These Are the 100 Most-Watched TV Shows of the 2016-17 Season: Winners and Losers

It feels a bit antiquated to talk about ratings in 2017, when much of the television business remains transfixed on the streaming services – and it’s become accepted that Netflix and its competitors are never going to share any viewership data.

As viewers migrate to other platforms, ratings just tell part of the story. The numbers have become so deflated that CBS felt the need to point out in January that if you looked at “Live + 35” data that included more than a month’s worth of TV, DVR, VOD and streaming viewership, the network’s primetime entertainment series average is actually up vs. 16 years ago (when only live viewing was measured).

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“We really need to make sure that we are finding a way to capture all the views and the viewers of our programs in this multi-platform landscape,” said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey. “There is, at this point, no truly effective system to really capture all the views that are happening in a timely manner. If we can’t figure that out, particularly as a broadcast business, that’s going to be a big issue for us.”

For now, at least, this is what we have to go on, and last year’s leaders – Football, “The Walking Dead” and “The Big Bang Theory” – remain this year’s primetime winners. But they’re all on the decline – which, of course, is the story of linear TV in general.

READ MORE:
— LAST YEAR: These Are the 100 Most-Watched TV Shows of the 2015-16 Season
— Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2016’s Winners and Losers
— Top-Rated Telecasts of 2016: ‘The Walking Dead,’ Super Bowl, Oscars, Olympics Lead

IndieWire looked at the Season-to-Date rankers for broadcast and cable, using the most recent Live+7 ratings (which include seven days’ worth of DVR and video on-demand usage). Here’s a final look at some of the hits and misses of 2016–2017, followed by our complete list of the most-watched shows of the season, according to both adults 18-49 and total viewers.

HIGHS

“This Is Us” and “Bull”: NBC and CBS both get new series bragging rights, depending on which measurement you’re looking at. NBC’s “This Is Us” was the darling of the TV season, and for good reason: It’s both the top-rated new series among adults 18-49 (4.8 rating – which in 2017 numbers, means it’s a force) and is now the top-rated broadcast drama, edging out “Empire.” CBS made sure to point out at its recent upfront presentation, however, that “Bull” is actually the year’s most-watched new TV series among total viewers, with 15.5 million to “This Is Us” at 15.3 million.

“The Bachelor,” “American Horror Story” and “South Park”: Three veteran shows, late in their run, actually improving year-to-year in the adults 18-49 demo? Virtually impossible. But “The Bachelor” (3.1 rating, up from 3.0), “American Horror Story” (3.4, up from 3.3) and “South Park” (1.8, from 1.7) made it so. Of course, those gains were small, and the larger story remains how viewers are moving from their TV screens to other devices… but these three shows are bucking the trends.

“60 Minutes” and “The Simpsons”: Sunday night stalwarts “60 Minutes” and “The Simpsons” also achieved virtually the impossible: They were flat year-to-year in the demo. And as we all know, “flat” is the new “up.” Both shows had reason to stay relevant: “60 Minutes” had a presidential election to wrap itself around, while “The Simpsons” made headlines with its 600th episode (!) and cool events like a virtual reality couch gag.

LOWS

Football, “The Walking Dead” and “The Big Bang Theory”: OK, hold on – don’t cry for any of these series, as they’re all still the most dominant programs on TV. But they’re all still subject to gravity. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” remains by far a dominant No. 1 among adults 18-49 (8.0 rating). No one comes close. “The Big Bang Theory” is the most-watched scripted show (19 million) and the top-rated scripted broadcast show among adults 18-49 (4.9 rating). And on the total viewers side, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” (20.1 million) towers over all. But when you’re the biggest in the land, it also means the drop is more pronounced. And as great as those numbers are, they’re substantial declines from last year. The NFL’s drops were across the board, impacting “Thursday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” as well.

“24: Legacy,” “Hunted,” “2 Broke Girls” and “The Great Indoors”: One of these shows will ultimately be deemed the highest-rated series of the year to still be canceled. Fox hasn’t yet announced the fate of “24: Legacy” (punting the decision while star Corey Hawkins appears on Broadway), while CBS also hasn’t made a determination on reality series “Hunted.” Should either “24: Legacy” (2.1 rating) or “Hunted” (2.0) be canned, they’ll get the honors. But for now, that leaves the Joel McHale sitcom “The Great Indoors” and the long-running “2 Broke Girls,” both of which have most definitely been canceled, as the top-rated (1.8) ax so far. (NBC’s “Timeless” would have received these honors, until its two-days-later reprieve.)

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “No Tomorrow”: You must be enjoying The CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” on other platforms, because for the second year in a row it was the lowest-rated broadcast network series (0.3 rating), tied with “No Tomorrow,” which won’t be having any more tomorrows. It’s a reminder again that The CW isn’t run based on ratings, given its output deals.

Here are the top series rankers according to adults 18-49 and total viewers, featuring seven days of time-shifted viewing. Most recent data is through May 14; these ratings will be updated as new numbers come in.

TOP 100 SHOWS, ADULTS 18-49

America’s most-watched series of the 2016-2017 season in the key advertising demographic (measured in ratings points) are …

TOP 100 SHOWS, TOTAL VIEWERS

America’s most-watched series of the 2016-2017 season are …

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