NFL, CFB Dominate Most-Watched TV Programming of 2024

In what will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, sports reigned supreme for linear TV watch-time in 2024, owning four of the top five ranking positions, according to an analysis from Inscape. Viewership was also up year-over-year for multiple sports, highlighting just how important they are for traditional TV tune-in. The 2024 Paris Olympics also brought people to linear TV, with the games taking third place on the ranking, behind only the NFL and college football.

• The NFL takes first place on the ranking with 2.41% of all minutes watched during the year, up from 2.10% in 2023. College football lands at No. 2 with a 1.77% viewership share (up from 1.37% in 2023).
• Major League Baseball also saw watch-time rise: It captured a 0.82% viewership share, up from 0.75% in 2023, and moves from fifth to fourth place year-over-year.
• Men's college basketball jumps from No. 33 to No. 18 year-over-year with a 0.48% viewership share.
• Today was the top non-sports programming for the year, but it had a small year-over-year decrease in watch-time (from 0.80% in 2023 to 0.79% in 2024).
• Fox News was a big 2024 winner, owning five of the top 25 programs, each of which saw increased watch-time vs. 2023. Fox & Friends ranked tenth out of all programming with a 0.59% viewership share, up from No. 11 in 2023. Meanwhile, Jesse Watters Primetime squeaked into the ranking at No. 25 after not appearing in the top 50 programs in 2023.
• Outside of sports and news, syndicated crime dramas were big, with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit taking sixth place (0.79% viewership share) while NCIS lands at No. 9 (0.64%).
• Reruns of beloved sitcoms Friends and The Big Bang Theory had those shows taking No. 12 and No. 15, respectively. Friends saw less watch-time in 2024 vs. 2023 (0.55% vs. 0.61%), while reruns on TBS fueled an increase in viewership share for The Big Bang Theory, up from 0.36% in 2023 to 0.51% in 2024.