What is the fifth most popular TV network in the USA?

[BMR]

Just curious, basically as subject.

I know Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC are way ahead of anyone else in terms of ratings. but who is back there in fifth?

Is it PBS, The CW or a Spanish network? Or someone else entirely?

(I would imagine Spanish channels rate quite highly in some markets but not in others)

 

[K.M. Richards]

According to MediaLife magazine, whose readership consists of media planners and time buyers, here's the prime-time rundown for the week that ended yesterday:


CBS 6.4 7430 11
NBC 5.8 6740 10
Fox 2.5 2930 4
ABC 2.5 2890 4
Univision 1.2 1390 2
Ion 0.9 1050 2
Telemundo 0.8 990 1
CW 0.8 900 1
MeTV 0.4 480 1
Unimas 0.3 370 1
Bounce 0.2 240 0
Cozi 0.1 140 0
PBS 0.1 130 0
Azteca 0.1 100 0
MundoMax 0.1 90 0

From left to right, numbers indicate ratings percentage points (each rating point is equivalent to one percent or 1.164 million homes), number of households x1000, and audience share.

 

[BMR]

Thanks for that. I guessed Univision might be quite high, but I wasn't expecting Ion to be so high, nor PBS that low.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I'm pretty amazed that ION out-rates CW.

Thanks for that. I guessed Univision might be quite high, but I wasn't expecting Ion to be so high, nor PBS that low.

PBS doesn't have very many hit shows. Tonight my local station is showing three hours of Opera. Last night they showed a rerun of Antiques Roadshow and two British imports titled "Death in Paradise" and "Doc Martin". It is likely they had almost zero viewers both nights.
Note that PBS stations have a great deal of autonomy about their schedules and what is aired here is probably not the same thing that runs on some of the major city PBS stations - which makes rating PBS a hard task for Neilsen.

 

[semoochie]

I always felt sorry for the CW. The WB combined forces with UPN and they ended up with fewer listeners than either one!

 

[K.M. Richards]

I always felt sorry for the CW. The WB combined forces with UPN and they ended up with fewer listeners than either one!

Not to mention the ones looking at the screen instead of just listening to the programs' soundtracks. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

 

[E-Cam]

I always felt sorry for the CW. The WB combined forces with UPN and they ended up with fewer listeners than either one!

I don't feel sorry for them. It's almost sorry when a big four station lowers themselves to the CW instead of independent (*ahem* Indianapolis)


Surprised that Ion is that far high. Makes me wonder where MyNetworkTV is since they are almost like Ion.

 

[installLSC]

What really stuns me is that NBC and CBS both outrated Fox and ABC by more than double. What's the reason, and what are the margins like in a full season?

 

[mrtejano]

Not to mention the ones looking at the screen instead of just listening to the programs' soundtracks. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Lol good one.

 

[Poledo]

Major OTA spectrum owners TBN and Daystar are nowhere to be found?

 

[PTBoardOp94]

What really stuns me is that NBC and CBS both outrated Fox and ABC by more than double. What's the reason, and what are the margins like in a full season?

FOX is struggling with developing new shows. Most of its highly successful shows from the 2000s are no longer in production or seriously out of gas (House, 24, Glee, American Idol) and few of its new programs this season are doing well.

CBS had a serious boost from 60 Minutes last week, which was the most watched non-sports program this TV season. NBC was also boosted by the Democratic Presidential Debate.
Season to date it is a pretty close race, in this order: (18-49 viewers) CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC

 

[anotherguyTN]

I'm surprised that Cozi is ranked as high as it is and that Antenna TV isn't even on the list. Are the ratings available for anything lower than MundoMax?

 

[K.M. Richards]

I posted what was available, anotherguy. And it took me 20 minutes of searching to find that.

If anyone else wants to try to find the ratings below these, I am not offended by their trying, but I should also point out that the margin of error would render anything below these meaningless in significance.

Suffice it to say there is a multi-way tie for 16th.

 

[Ccook55]

Since My Network TV considers themselves a "syndication service" and not a network, no surprise it's not on the list.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Surprised that Ion is that far high.

I gave this a little thought overnight.

Look at their schedule. Every day is a marathon of some drama series. Some of them only aired on cable before Ion. If you're a fan of Law and Order: SVU and know Ion will run that show back-to-back from noon Saturday until 4:00am Sunday, what are you going to do the first time you don't find anything better channel surfing?

You're going to click over to Ion and then set the remote down the rest of the day.

Get enough of those viewers and you can get a 0.9%. Sure, it's only one-seventh the number of households than the top-rated network, but that's good enough to get significant agency business.

 

[blizzard59]

Here, also from Media Life Magazine, are the season-to-date ratings through January 10th. Univision is in fifth place in both the People 2+ and the Adults 18-49 ratings, the latter of which are the numbers advertisers on the major networks base their buys on. Worth noting, however, is that in the household numbers (not shown here), The CW narrowly takes fifth place over Univision by a mere 20,000 households.

By the way, PBS isn't on the lists I've posted here, but Spanish-language network Estrella TV, going under the abbreviation "ETV," is.

Adults 18-49:

NBC	        2.7	3360	9
CBS	        2.3	2940	8
Fox	        2.0	2530	7
ABC	        1.9	2410	6
Univision	0.8	1000	3
CW	        0.7	910	2
Telemundo	0.6	750	2
Ion	        0.3	380	1
UniMás	        0.3	350	1
Bounce	        0.1	130	0
Estrella TV	0.1	100	0
MeTV	        0.1	90	0
Azteca	        0.0	60	0
MundoMax	0.0	40	0
Cozi	        0.0	30	0

People 2+:

CBS	        3.7	11070	10
NBC	        3.2	9380	9
ABC	        2.4	7060	7
Fox	        2.0	6020	5
Univision	0.7	2160	2
CW	        0.6	1860	2
Telemundo	0.5	1540	1
Ion	        0.4	1200	1
UniMás	        0.2	690	1
MeTV	        0.2	590	1
Bounce	        0.1	320	0
Estrella TV	0.1	240	0
MundoMax	0.0	150	0
Cozi	        0.0	150	0
Azteca	        0.0	120	0

Note how young the Spanish networks skew in general, how old CBS skews, or how The CW is the youngest-skewing English network.

 

[K.M. Richards]

By the way, PBS isn't on the lists I've posted here, but Spanish-language network Estrella TV, going under the abbreviation "ETV," is.

Now explain to me why I thought that was PBS, when I knew I was getting the numbers from a source that is used by media buyers. At least, though, that explains the absence of TBN and Daystar, as another poster wondered.

I do note that in the "money demo" four of the seven Spanish-language nets are very weak. No wonder Fox sold MundoFox.

 

[BMR]

Thanks for this. One more question if I may.

Are the Spanish networks watched only by Hispanic people, or is there a certain amount of crossover to non Hispanic viewers?

 

[Mario500]

Are the Spanish networks watched only by Hispanic people, or is there a certain amount of crossover to non Hispanic viewers?

I can not tell you whether a person who is not "Hispanic" is watching a "Spanish network" at the time of this writing or not, but I can tell you that I had watched such a network in the past since I remembered having done so and since I'm a "non Hispanic" person myself.

 

[Robnoxious]

Thanks for this. One more question if I may.

Are the Spanish networks watched only by Hispanic people, or is there a certain amount of crossover to non Hispanic viewers?

I watched the majority of the last World Cup solely on Univision.
I preferred hearing the call of the matches spoken with passion and gravitas even if it's in a language I do not speak and only vaguely understand.

ESPN's play by play might as well have been performed by morticians because of how stiff they sounded.