Football Propels CBS to Top of TV Network Ranking

Each week, we highlight the most-watched shows and networks using insights from Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching). Here's a look at the top 25 networks by viewership share for October 16-22 — head over to TVREV to see the program ranking and get insights about the top shows by watch-time.

CBS jumps from fourth to first place week-over-week, with NFL and college football games largely contributing to its 8.62% viewership share. NBC, which had been king for three weeks in a row, slips to No. 2, while ABC remains in third week-over-week. 

Additional insights around the most-watched TV networks from October 16-22:

• Fox Sports 1 rockets up the ranking from No. 23 to No. 8, thanks largely to MLB games, which accounted for over 60% of all minutes watched on the network. 
• There are three week-over-week ranking newcomers: Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (No. 22), History (No. 24) and Bravo (No. 25). Of those, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries saw the biggest increase in viewership share (from 0.72% to 0.82%), with nearly a quarter of watch-time spent on Murder, She Wrote. 
• Halloween hasn’t even happened yet, but Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is already leaning into the holiday season: Of the network’s top ten programs by watch-time, six are Christmas themed.

Check out the latest ranking of most-watched TV programs at TVREV.