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Sports leaves little room for debate on who rules viewership

Editor’s note: This story is revised from the print edition.

Some in the industry are waiting for a sports rights bubble to pop, but judging from 2016’s most popular television shows, sports rights are as valuable as ever.

Eighty-eight of the top 100, most-viewed shows on television last year were live sports telecasts, and seven more were big live events.

Super Bowl 50 on CBS was the most-viewed program of 2016, and NFL games filled eight of the top 12 slots.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
Only two slots were taken by scripted dramas (two episodes of CBS’s “NCIS”). Three others (two “60 Minutes” episodes and the post-Super Bowl edition of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”) were driven by NFL lead-ins.

“It becomes truer every year — the top end of TV is almost exclusively a live event programming business,” said Mike Mulvihill, executive vice president of research, league operations and strategy at Fox Sports. “Most of the live events are sports events, but not necessarily all of them.”

A lot of ink was spilled on the NFL’s ratings drop this season, but 2016 showed that the league still is America’s most popular TV programming, by far. Regular-season games took 49 spots among the top 100, and the NFL playoffs took an additional 11 spots — including six of the top 10.

The Olympics again proved to be a reliable ratings grabber despite a drop from four years ago, as 15 of 17 nights of prime-time coverage on NBC made the top 100. Swimming performances, highlighted by Michael Phelps, were the most-watched nights from Rio, taking the top four Olympics spots, followed by Usain Bolt’s record-setting 100-meter run.

The following chart based on viewership includes shows that run across different networks but feature nearly identical programming, like the NCAA tournament Final Four and College Football Playoff and Championship, which were multicast over several networks. It also includes the presidential debates, where 10 English-language networks carried the same programming. It does not include the political conventions or election night coverage, which each network covers with its own on-air talent.

2016’s Top 100-Viewed TV Programs

Rank Network(s) Date Program Average # of viewers (000s)
1 CBS  Feb. 7 Super Bowl 50: Broncos-Panthers 111,864
2 10 networks* Sept. 26 U.S. Presidential Debate No. 1: Clinton-Trump 79,054
3 10 networks*  Oct. 19 U.S. Presidential Debate No. 3: Clinton-Trump 67,473
4 9 networks**  Oct. 9 U.S. Presidential Debate No. 2: Clinton-Trump 64,065
5 CBS  Jan. 24 AFC Championship: Broncos-Patriots 53,300
6 Fox  Jan. 24 NFC Championship: Panthers-Cardinals 45,739
7 CBS  Jan. 17 AFC Divisional Playoff: Broncos-Steelers 42,953
8 Fox  Nov. 2 World Series: Game 7: Cubs-Indians 40,043
9 Fox  Jan. 10 NFC Wild Card: Packers-Redskins 38,851
10 Fox  Jan. 17 NFC Divisional Playoff: Panthers-Seahawks 36,683
11 NBC  Jan. 10 NFC Wild Card: Seahawks-Vikings 35,360
12 Fox  Nov. 24 Redskins-Cowboys (Thanksgiving) 35,109
13 ABC  Feb. 28 The Oscars 34,425
14 NBC  Jan. 16 NFC Divisional Playoff: Cardinals-Packers 33,732
15 NBC  Aug. 9 Rio Olympics: Night 5 (Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, U.S. women’s gymnastics win gold) 33,440
16 CBS  Jan. 16 AFC Divisional Playoff: Patriots-Chiefs 31,495
17 CBS  Jan. 9 AFC Wild Card: Steelers-Bengals 31,226
18 NBC  Aug. 11 Rio Olympics: Night 7 (Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Simone Manuel win gold) 31,215
19 ABC  June 19 NBA Finals: Game 7: Cavaliers-Warriors 31,018
20 NBC  Aug. 7 Rio Olympics: Night 3 (Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky win gold) 29,779
21 Fox  Nov. 13 NFL national window (Cowboys-Steelers) 28,883
22 NBC  Aug. 8 Rio Olympics: Night 4 (Michael Phelps, beach volleyball) 28,861
23 Fox  Oct. 16 NFL national window (Cowboys-Packers) 28,011
24 CBS  Nov. 24 Vikings-Lions (Thanksgiving) 27,611
25 Fox  Sept. 11 NFL national window (Giants-Cowboys) 27,531
26 NBC  Aug. 14 Rio Olympics: Night 10 (Usain Bolt, Simone Biles win gold) 26,749
27 NBC  Dec. 11 SNF: Cowboys-Giants 26,499
28 NBC  Aug. 5 Rio Olympics: Opening Ceremony 26,488
29 NBC  Aug. 10 Rio Olympics: Night 6 (Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky swimming) 26,447
30 ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU Jan. 11 CFP National Championship: Alabama-Clemson 26,182
31 NBC  Aug. 13 Rio Olympics: Night 9 (Michael Phelps’ final race) 25,524
32 ABC/ESPN Jan. 9 AFC Wild Card: Chiefs-Texans 25,424
33 Fox  Dec. 4 NFL national window (Giants-Steelers) 25,414
34 Fox  Dec. 11 NFL national window (Seahawks-Packers) 25,261
35 NBC  Sept. 8 Panthers-Broncos (NFL Kickoff) 25,186
36 CBS  Dec. 18 NFL national window (Patriots-Broncos) 24,990
37 CBS  Feb. 15 Grammy Awards 24,962
38 NBC Nov. 24 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 24,639
39 CBS  Nov. 20 NFL national window (Eagles-Seahawks) 24,359
40 NBC  Jan. 3 SNF: Vikings-Packers 24,286
41 NBC  Aug. 15 Rio Olympics: Night 11 (women’s gymnastics) 24,220
42 NBC  Dec. 18 SNF: Buccaneers-Cowboys 24,148
43 NBC  Aug. 16 Rio Olympics: Night 12 (women’s gymnastics) 24,135
44 NBC  Aug. 12 Rio Olympics: Night 8 (Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky swimming) 24,019
45 Fox  Oct. 30 World Series: Game 5: Cubs-Indians 23,638
46 CBS  Nov. 27 NFL national window (Panthers-Raiders) 23,497
47 Fox  Nov. 1 World Series: Game 6: Cubs-Indians 23,396
48 NBC  Sept. 11 SNF: Patriots-Cardinals 23,078
49 NBC  Sept. 18 SNF: Packers-Vikings 22,751
50 Fox  Oct. 30 NFL national window (Packers-Falcons) 22,736
51 Fox  Oct. 2 NFL national window (Cowboys-49ers) 22,697
52 NBC  Nov. 13 SNF: Seahawks-Patriots 22,513
53 CBS  Sept. 25 NFL national window (Steelers-Eagles) 22,008
54 NBC/NFL Net Dec. 1 TNF: Cowboys-Vikings 21,760
55 NBC  Aug. 18 Rio Olympics: Night 14 (Usain Bolt wins 200 meters) 21,700
56 CBS  Oct. 23 NFL national window (Patriots-Steelers) 21,675
57 NBC  Dec. 25 SNF: Broncos-Chiefs 21,413
58 CBS  Sept. 18 NFL national window (Colts-Broncos) 21,354
59 CBS  Oct. 9 NFL national window (Bengals-Cowboys) 21,304
60 CBS Feb. 7 “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”^ 21,100
61 Fox  Jan. 3 NFL national window (Seahawks-Cardinals) 20,884
62 NBC  Nov. 24 Steelers-Colts (Thanksgiving) 20,881
63 ABC  June 16 NBA Finals: Game 6: Cavaliers-Warriors 20,702
64 NBC  Aug. 17 Rio Olympics: Night 13 (Usain Bolt in 200-meter semifinals, beach volleyball) 20,683
65 NBC  Aug. 6 Rio Olympics: Night 2 (first night of competition) 20,633
66 CBS Jan. 17 “60 Minutes” 20,624
67 NBC  Sept. 25 SNF: Bears-Cowboys 20,617
68 ABC  June 13 NBA Finals: Game 5: Cavaliers-Warriors 20,528
69 CBS  Nov. 6 NFL national window (Colts-Packers) 20,157
70 Fox  Nov. 6 NFL singleheader 20,152
71 NBC  Aug. 19 Rio Olympics: Night 15 (Usain Bolt’s final race) 20,050
72 CBS  Nov. 13 “60 Minutes” 20,000
73 Fox  Oct. 28 World Series: Game 3: Cubs-Indians 19,384
74 Fox  Oct. 25 World Series: Game 1: Cubs-Indians 19,368
75 ESPN/ESPN2 Dec. 31 CFP Semifinal: Peach Bowl: Alabama-Washington 19,344
76 ESPN/ESPN2 Dec. 31 CFP Semifinal: Fiesta Bowl: Clemson-Ohio State 19,236
77 ABC  June 2 NBA Finals: Game 1: Cavaliers-Warriors 19,196
78 Fox  Sept. 25 NFL singleheader 19,168
79 Fox  Sept. 18 NFL singleheader 19,163
80 CBS  Dec. 11 NFL singleheader 19,101
81 CBS Jan. 5 “NCIS” 18,975
82 CBS  Jan. 3 NFL national window (Jets-Bills) 18,958
83 NBC  Nov. 20 SNF: Packers-Redskins 18,729
84 Fox  Dec. 18 NFL singleheader 18,705
85 ESPN Dec. 26 MNF: Lions-Cowboys 18,605
86 CBS  Dec. 4 NFL singleheader 18,539
87 NBC Jan. 10 Golden Globe Awards 18,511
88 NBC  Nov. 27 SNF: Chiefs-Broncos 18,436
89 Fox  Dec. 24 NFL national window (Vikings-Packers) 18,397
90 NBC  Nov. 6 SNF: Broncos-Raiders 18,325
91 NBC  Oct. 2 SNF: Chiefs-Steelers 18,057
92 NBC  Oct. 30 SNF: Eagles-Cowboys 18,023
93 CBS May 17 “NCIS” 18,015
94 NBC/NFL Net Dec. 22 TNF: Giants-Eagles 17,943
95 (tie) NBC  Dec. 4 SNF: Panthers-Seahawks 17,752
95 (tie) TBS/TNT/truTV April 4 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Villanova-North Carolina 17,752
97 NBC  Oct. 23 SNF: Seahawks-Cardinals 17,707
98 CBS  Nov. 20 NFL regional 17,559
99 CBS  Jan. 3 NFL regional 17,550
100 CBS/NFL Net Sept. 22 TNF: Texans-Patriots 17,546

Note: All figures exclude Spanish-language telecasts.
* Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS, CNBC and Fox Business all televised the debate.
** Fox, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS, CNBC and Fox Business all televised the debate; NBC televised “Thursday Night Football.”
^ Aired following Super Bowl 50.
Source: SportsBusiness Journal research


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