Alas it’s true, broadcast is wilting

Outside of NBC, which is up 23 percent this season, the broadcast networks aren’t having a very good fall. The rest are all down from last year, and in total the Big Five are off 11 percent among adults 18-49. They’ve combined for an 11.8 18-49 rating in the first seven weeks of the season, according to Nielsen, compared to a 13.3 at this point last year.

NBC is the leader with a 3.2, up from a fourth-place 2.6 last year. CBS ranks second with a 2.8, down 18 percent from a 3.4 last fall. ABC ranks third with a 2.6, off 7 percent from a 2.8, and Fox has fallen 29 percent, from a 3.5 to a 2.5. The CW is down 30 percent, from a 1.0 to a 0.7. There are some obvious reasons for this year’s declines. One is simply the natural erosion that broadcast has seen over recent years as viewers are increasingly distracted by cable, video games, tablets and other new media devices that take their time away from traditional broadcast viewing. Another factor is certainly DVRs, with penetration of the devices growing to 46 percent of Nielsen households. At times during primetime there are now a similar amount of people watching time-shifted shows and live shows, and that only stands to increase with time as more people get the devices.