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Broadcast television is a mature business; there is not much opportunity for growth from the current, linear product. The television networks know this and are responding accordingly. In fact, Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, came right out and admitted this during the company’s upfront presentation in New York. He said the company’s approach is “basically to reduce pretty dramatically our investment in content, specifically aimed at those traditional networks.”
This is clearly demonstrated by the content being offered for the upcoming season. TVNewsCheck’s Paige Albiniak observed the announced primetime schedules are “mostly reality, unscripted and game shows alongside their long-running franchises, most of which are procedurals.” The “high-end dramas and sitcoms” are few and far between.
This shouldn’t be a surprise when one looks at the viewership declines. Take, for example, the changes in the last 10 years. In 2013, Nielsen’s rating results show CBS’ The Big Bang Theory had the 2013-2014 season’s highest viewership with an average 23.1 million people watching an episode within seven days of its airing. The next four highly watched programs are: NCIS (CBS) with 24.4 million, Saturday Night Football on NBC, 21.7 million; NCIS:LA (CBS), 17.9 million and Blacklist (NBC), 16.9 million. NBCU’s Law & Order: SVU and CBS’ Undercover Boss are tied for the 49th place with a weekly average of 9.1 million viewers.
In 2023, the top 21 most-viewed broadcast programs are all sporting events. No.