The 2017-18 season again changed the television landscape. NBC swept a victory with a worthy dose of winning dramas, football and the Olympics. CW continued its dormant ratings trend in 5th, renewing in conjunction with a Netflix deal and shading all-but-gone ratings. The other three emerged in a landmark tie for 2nd place. One network made a triumphant comeback only in March, another found success in its surging dramas, and the third struggled with aging enterprises softening recent years of winning performances. Guess which network is being referenced in that last sentence, and proceed to check out the race for the TV season which left 207 entries on the radar.
Keen readers may question why this chart depicts NBC in 1st, ABC in 2nd, CBS in 3rd, etc... All the while Nielsen declared NBC won the season with a 2.4 Nielsen Average, ABC, CBS and FOX triple-tied for 2nd with a 1.5 and CW trailed with a 0.6. Nielsen omits repeats (which are rife in the lower portions of the chart), as well as adding Superbowl LII, award shows and other entries which qualified as original. This chart is based upon Deadline's Live+7 delivery, and the stories told run similar to Nielsen's reportings.
NBC again claimed a victory as its network soared consistently. ABC performed disastrously in solid 4th Place until Roseanne bellowed into the charts in March (along with soft revival American Idol). CBS experienced mediocre dramas and sitcom slaughters as its Monday stable tanked the last half of the year. FOX also struggled on the sitcom front, yet maintained success as 9-1-1 and other entries lifted the schedule's dead weight. And CW again followed its low-rated drum beat of differing successes.
TRENDING HOT: Revivals were strewn everywhere like dog droppings in a lower class apartment complex. They came in the variety of revived sitcoms (Roseanne, Will & Grace), revived reality platforms (American Idol), reboots (MacGyver, Hawaii-Five-O), and unintentional comedies (Dynasty). Spinoffs continued strong again as Chicago, NCIS, nerd, superhero and Law & Order franchises duplicated and triplicated like teenagers on an MTV reality platform lingering like a regretful tattoo. CBS' sophisticated sitcoms soared, including a toned-down Mom which experienced a ratings spike. ABC and NBC moved against tired scheduling practices of propping the newbies abutting The Voice, or dooming sitcoms to summers. FOX has also taken new directions and is changing its scheduling tone from tacky to traditional following a muddy merger.
TRENDING TEPID: ABC is on the mend despite 2017 paying ode to one of the worst seasons memorable. Its sitcoms continue to proliferate, though its landmark Wednesday comedy night regressed to performances similar to 2013-14 performances. Reality TV stabilized Sunday, and medicine healed as Grey's Anatomy and The Good Doctor delivered the network's only non-fractional dramas. NBC managed mild success with reviving Must-See-TV with varying results. Fall performances remained strong due to Will & Grace's hyped revival, then regressed to disastrous fractions come spring. FOX meshed much of its shaky schedule via successful drama entries. CW this season outlived its parenting predecessors, WB and UPN despite its winning mid-decade superhero franchises losing momentum. And thankfully, political hate has seemingly turned off viewers and showrunners have reverted to telling compelling stories vs. giving Trump free advertisement via love and hate. Reality TV endures, though not as prominent from its scenery-chewing heyday of the 2000's.
TRENDING COLD: CBS can count its blessings it holds Superbowl LIII next season as its schedule lies in tatters. Thursday comedies rule, while Mondays delivered results so frightening the only laugh left was the ratings report. NCIS and Criminal Minds' franchises are aging, and relying on "a name" such as Michael Weatherly, Shemar Moore and David Boreanaz only powered mediocre Nielsens. Similar to CBS, ABC is learning tacking the name "Shonda" on new dramas does not equal ratings firestorms. Movies remain a distant memory of the 20th century, soaps have all but washed down the drain with Dynasty's 0.2 helpings, and networks stubbornly doom their sitcom newbies to 9:30 timeslots generating few hits.
Aside from Bob's Burgers regaining ground, FOX's sitcom stable stood in ruins this season. Crass laughs are out, nostalgia is in. The Simpsons and Family Guy are deteriorating, and the remains delivered dreadful results ending all but one live-action piece. Speaking of ending trends, ABC and FOX did away with Friday moratoriums on sitcoms and are returning the laughs to 8:00 next fall after dramas and burnoffs faltered.
Source: http://deadline.com/2018/05/2017-2018-tv-series-ratings-rankings-full-list-of-shows-1202395851/