'Yellowstone' Season 5 Has Year's Biggest Scripted Premiere with 12.1 Million L+SD Viewers

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Sunday's performance was up 7% over the season 4 debut

Kelsey Asbille and Kevin Costner in 'Yellowstone'
(Image credit: Emerson Miller/ Paramount Network)

The season 5 premiere of Yellowstone delivered 12.1 million live+SD viewers, making it the biggest launch yet for the mega-hit red state drama as well as the most-watched scripted series premiere of 2022.

For its initial run on the Paramount Network Sunday evening, season 5, episode 1 of Yellowstone, which features Wyoming rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner) being sworn in as mayor, drew 8.8 million viewers. Simulcast runs on sibling Paramount Global networks CMT, TV Land and Pop, added to encore telecasts, upped the total to 12.1 million viewers.

The performance represented a 7% uptick in viewers over the previous record, the season 4 debut of Yellowstone. Viewers ages 18-34 were up a whopping 52%, while watchers 18-49 increased by 22%.

Samba TV, which said Yellowstone delivered 5 million L+SD households, said the Season 5 premiere was the "No. 1 scripted television premiere of 2022." ■

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!