NewsBeat

6 NewsBeat May/June 2017 By TONI FITZGERALD Yet another year of tumbling broadcast ratings CBS's 'NCIS' is down 18 percent this season in 18-49s. It would be surprising, at this point, to see broadcast ratings gain or even remain steady year to year. Yet it's still worth noting, with just one month left in the TV season, that viewership has fallen anew among the key adults 18-49 demo. The Big Five networks are down 7 percent from last season, according to Nielsen, with a collective 8.8 18-49 rating. That's down from a 9.5 at this time last year. Just one network, Fox, is up from last season, and that's because it carried the Super Bowl, which CBS had last year. NBC is even to last season. The rest of the networks are down. CBS has suffered the steepest decline, off 24 percent from last season, from a 2.5 to a 1.9. Some of that can be explained by the network airing last year's Super Bowl, which gave it a nice boost. people away — even if it's to watch the exact same shows the broadcasters air via a different platform, such as video on demand or Netflix. In broadcast ratings for the week ended March 12: Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 1.2 rating and a 5 share, followed by CBS and ABC at 1.1/4, Fox at 0.7/3, Univision at 0.6/2, Telemundo and CW at 0.5/2, ION and UniMás at 0.3/1, Estrella TV, Me-TV, Bounce TV and Grit at 0.1/0 and COZI- TV, Azteca and Escape at 0.0/0. Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. NBC's "This Is Us" 3.0; 2. CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" 2.8; 3. NBC's "The Voice-Monday" 2.7; 4. NBC's "The Voice-Tuesday" 2.6; 5. ABC's "The Bachelor" 2.2. Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. CBS's "NCIS" 14.18 million; 2. CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" 13.08 million; 3. NBC's "The Voice" 12.00 million; 4. NBC's "The Voice-Tuesday" 11.62 million; 5. NBC's 'This Is Us" 11.15 million. Show on the rise: NBC's "This Is Us," Tuesday, 9 p.m. The drama posted a 3.0 rating among 18-49s, up 20 percent from a 2.5 for its most recent original episode. Show on the decline: NBC's "Little Big Shots," Sunday, 8 p.m. The variety series posted a 1.7 rating among 18-49s, down 15 percent from a 2.0 the previous week. Editor's Note: Encourage your sales team to use this date to sell against TV in your local markets. But it's also been a disappointing season for the ordinarily steady network. It's suffered more than the usual share of bombs, including midseason disappointments "Doubt" and "Training Day," and a number of its returning shows have fallen, including top hits "NCIS" and "The Big Bang Theory." ABC, meanwhile, has suffered the second-biggest year-to-year drop, sliding 11 percent. It has a handful of new shows that have put up okay numbers, but many of its older shows, though still among its biggest hits, have posted declines. The CW is also down this season, falling a tenth in the demo. That reflects the network's dismal duo of new fall shows, which undoubtedly will get the official axe in May. Will broadcast's declines ever plateau? Probably not anytime soon. Even if the decreases slow, they'll still continue as new media woos The Big Five are off 7 percent this year in 18-49s, continuing a recent trend

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