Nielsen has released Top 10 lists of the most watched telecasts and series on U.S. linear television for 2020, along with the programs that saw the biggest delayed viewing lifts.
Unsurprisingly football dominated the lists of both the most single and regularly scheduled broadcasts with the Super Bowl coming in at the top with 102 million viewers.
In terms of series, “NCIS” remains the most watched live with 15 million viewers tuning in. Coming in behind were “FBI” and “Blue Bloods” with 12 million each, while the three “Chicago” series along with “This Is Us” and “Young Sheldon” all score above 11 million each.
When DVRs and delayed viewing are included in, things change. While all those shows far well with delayed viewing, they are joined by the likes of “911,” “The Good Doctor,” “New Amsterdam” and “Bull” with all those shows seeing lifts of over 5 million viewers per episode each.
In terms of a % change in viewership, namely shows that most people are watching via time shifting, the Kevin Costner-led “Yellowstone” was a clear winner with a DVR lift of 214%. “Emergence,” “Stumptown,” “Manifest,” “The Resident,” “New Amsterdam,” “The Walking Dead,” “Will & Grace,” “Million Little Things” and “Good Girls” also saw huge lifts.
Nielsen ratings are always dominated by older-skewing dramas as their somewhat antiquated system is more focused towards live viewing and playback whereas most viewers under 50 consume scripted TV shows on demand via non-linear platforms these days.
Source: Deadline
