By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --CBS is finishing another television season atop the television ratings, but the network had to sweat a little this time.
The traditional TV season that started in September ends on Wednesday, and CBS will win bragging rights for the 10th year in a row, the Nielsen company said. CBS has won for 15 of the last 16 years, the only exception being Fox during the height of “American Idol.”
Nielsen says CBS averages 9 million viewers in primetime this season. NBC is averaging 8.9 million, but there’s not enough time to catch up. NBC made it particularly close this year because it televised both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, which let the network dominate in February.
But CBS withstood it with the strength of its regular schedule.
“This is an amazing accomplishment,” said Kelly Kahl, CBS entertainment president.
Still, it’s NBC’s closest finish to CBS in 16 years. NBC won among viewers aged 18-to-49-years-old, the demographic its advertisers care most about, for the fourth time in five years.
ABC is averaging 6.1 million viewers this season, and Fox is at 4.9 million, Nielsen said.
CBS won the last full week of the TV season, averaging 6.6 million viewers. NBC had 5 million viewers, ABC had 4.5 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.5 million, the CW and ION Television had 1.2 million and Telemundo had 1.1 million.
TNT was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.06 million viewers in primetime. Fox News Channel had 2.34 million, ESPN had 2.28 million, MSNBC had 1.67 million and USA had 1.39 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.2 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 7.8 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.7 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for May 14-20. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “NCIS,” CBS, 12.71 million.
2. “Roseanne,” ABC, 10.74 million.
3. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.44 million.
4. NBA Conference Finals: Golden State at Houston, Game 1, TNT, 8.9 million.
5. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 8.7 million.
6. NBA Conference Finals: Cleveland at Boston, Game 2, ESPN, 8.42 million.
7. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.36 million.
8. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 8.16 million.
9. “Billboard Music Awards,” NBC, 7.87 million.
10. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 7.82 million.
11. NBA Conference Finals: Houston at Golden State, Game 3, TNT, 7.8 million.
12. “Dancing With the Stars: Athletes,” ABC, 7.69 million.
13. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 7.6 million.
14. NBA Conference Finals: Golden State at Houston, Game 2, TNT, 7.56 million.
15. “Survivor,” CBS, 7.54 million.
16. “American Idol” (Sunday), ABC, 7.47 million.
17. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 7.18 million.
18. “Young Sheldon, CBS, 7.04 million.
19. NBA Conference Finals: Boston at Cleveland, Game 3, ESPN, 6.83 million.
20. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 6.62 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
Droga5 Appoints Emma Montgomery As Global Chief Strategy Officer
Creative agency network Droga5 has appointed Emma Montgomery as global chief strategy officer. She is the third global appointment for the agency this year, with Pelle Sjoenell named worldwide chief creative officer this past March, and global CEO Mark Green recently appointed this fall. Montgomery will be responsible for connecting and supercharging Droga5’s strategy and creative offerings globally. She will be based in its headquarters in New York City.
“Emma is a world-class strategic leader and authority that I’ve long admired and dreamt of being partners-in-crime with,” said Sjoenell. “Her work inspires the creativity that connects people and brands in ways that move business and culture forward, so I’m excited to finally be able to work with her alongside Mark, and to see her lead and further strengthen our leadership and strategy teams around the world.”
Montgomery joins Droga5 after serving as CEO of DDB Chicago. She’s been in the industry for over 20 years, and has served in several high-level leadership positions throughout her career, including as president and CSO of Leo Burnett Chicago, global CSO of TBWA, and CEO of Leo Burnett Australia. She’s also worked across a breadth of categories and multiple global clients such as Kraft, Aldi, Diageo and Molson Coors, among many others, including challenger brands and startups.
“I’m excited to join Droga5 and have the opportunity to help carve out a new path for the brand globally, building on its tremendous legacy of creative leadership,” said Montgomery. “The potential of Droga5, combined with the possibilities of Accenture Song, was too exciting to pass up. No other agency has what they have, and as marketing shifts, the chance to make creativity a genuine... Read More