Sports Continue Their Fall Domination: TV By the Numbers

Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears scrambles against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at AT&T Stadium on October 30, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.
(Image credit: Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of October 24-30, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio's Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio's TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Football season is in full swing and nothing can unseat the NFL when it comes to viewership: Games accounted for 5.89% of all minutes watched from October 24-30, up slightly from the previous week's 5.34%.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

  • College football moves up a notch to second place from third the previous week, increasing its share of watch-time from 3.48% to 3.95%.
  • The 2022 World Series takes third place over NBA games, with 1.35% and 1.10% of minutes watch, respectively.
  • Two and a Half Men makes a notable jump up the chart, moving to No. 18 from No. 24 the previous week, fueled by reruns across TV Land, Paramount Network and IFC.
  • Week-over-week newcomers include NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (0.37%) and Hannity (0.36%), moving into the No. 24 and No. 25 chart positions, respectively.

Most-watched shows on TV by percent shared duration October 24-30.

With assists from NFL games, the World Series and college football, Fox scores a home run as the top network with 8.64% of minutes watched, unseating CBS, which had taken first place for weeks. 

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from October 24-30:

  • There's incremental movement within the middle ranks compared to the previous week, with Hallmark Channel (2.58% of minutes watched), Ion (1.82%) and HGTV (1.64%), among others, rising to new heights.
  • Speaking of Hallmark, the network continues its early Christmas obsession, with movies including Jolly Good Christmas, A Cozy Christmas Inn and Ghosts of Christmas Always among its top programming for the week. And that's not all: Sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries catapults into the ranking at No. 19 (1.09% of watch-time), also fueled by holiday content.
  • Cable news saw a week-over-week increase, with MSNBC moving into 10th place from No. 13 with 1.50% of minutes watched, and CNN jumping from No. 15 to No. 11 (1.44%).
  • Discovery was another week-over-week newcomer, capturing 0.86% of watch-time and landing at No. 25.

Most-watched networks on TV by percent shared duration Oct. 24-30.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

Once again the NFL takes first place with a 12.29% share of TV ad impressions, an increase from the previous week's 10.09%. College football marches up the field with an impressions SOV of 7.94%, while the MLB World Series takes third place (3.09%). 

More insights about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

  • Good Morning America overtakes the NBA for fourth place, with 1.48% and 1.46% share of impressions, respectively.
  • With Election Day rapidly approaching, various news programs saw week-over-week increases, including Fox & Friends (up from 0.90% share of impressions to 1.60%), NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt (from 0.77% to 0.95%), ABC World News Tonight With David Muir (from 0.55% to 0.77%), Jesse Watters Primetime (from 0.63% to 0.71%) and America Reports, which wasn’t on the previous week’s ranking but comes in at No. 25 with 0.60% share of impressions, up from 0.52%.
  • Thanks to back-to-back nights of episodes, Bachelor in Paradise moves up the ranking from No. 18 to No. 17, with a 0.79% share of TV ad impressions.
  • Programs maintaining their ranking spot week-over-week but seeing an increase in share of impressions include Today (up from 1.31% to 1.35%), SportsCenter (from 1.23% to 1.31%), The Price Is Right (from 1.11% to1.27%) and The Young and the Restless (from 1.04% to 1.10%).

Top shows by TV ad impressions Oct. 24-30.

CBS once again takes first place in our top-networks-by-impressions ranking, with a slight week-over-week increase in TV ad impression share -- up to 14.92% from 14.36%. Fox jumps into second place with a nearly 30% increase in total impressions week-over-week, thanks in part to the 2022 World Series. 

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

  • NBC scored a slightly higher share of TV ad impressions than ABC -- 11.55% vs. 11.41% -- with over a quarter of its total impressions coming from NFL games. ABC was buoyed by college football, which accounted for 18% of the network’s total impressions.
  • Spanish-language networks Univision, Telemundo and UniMás all rise up the ranking with week-over-week share of impressions increases, with Telemundo having the largest (from 1.40% to 2.31%).
  • The CW arrives in our ranking at No. 23 (up from No. 27 previously) with All American, Stargirl and All American: Homecoming as its top three impressions-driving shows.
  • SEC Network was another week-over-week newcomer, landing at No. 19 with 0.59% impressions share, up from 0.36% the previous week.

Top networks by TV ad impressions Oct. 24-30.