Television in 2016 was all about court rooms, cat fights and comebacks. There was also an oversupply of sports narratives where the underdogs came out on top. U.S viewers were witnesses to historic comebacks against even more historic odds–from LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers beating the bookmakers to best the Golden State Warriors to the curse-breaking Chicago Cubs defeating the Cleveland Indians to Peyton Manning challenging Father Time himself for a chance to ride off into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy (in front of one of the largest U.S. TV audiences ever).
While the Super Bowl held the top spot for another year in a row, other sporting events, such as the Olympics and World Series cracked the top 10 after being held out in years past.
Underdogs thrived in hit TV dramas as well, extending the reign of what critics suspect is the second golden age of content. These underdogs crawled from swirling, suffocating masses during the heat of battle in an effort to reclaim a throne. They made names for themselves in legal dramas, both based on fiction and not-so-distant actual events.
In the end, viewing audiences were the real winners, as they were able to enjoy some compelling content and watch what and when they wanted to via time-shifting. While the usual drama heavy weights still benefit greatly from Live+7 viewing, reality TV offerings prove it’s not all zombies and dragons. In fact, the reality genre accounted for almost one-third of the Top 10 list when ranking on the percent lift from time shifted viewing. Last year’s Top 10 time-shifted programs only included one reality show. Additionally, the lift that time-shifting has given the top shows continues to grow. This year, the top time-shifted show gained a 279% lift from seven days of viewing, compared to the 240% that last year’s top time-shifted show gained.
TOP TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 – SINGLE TELECAST
| 等级 | Telecast | Originator | Date Aired | Persons 2+ Rating | Average No. of Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUPER BOWL 50 | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 02/07/2016 | 37.9 | 112,576,000 |
| 2 | SUPER BOWL 50 POST-GAME | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 02/07/2016 | 23.7 | 70,261,000 |
| 3 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 7 | 福克斯 | 11/02/2016 | 13.3 | 40,267,000 |
| 4 | OSCARS, THE | 美国广播公司 | 02/28/2016 | 12.0 | 35,609,000 |
| 5 | SUM OLYM TUE PRIME 1 | 美国全国广播公司 | 08/09/2016 | 11.8 | 35,003,000 |
| 6 | NBC NFL PLAYOFF GAME 1/16 | 美国全国广播公司 | 01/16/2016 | 11.4 | 33,954,000 |
| 7 | SUM OLYM THU PRIME 1 | 美国全国广播公司 | 08/11/2016 | 11.0 | 32,665,000 |
| 8 | AFC WILDCARD PLAYOFF | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 01/09/2016 | 10.6 | 31,371,000 |
| 9 | AFC DIV-PLF-POST-GAME-SU | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 01/17/2016 | 10.5 | 31,275,000 |
| 10 | NBA FINALS ON ABC-GM 7 | 美国广播公司 | 06/19/2016 | 10.5 | 31,271,000 |
| Source: Nielsen NNTV Program Report. All Broadcast and Cable. 1/01/2016 – 11/06/2016. Live+7. Broadcast Prime. P2+. Excludes Breakouts, Duration Read as: The Oscars on ABC averaged 35.6 million viewers who watched live or via time-shifted viewing within seven days. |
TOP 10 PRIMETIME TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 – REGULARLY SCHEDULED
| 等级 | Program | Originator | Persons 2+ Rating | Average No. of Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG BANG THEORY, THE | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 6.7 | 19,938,000 |
| 2 | 海军罪案调查处 | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 6.7 | 19,885,000 |
| 3 | NBC周日夜足球 | 美国全国广播公司 | 6.4 | 19,283,000 |
| 4 | WALKING DEAD | AMC | 6.3 | 18,824,000 |
| 5 | BULL | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 5.8 | 17,645,000 |
| 6 | NCIS: NEW ORLEANS | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 5.2 | 15,618,000 |
| 7 | SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | 美国全国广播公司 | 5.0 | 14,952,000 |
| 8 | DESIGNATED SURVIVOR | 美国广播公司 | 4.9 | 14,915,000 |
| 9 | CBS+NFLN THU NT FOOTBALL | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 4.9 | 14,785,000 |
| 10 | BLUE BLOODS | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 4.8 | 14,414,000 |
| Source: Nielsen NNTV Program Report. All Broadcast and Cable. 1/01/2016 – 11/06/2016. Live+7. Broadcast Prime. P2+. Excludes Breakouts, Specials, Repeats, Duration Read as: NBC Sunday Night Football averaged 19.3 million viewers who watched live or via time-shifted viewing within seven days. |
TOP SPANISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAMS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED
| 等级 | Program | Originator | Persons 2+ Rating | Average No. of Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HASTA QUE TE CONOCI | 电话 | 5.3 | 2,785,000 |
| 2 | POR SIEMPRE SEBASTIAN WED | 用户到网络接口 | 4.7 | 2,421,000 |
| 3 | PASION Y PODER THU | 用户到网络接口 | 4.7 | 2,413,000 |
| 4 | POR SIEMPRE SEBASTIAN MON | 用户到网络接口 | 4.7 | 2,378,000 |
| 5 | PASION Y PODER MON | 用户到网络接口 | 4.5 | 2,322,000 |
| 6 | PASION Y PODER WED | 用户到网络接口 | 4.5 | 2,318,000 |
| 7 | PASION Y PODER TUE | 用户到网络接口 | 4.5 | 2,308,000 |
| 8 | POR SIEMPRE SEBASTIAN TUE | 用户到网络接口 | 4.4 | 2,264,000 |
| 9 | SENOR DE LOS CIELO IV – M | 电话 | 4.3 | 2,215,000 |
| 10 | PASION Y PODER FRI | 用户到网络接口 | 4.3 | 2,193,000 |
| Source: Nielsen NNTV Program Report; Hispanic Sample. Spanish-Language Networks. 1/01/2016 – 11/06/2016. Live+7. Ranked on Live+7 Proj(000). Broadcast Prime Span. P2+. Excludes Breakouts, Specials, Repeats, Duration Read as: Hasta Que Te Conoci on Telemundo averaged nearly 2.8 million viewers who watched live or via time-shifted viewing within seven days. |
TOP 10 TIME-SHIFTED TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 (RANKED BY % CHANGE IN VIEWERS)
| 等级 | Program | Originator | % Increase in Viewers from Time-shifted Viewing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BETTER CALL SAUL | AMC | 278.7% |
| 2 | AMERICAN HORROR STORY | FX | 245.5% |
| 3 | ACS: PEOPLE V. OJ SIMPSON | FX | 238.6% |
| 4 | SUITS | 美国全国广播公司 | 233.4% |
| 5 | REAL HOUSEWIVES OF OC | BRAVO | 217.0% |
| 6 | PREACHER | AMC | 206.5% |
| 7 | GAME OF THRONES | HBO PRIME | 192.6% |
| 8 | LAST SHIP, THE | TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 188.1% |
| 9 | TEEN MOM II SSN7 | MTV | 186.3% |
| 10 | REAL HOUSEWIVES BEV HILLS | BRAVO | 184.5% |
| Source: Nielsen NNTV Program Report. All Broadcast and Cable. 1/01/2016 – 11/06/2016. Live & Live+7. Broadcast Prime; Primetime TSV%: Percent increase is based on absolute difference between Live & Live+7 Proj(000). P2+. A program must reach at least a 1.0 Live+7 P2+ rating. Excludes Breakouts, Specials, Repeats, Duration Read as: The TV viewing audience to Better Call Saul on AMC increased nearly 279% from the live audience with time-shifted viewing (within seven days). |
TOP 10 TIME-SHIFTED TV PROGRAMS OF 2016 (RANKED BY ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCE)
| 等级 | Program | Originator | Absolute Difference in Viewership |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WALKING DEAD | AMC | 10,435,000 |
| 2 | BIG BANG THEORY, THE | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 9,160,000 |
| 3 | DESIGNATED SURVIVOR | 美国广播公司 | 8,980,000 |
| 4 | GAME OF THRONES | HBO PRIME | 6,986,000 |
| 5 | THIS IS US | 美国全国广播公司 | 6,886,000 |
| 6 | 海军罪案调查处 | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 6,817,000 |
| 7 | EMPIRE | 福克斯 | 6,511,000 |
| 8 | BULL | 哥伦比亚广播公司 | 6,454,000 |
| 9 | BLACKLIST | 美国全国广播公司 | 6,396,000 |
| 10 | X-FILES | 福克斯 | 6,226,000 |
| Source: Nielsen NNTV Program Report. All Broadcast and Cable. 1/01/2016 – 11/06/2016. Live & Live+7. Broadcast Prime. Rank based on absolute difference beween Live & Live+7 Proj(000). P2+. A program must reach at least a 1.0 Live+7 P2+ rating. Excludes Breakouts, Specials, Repeats, Duration The TV viewing audience of The Walking Dead on AMC increased by about 10.4 million viewers from the live audience with time-shifted viewing (within seven days). |
