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    CBS is TV’s most popular network for 15th straight year

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1892 Views
    This image released by CBS shows Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper in a scene from "Young Sheldon." (Bill Inoshita/CBS Entertainment via AP)

    By David Bauder, Media Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    CBS claimed the distinction of most-watched television network for the 15th straight year, even as those bragging rights don't mean what they used to.

    The network averaged just under 6 million viewers on a typical moment in primetime for the season that just concluded, the Nielsen company said on Friday. NBC was the second most popular, followed by Fox and ABC — the same pecking order as last year.

    All of the networks lost viewers from the year before, with NBC's 13% decline the steepest and Fox's 1% drop the smallest, Nielsen said.

    CBS' winning streak began in a different era, back when the mention of streaming or cord-cutting would earn a quizzical look. Its viewership average during that 2008-09 season was 11.75 million, nearly double what it was this year.

    In comparison, ABC and Fox both lost more than half of their live viewers from the 2008-09 season, while NBC was down 33% from that time, when it was at an ebb, Nielsen said.

    Quite simply, viewers have far more choices today and are accustomed to creating their own entertainment schedules. The broadcast networks also benefit from that; CBS said that within 35 days, a typical episode of "CSI: Vegas" more than doubles its viewership from the night it first airs.

    But, increasingly, live events like sports are what brings viewers to network television. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" was the most popular program this past season, averaging 18.5 million live viewers, Nielsen said.

    "Sunday Night Football" first aired on NBC in 2006. Longevity was a key component in other popular shows. The most-watched drama on the night it first airs, CBS' "NCIS," has been on the network's schedule since 2003. The most popular comedy, CBS' "Young Sheldon," first aired in 2017, but it was a spinoff from "The Big Bang Theory," which began a decade earlier.

    The most-watched news program in primetime, CBS' "60 Minutes," has been on the air since 1968. The most-watched reality show, NBC's "The Voice," began in 2011.

    All but two of the 10 most-watched scripted shows were dramas. "Young Sheldon" and CBS' "Ghosts" were the two exceptions.

    CBS had seven of the 10 most popular scripted shows. The others were producer Dick Wolf's "Chicago Fire," "Chicago Med" and "Chicago P.D." trilogy on NBC.

    Tags:60 MinutesCBSNielsen



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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