Football Dominates, But Basketball Has Ups: TV By the Numbers

With insights from iSpot.tv & Inscape

Cole Beasley #11 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter of the game in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York.
Cole Beasley #11 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Image credit: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 9-15, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The NFL continues to reign supreme for the most-watched program on TV, with games during the first week of playoffs capturing 8.31% of all minutes watched (down from about 10% the previous week).

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

  • The College Football Playoff national championship takes second place on the ranking, capturing 1.68% of watch-time, while men’s college basketball lands in third place, down from No. 2 previously.
  • NBA games increased their share of watch-time week-over-week, accounting for 1% this time around, up from 0.72% previously.
  • Several news programs move up the ranking from their previous positions, including Fox & Friends (from No. 14 to No. 10), America’s Newsroom (from No. 23 to No. 12), CBS Mornings (from No. 17 to No. 16) and America Reports (from No. 25 to No. 17).
  • Week-over-week ranking newcomers include The First 48, which moves from No. 41 to No. 20 thanks in part to a marathon on A&E, NFL on Fox Postgame (No. 21) and ABC World News Tonight With David Muir (No. 22).

Most-watched shows on TV by percent shared duration January 9-15.

Thanks in part to NFL games, news programming and the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards telecast, NBC takes first place in our network ranking with 9.12% of minutes watched, up from 7.45% the previous week. 

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from January 9-15:

  • Fox moves up a tick to third place from No. 4 previously, fueled by NFL games and post-game coverage.
  • TNT has the biggest jump up the ranking, going from No. 24 to No. 16, capturing 1.18% of watch-time. NBA games accounted for a third of the minutes watched on the network.
  • While TV Land and History maintain their chart positions week-over-week, both had an increase in watch-time: TV Land snagged 1.06% of minutes watched, up from 1.03% previously, while History had 1.0% (up from 0.98%).
  • Week-over-week ranking newcomers include Comedy Central (No. 23 with 0.86% of minutes watched), Discovery Channel (No. 24, 0.85%) and A&E (No. 25, 0.84%).

Most-watched networks on TV by percent shared duration January 9-15.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

The NFL was yards ahead of other programming on television when it came to share of TV ad impressions last week, although its 17.39% share was a slight decrease from the previous week’s 19.53%. College football (specifically the CFP national championship game) takes second place with a 4.02% impressions share.

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

  • College basketball remains in third place week-over-week with a 2.09% share of impressions, while NBA jumps into fourth place with 1.82% (up from 1.25% the previous week).
  • The 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards telecast lands at No. 22 on the ranking, capturing a 0.69% impressions share of voice.
  • Several news and daytime talk programs have week-over-week rankings increases, including Fox & Friends (up to No. 10 from No. 13 previously), The View (No. 15 from No. 18), America’s Newsroom (No. 18 from No. 22) and Today With Hoda & Jenna (No. 19 from No. 20).
  • Week-over-week chart newcomers include The Five (0.69% share of impressions), CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell (0.66%), The Talk (0.66%) and GMA3: What You Need to Know (0.64%).

Top shows by TV ad impressions January 9-15.

CBS remains in first place but increased its share of impressions from 16.65% the previous week to 17.55%. NBC moves into second place from third last time, with a 15.8% share. Both networks benefitted largely from NFL games when it came to impressions. 

Additional notes on the top networks by share of TV ad impressions from January 9-15:

  • Fox moves up a few notches to third place from sixth previously, with a 9.45% share of impressions. Although NFL games and related coverage contributed the lion’s share of impressions for the network, men’s college basketball and Friday Night SmackDown were two other top impressions-driving programs.
  • Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo both move up a spot on the ranking, although Univision actually had a slight decrease in its share of TV ad impressions (down to 3.74% from 3.90%) while Telemundo increased its share (from 2.61% to 3.11%).
  • TNT glides from No. 14 to No. 12 with a 1.02% share of impressions. The vast majority (nearly 80%) of TNT’s impressions came from NBA games.
  • All of the week-over-week ranking newcomers were sports-related networks: ESPNU (No. 14), ESPNEWS (No. 19), Fox Deportes (No. 20) and SEC Network (No. 22).

Top networks by TV ad impressions January 9-15.