/6.

1 comment about "Race For Prime-Time 18-49 Demo Tightens, Overall Viewing Down".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, March 6, 2019 at 2:58 p.m.

    Since neither 18-49 nor 25-54 is a valid brand targeting "demo" in the first place---especially when all of a corporation's brands are lumped together in one conglomerate GRP tonnage buy, as is typical of 75%+ of national TV time placements---one wonders when advertisers will switch to a system whereby the buyers' performance is evaluated based on how closely their corporate buys conform to a variable set of GRP goals---by age within income, for example---as well as getting the best---lowest?---overall CPM. We have proposed such a dual metric system for years as a way to improve the upfront buying system. It allows the sellers protection as they still guarantee GRPs on a single, umbrella, demo while at the same time the advertiser can press the buyers to attain a better throw of desired GRPs by key demo cells---or, at least, the ability to see what the trade-offs might be in higher overall CPMs in exchange for a better fit. Our "TV Dimensions" subscribers are familiar with this proposal and how it might be applied--- others should  take note?

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