Nielsen’s First Full-Season Multiplatform Ratings

About two weeks ago Variety provided the first full season multiplatform ratings not just for broadcast TV but also for streaming services via the Nielsen ratings, you know, the American media company that measures the audiences of television programming.

And while for many decades the Nielsen ratings were the epitome of what every TV show aspired to rank within. If you were a TV show, you WANTED to be ranked at the top of the Nielsen ratings. That was how the TV world spun when there were far fewer networks to keep track of.

But with the advent of more and more cable networks and then when the world of streaming services crept into our daily lives – and pretty much took over – the Nielsen ratings, well, they just started to unravel and not hold as high a place of adulation as they once did.

However, since there is still no other preeminent, alternate source to determine how TV shows are performing with their audience, the Nielsen ratings are what any good TV reporter, journalist or avid TV watcher strives to keep track of as often as possible. Or, at least in my case, week to week. It used to be daily, but real life has a funny way of getting in the way of following the ratings as stringent as I would prefer.

Now, back to that full season multiplatform ratings for broadcast TV and streaming services that I mentioned, right? It would seem, despite what a lot of people might think, broadcast TV isn’t fully dead, but streaming services certainly have taken a big bite out of their once colossal double-digit ratings.

And it would seem that more people than you would imagine are still watching “old school” mediums, i.e. broadcast TV – especially the shows on CBS. Please keep in mind that sports will not appear on the lists that I am going to share with you, nor will there be any shows that only lasted for 4 or less episodes and only shows that air in primetime are included in the lists that follow.

But back to CBS: the network landed six shows in the 20 most-watched series among total viewers, which covers viewers watching CBS, those watching via DVR, on the network’s website or on Paramount+ with ABC being the only other broadcast network making the top 20 with two of its shows. But there should be no surprise that Netflix dominated the top 20 with 10 shows, led by – of course – Squid Games.

So here is the 2024-2025 season-to-date broadcast and streaming chart for total viewers over a 35-day multiplatform, which basically means all the different ways in which viewers watch these shows:

1.  Squid Games (Netflix) – 27.1 million
2.  Adolescence (Netflix) – 19 million
3.  Reacher (Amazon Prime) – 18.1 million
4.  Tracker (CBS) – 17.5 million
5.  Matlock (CBS) and High Potential (ABC) [TIE] – 16.1 million
7.  Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story (Netflix) and Zero Day (Netflix) [TIE] – 15.7 million
9.  Nobody Wants This (Netflix) – 15.2 million
10. Landman (Paramount+) – 15 million
11. The Night Agent (Netflix) – 14.8 million
12. American Primeval (Netflix) – 13.8 million
13. Running Point (Netflix) – 13.1 million
14. A Man on the Inside (Netflix) – 12.4 million
15. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (CBS) and Ghosts (CBS) [TIE]- 12.1 million
17. Will Trent (ABC) – 11.6 million
18. Elsbeth (CBS), Watson (CBS), 1923 (Paramount+) and Ms. Rachel (Netflix/You Tube) [Four-Way Tie] – 11.5 million

Lastly there is the 2024-2025 season-to-date primetime broadcast TV (only) chart for total viewers, again, over a 35-day multiplatform, which basically means all the different ways in which viewers watch these shows:

1.  Tracker (CBS) – 17.5 million
2.  Matlock (CBS) – and High Potential (ABC) [TIE] – 16.1 million
4.  Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (CBS) and Ghosts [TIE] – 12.1 million
6.  Will Trent (ABC) – 11.6 million
7.  Elsbeth (CBS) and Watson (CBS) – 11.5 million
9.  9-1-1 (ABC) – 11.2 million
10. Shifting Gears (ABC) – 11.1 million
11. The Rookie (ABC) – 10.7 million
12. FBI (CBS) and NCIS (CBS) [TIE] – 10.6 million
14. Blue Bloods (CBS) – 10.1 million
15. Chicago P.D. (NBC) – 9.8 million
16. Chicago Med (NBC) – 9.7 million
17. Fire Country (CBS) – 9.6 million
18. NCIS: Origins (CBS) – 9.4 million
19. Chicago Fire (NBC) – 9.2 million
20. Abbott Elementary (ABC) – 8.9 million

So, it would seem that broadcast TV isn’t quite so dead as many have thought and streaming services aren’t quite the juggernaut (yet) that we assumed.

Are any of your favorite shows in either of these lists? Please share in our comments section below.