This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Feb. 8-14, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.
Most-Watched Shows and Networks
Via Vizio’s Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of millions of 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).
Coverage of former President Trump’s second impeachment trial took the top two spots for watch-time, with CNN’s broadcast at No. 1, accounting for 2.36% of all minutes watched during the week. College and NBA basketball remained in the top five, while other sports broadcasts made the ranking including PGA Tour Golf, the 2021 Australian Open and the 2021 Daytona 500. Blue Bloods, Home Town and Family Feud each jumped into the top 25 after being absent the previous week.
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Once again, CBS took first place (6.92% of all minutes watched), but ABC and NBC were close behind, with 6.42% and 6.37%, respectively. CNN and Fox News swapped places compared to the previous week, thanks in part to CNN’s coverage of the impeachment trial, while the other networks in the top 10 maintained their rank week-over-week. Propelled partially by The First 48, A&E made it into the top 25 for the first time in a while.
Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions
Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.
NBA games took first place for TV ad impressions with 1.4 billion, a slight 1.76% week-over-week decrease. College basketball followed closely behind with 1.1 billion impressions, a 10.74% decrease compared to the previous week. And while PGA Tour Golf had a 2.27% week-over-week decrease in impressions, it jumped up from 10th to fifth place compared to the previous week. The Daytona 500 just made the top 10, coming in at No. 9 with 511.4 million impressions, while The Bachelor jumped from No. 24 to No. 14 this time, with its 374.9 million impressions representing a 9.06% week-over-week increase.
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CBS retained its No. 1 position with over 5 billion TV ad impressions, followed by ABC (4.2 billion) and NBC (3.5 billion). The rest of the top 10 included the usual suspects such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, among others, and notably the Weather Channel was the only top-10 network that had fewer than 1 billion impressions — 890.3 million, a 52.76% week-over-week increase, thanks in part to coverage of Winter Storm Shirley. On the flip side, TNT was among the networks that had week-over-week decreases in impressions, dropping from No. 11 to 18 with 405.6 million impressions, a 41.27% decrease.
