NBC Wins TV Season in Total Viewers for the First Time Since 2002
NBC has claimed the title of the most-watched broadcaster in primetime for the first time since 2002. The network averaged 5.83 million viewers this season, surpassing CBS, which had dominated since 2008. Key events like the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics contributed significantly to NBC's success.
- ▪NBC will finish the 2025-26 season as the most-watched network in total viewers.
- ▪This marks the first time since the 2001-02 season that NBC has achieved this title.
- ▪NBC's Sunday Night Football was the top show this season, averaging 21 million viewers.
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| Original publisher | The Hollywood Reporter |
| Canonical URL | https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nbc-wins-2025-26-season-viewers-first-time-since-2002-1236601890/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 20 May 2026 17:32:39 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-20T17:35:02.741Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-20T17:35:02.741Z |
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Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Kenneth Walker III (9) of the Seattle Seahawks breaks a tackle against Milton Williams of the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LX. Ishika Samant/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text For the first time since 2008, a network other than CBS can claim the title of the most-watched broadcaster in primetime. NBC will win the first 2025-26 season in total viewers — the first time that’s happened since the latter days of Must-See TV.
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