NBC Wins TV Season in Total Viewers, Reclaiming the No. 1 Spot

NBC will finish as the No. 1 broadcast network in total viewers for the 2025-26 season.

As the September-to-May TV season comes to a close, NBC will deliver an across-the-board win among total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The milestone season was fueled in part by two-plus weeks in February featuring the second most-watched Super Bowl ever and a resurgent Winter Olympics.

Through May 17, NBC is averaging 5.83 million viewers in primetime this season, up approximately 14 percent from 2024-25.

NBC also delivered the season’s No. 1 program with Sunday Night Football, which extended its record-setting streak as primetime television’s top show for a 15th consecutive season. Sunday Night Football averaged 21 million viewers on NBC, and 23.5 million viewers inclusive of across Peacock and other digital platforms.

NBC also ranked No. 1 in the key advertising demographics of adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. In adults 18-49, NBC earned a 1.01 primetime rating — equivalent to approximately 1.37 million viewers in the demographic — marking its first season win in the category since 2021-22, another Super Bowl and Winter Olympics season.

Among adults 25-54, NBC posted a 1.32 rating, equivalent to 1.66 million viewers.

Additional highlights from the 2025-26 season include:

• Saturday Night Live ranks as television’s No. 1 comedy among adults 18-49 for the 2025-26 season to date and is the No. 2 entertainment series overall in the demo.

• NBC is the No. 1 most-watched entertainment network on Wednesday nights thanks to the strength of the One Chicago lineup.

• The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins ranks as the No. 1 new comedy (excluding reboots) among adults 18-49 across broadcast for the 2025-26 season to date.

• 2025 marked the third consecutive year of growth for the linear telecasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show.

• NBC is the most co-viewed broadcast network on a live basis in 2026, with more than half of viewers watching with another person (53 percent live adults 2+ co-viewing through April 26, 2026).

NBC recently announced its Fall 2026-2027 premiere schedule, highlighted by the addition of four new series – Line of Fire, an intense and compelling family drama starring award winners Peter Krause and Hope Davis; The Rockford Files, a modern-day retelling of the iconic IP starring David Boreanaz; Newlyweds, played by real-life couple Téa Leoni and Tim Daly, who find love after a whirlwind courtship; and Sunset P.I., a comedy from the executive producers of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Source: Nielsen data