By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The winner, and still champion, is CBS.
The Tiffany network finished the traditional television season, which ended last week, as the most-watched broadcaster for the 12th consecutive year, the Nielsen company said.
CBS has won 17 of the last 18 years, the lone exception coming when Fox topped the chart at the height of "American Idol."
CBS has won for so long the distinction has lost much of the meaning it had when the streak began. Broadcast networks no longer dominate the television landscape as they used to and, with streaming and cable networks a big part of the mix, TV doesn't effectively turn out the lights in the summer the way it once did.
Nielsen's rankings also don't reflect streamed viewership of given programs outside of a seven-day window in which they were first telecast.
NBC's "Sunday Night Football" ranks as the most-watched regular program of the year, back in the fall when sports were on television. "NCIS" was the most popular scripted series for the first time since the 2012-13 season, with "Young Sheldon" as the top-rated comedy.
Three of the four top networks lost viewership compared to last season, which isn't unusual in this era of more entertainment choice.
CBS averaged 7.58 million viewers in primetime, down 15 percent from last season, Nielsen said. Second-place NBC averaged 6.5 million viewers, down 10 percent from last year and fourth-place ABC had 5.4 million, down 4 percent.
Fox was up 17 percent to 6.3 million, primarily because the network had a package of Thursday night NFL games in the fall that it didn't have the season before. Fox's ratings were also juiced by showing the Super Bowl in February.
Heading into the quieter summer, CBS won in primetime last week, averaging 4.1 million viewers. NBC was second with 3.6 million viewers, Fox had 2.88 million and ABC had 2.85 million. Univision had 1.5 million viewers, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 810,000 and the CW had 680,000.
Fox News Channel led among the cable networks, averaging 3 million viewers in primetime. MSNBC had 1.8 million, CNN had 1.35 million, TLC had 1.25 million and HGTV had 1.21 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led among the evening newscasts, averaging 9.6 million viewers last week. NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.5 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.8 million.
For the week of May 18-24, the top 20 television programs, their networks and viewership:
1. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 9.01 million.
2. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 7.64 million.
3. "The Voice" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 7.55 million.
4. "NCIS" (Tuesday), CBS, 6.74 million.
5. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC, 5.97 million.
6. "FBI" (Tuesday), CBS, 5.62 million.
7. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 5.47 million.
8. "Man With a Plan," CBS, 5.43 million.
9. "The Voice" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 5.17 million.
10. "NCIS" (Wednesday), CBS, 4.92 million.
11. "Mom," CBS, 4.84 million.
12. "S.W.A.T.," CBS, 4.83 million.
13. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 4.71 million.
14. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 4.47 million.
15. "Holey Moley," ABC, 4.44 million.
16. "FBI" (Wednesday), CBS, 4.42 million.
17. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 4.4 million.
18. "Ultimate Tag," Fox, 4.35 million.
19. "MacGyver," CBS, 4.32 million.
20. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News, 4.31 million.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More