ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC Have Lost More Than 77% Of Their Market Share

[ZLoth]

From Cord Cutters News:

Legacy Broadcast Giants in Freefall: ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC Have Lost More Than 77% Of Their Market Share

The four major broadcast television networks—ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC—have collectively lost more than 77 percent of their market share in recent decades, reflecting a profound transformation in how Americans consume video content. This sharp decline has left traditional broadcasters grappling with reduced audiences and advertiser interest, while local television stations across the country confront mounting operational challenges that threaten their long-term viability.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

I could have sworn that, at points in the recent past, the ratings for NBC for non-NFL programming caused it to be ranked at the number five network behind Spanish-language Telemundo. Things have changed dramatically when there are multiple outlets for entertaining and we are not limited to a single television set.

[thenetwork]

From Cord Cutters News:

Legacy Broadcast Giants in Freefall: ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC Have Lost More Than 77% Of Their Market Share

The four major broadcast television networks—ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC—have collectively lost more than 77 percent of their market share in recent decades, reflecting a profound transformation in how Americans consume video content. This sharp decline has left traditional broadcasters grappling with reduced audiences and advertiser interest, while local television stations across the country confront mounting operational challenges that threaten their long-term viability.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

I could have sworn that, at points in the recent past, the ratings for NBC for non-NFL programming caused it to be ranked at the number five network behind Spanish-language Telemundo. Things have changed dramatically when there are multiple outlets for entertaining and we are not limited to a single television set.

When networks add more sports programming to primetime evenings (like Thursday Night NBA games on ABC), it feels like its the last resort to scrape up some kind of decent ratings for the night.

[bing101]

In that case I see more promos for their apps. Everytime I see Golden State Warriors games on NBC Sports Bay Area I see more promos for Peacock and Xfinity internet service. Or Hulu and Disney+ promos on ABC affiliates we know who the networks are protecting.

[mgk920]

"Hey Gwampa, what's a TV network?"

Mike

[Bobby5280]

That 77% drop in viewership needs to be put in perspective. In the 1970's and going into the 1980's cable TV service was still seen as a luxury. Most homes got their TV content from an antenna. The Internet didn't exist back then. Neither did smart phones, streaming services, etc. In the weekly Nielsen ratings contests a broadcast network often needed an average of 20% or more of viewing households to win the week. Today that can be done with less than a 10 share.

Cable TV networks are now in a more threatened position than the old broadcast networks. "Cord cutting" has become commonplace. Younger adults aren't signing up for cable/satellite TV service at all. The demographic of remaining viewers of cable TV networks is skewing older and older. Advertisers don't like that at all. They want to reach viewers in the age 18-45 bracket, not people in their 60's or older.

I'm perfectly happy to see 24/7 cable news networks hit with declining viewership, worsening hard times and will not mourn their loss if they shut down. Local TV channels stink for their own reasons. Mergers that are allowing companies like Nexstar to swallow up hundreds of more stations will make local TV stations even worse. Many newspapers have been in bad shape for a long time. Unfortunately podcasts on YouTube aren't going to be a good substitute. Some clown with a camera and ring light broadcasting from his bedroom can't replace a news gathering organization.

If there's one good thing about a decline in traditional broadcast and cable TV networks, it might mean that more people will use their newly found free time to get out of the house.

[Max Rockatansky]

What else is supposed to happen when you go from no competition over half century ago to having to compete with cable, streaming and internet video services like YouTube?

[SP Cook]

It is obvious that in a system with 10000s of choices, the things that prospered in a system of three choices are going to decline.

That said, the networks made a huge mistake in their reaction to Netflix.  OK. Some number of people are going to get only Netflix, watch the Korean melodramas and clog up the Internet to tell everyone how much money you save.  OK.  There is still good content, sports and filmed entertainment, on TV.  The networks all launched these streaming services, none of which make money, and, since everyone who wants streaming has streaming, seem to have no chance of ever making money, and gave access to their content.  Mistake.  While some people get TV with an antenna, the majority pay for cable, or a cable alternative via satellite or linear streaming, which is pure profit for networks and local stations.

If you want to watch X, it's on TV, get you some or do without and regale us once again about how much you really enjoy watching poorly dubbed foreign movies.

[vdeane]

It is obvious that in a system with 10000s of choices, the things that prospered in a system of three choices are going to decline.

That said, the networks made a huge mistake in their reaction to Netflix.  OK. Some number of people are going to get only Netflix, watch the Korean melodramas and clog up the Internet to tell everyone how much money you save.  OK.  There is still good content, sports and filmed entertainment, on TV.  The networks all launched these streaming services, none of which make money, and, since everyone who wants streaming has streaming, seem to have no chance of ever making money, and gave access to their content.  Mistake.  While some people get TV with an antenna, the majority pay for cable, or a cable alternative via satellite or linear streaming, which is pure profit for networks and local stations.

If you want to watch X, it's on TV, get you some or do without and regale us once again about how much you really enjoy watching poorly dubbed foreign movies.

OK boomer

[Max Rockatansky]

Between this and the NASCAR thread I'm gathering that SP must be a complete bundle of joy to be around. 

[vdeane]

Between this and the NASCAR thread I'm gathering that SP must be a complete bundle of joy to be around. 

I actually had a couple paragraphs of rebuttal typed regarding cable and what's available on streaming before deciding that the post was better off with just the quip.

[Max Rockatansky]

Between this and the NASCAR thread I'm gathering that SP must be a complete bundle of joy to be around. 

I actually had a couple paragraphs of rebuttal typed regarding cable and what's available on streaming before deciding that the post was better off with just the quip.

I cannot recall the guy ever once posting something on this forum that had slightest tinge of positivity. 

[Molandfreak]

I really wish we could still get analog TV. It would look terrible on a modern TV, but as I remember it, you would just have a bit fuzzy quality if you weren't within about 20 miles of the transmitter. That is still watchable TV. Frequent glitches with the accompanying high-pitched digital whistles are common with digital antennae, or at least they used to be. That completely ruined the experience of free television for me.

[ZLoth]

At the risk of the response of "OK Boomer" (Hint: I'm a GenX-er and grew up in the 70s and 80s)...

Up until the early 1980s, most households only had one television and no VCRs. In order to have a nice color television, many families (including mine) ended up financing the television. And the remote control was a $100 option, but of course, my family skipped the remote option since they already had the remote... namely ME!

Where I lived, there was the big three television networks, a independent station, a PBS station, and Univision 19. The pecking order on what was watched was determined by my father, my mother, and myself.... in that order. Did I mention that I was the remote? You watched television program at the appointed hour, and if you missed it, you were in for a several month wait. Was the program interrupted by a breaking news store or important weather update? It was picked up "in progress". Football ran in overtime. We will pick up the program already in progress. Wanted to watch a movie? Be aware that it may be formatted to fit your screen and edited for content and to fit the time allotted.

When televisions became cheaper, the programming decisions were changed from "lets make sure it appeals to the whole family" to "targeting a particular demographic." We also had more choices from time-shifted programs to renting movies uncensored from the local video store. We had multi-channel carriers with many choices, but now it's streaming choices with more niche programming. Last years Emmy had more nominations from the streaming services and cable channels combined than from the major three networks.

Also, consider the ratings of the top 10 non-sports network programs. The number of people viewing a top-ten show today would be considered a candidate for cancellation for "lack of viewers" 25 years ago.

I stopped watching network television after the 2007-2008 writers strike that left a bad taste in my mouse. Plus, real life cut into my television viewing.

[Takumi]

Between this and the NASCAR thread I'm gathering that SP must be a complete bundle of joy to be around. 

I actually had a couple paragraphs of rebuttal typed regarding cable and what's available on streaming before deciding that the post was better off with just the quip.

I cannot recall the guy ever once posting something on this forum that had slightest tinge of positivity. 

"Anti-everything" is how I typically describe him. If I have to describe him.

[Scott5114]

Also, consider the ratings of the top 10 non-sports network programs. The number of people viewing a top-ten show today would be considered a candidate for cancellation for "lack of viewers" 25 years ago.

In 1980, there was a parody of an NBC jingle, lambasting the network's leadership, which included the lines "An 18 rating, a 14 share / Bet you wonder if we care". Those were the lowest ratings of any of the three networks.

The highest-rated show in 2025 managed a 2.42 rating.

[ZLoth]

In 1980, there was a parody of an NBC jingle, lambasting the network's leadership, which included the lines "An 18 rating, a 14 share / Bet you wonder if we care". Those were the lowest ratings of any of the three networks.

I believe there were several years where NBC's most profitable show was The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

The highest-rated show in 2025 managed a 2.42 rating.

Not quite. Per https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/final-2024-25-network-tv-ratings-tracker-high-potential-1236312223/, the top rated show for Adults 18-49 (prime advertising demographic) and Total Viewers is different.

[Scott5114]

The 2.42 number is from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tracker-high-potential-network-tv-ratings-fall-2025-1236427588/ —comparing apples to apples with the 18-49 demo, the top-rated program actually went down from 3.89 in the 2024-25 season to 2.42 in 25-26.

Said top-rated program is apparently High Potential, which I have never heard anyone in my social circle even mention before.

[Max Rockatansky]

The 2.42 number is from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tracker-high-potential-network-tv-ratings-fall-2025-1236427588/ —comparing apples to apples with the 18-49 demo, the top-rated program actually went down from 3.89 in the 2024-25 season to 2.42 in 25-26.

Said top-rated program is apparently High Potential, which I have never heard anyone in my social circle even mention before.

It is basically a detective show.  The hook is the main character is single mother who happens to a savant and police consultant.  My wife watched a couple episodes and I thought it was decent.  Struck me as something my mom would have watched. 

[vdeane]

At the risk of the response of "OK Boomer" (Hint: I'm a GenX-er and grew up in the 70s and 80s)...

Honestly that response was aimed at SP Cook's claims that most people still have cable (I can't think of anyone my age or younger that have it, though my parents still have DirecTV for the DVR service and so Dad can watch NCIS reruns and whatnot on various channels) and that streaming is just foreign movies (while Netflix did turn to foreign content for a bit while as the era of exclusive licencing deals and later in-house streaming began, they also have originals that are among the most popular TV shows of this decade, including Stranger Things and Wednesday).

[Molandfreak]

At the risk of the response of "OK Boomer" (Hint: I'm a GenX-er and grew up in the 70s and 80s)...

Honestly that response was aimed at SP Cook's claims that most people still have cable (I can't think of anyone my age or younger that have it, though my parents still have DirecTV for the DVR service and so Dad can watch NCIS reruns and whatnot on various channels) and that streaming is just foreign movies (while Netflix did turn to foreign content for a bit while as the era of exclusive licencing deals and later in-house streaming began, they also have originals that are among the most popular TV shows of this decade, including Stranger Things and Wednesday).

As the streaming services began enshittifying, at least my local cable company has stepped up its game and started to offer the type of service people have wanted for years. You can choose the 20 or so channels you want for a flat rate and not pay for a bloated subscription just for a couple channels you want. Now that cable is the underdog in the fight, their services are getting better, and it seriously has me reconsidering my options when I get the chance to move out.

[Road Hog]

Good riddance to all of them. They've all bent the corporate knee to the toadstool. I had hopes for Disney since they bowed up against DeSantis, but that didn't last.

[JayhawkCO]

No one has yet mentioned that most of the comedy and drama content on the normal broadcast channels is so hokey and formulaic that it's unwatchable.

They basically replaced the evening lineups with only slightly less dramatic soap operas.

[NWI_Irish96]

All I watch live as it airs is sports and news. Anything else I'm watching recorded/VOD the next day.

[ErmineNotyours]

I stopped watching network television after the 2007-2008 writers strike that left a bad taste in my mouse. Plus, real life cut into my television viewing.

Every writer's strike killed whatever momentum network sitcoms still had.  And my mouse doesn't like it either.

[Bobby5280]

No one has yet mentioned that most of the comedy and drama content on the normal broadcast channels is so hokey and formulaic that it's unwatchable.

I'll take your word for it; I don't keep up with any TV series on a major broadcast network. About the only thing I watch on such channels is sports programming and the local news. Currently, I'm not even watching the one TV station we have in Lawton since Gray Media got into its pissing contest with Dish Network. I'm kind of waiting out the end of the NCAA "March Madness" tournament to cancel Dish.

It seems like every TV series, be it a drama or comedy, now has a soap opera style continuing story rather than short stories that are mostly self contained in a single episode. If every episode is going to be "to be continued" it burdens the viewer with having to watch the entire series or not watch it at all. One of my close friends has never watched "Breaking Bad," despite me telling him how great the series was. It's too much work having to commit to watching a TV series. If you're going to do so you have to be careful which one to pick.

Regarding content that is formulaic, the big media companies have injected that into American movies, TV shows and music. There is a same-ness affecting all of that content. It's very difficult for anything fresh, new and disruptive to come through.

There are no more ground-swell changes, like when punk and new wave killed disco music or when Nirvana and other grunge/alternative bands killed hair metal. That's because there are few, if any, independent radio stations that play what they want to play. There's not much relief from predictable play lists on Sirius|XM or music streaming services.

A lot of Hollywood movies have felt very predictable for the past 15 or so years. One reason is "Save the Cat!", a book about screenwriting by Blake Snyder, first published in 2005. It tosses out the conventional things one would expect in a screenwriting book or film school class on screenwriting. "Save the Cat!" puts the emphasis on "beat sheets". Certain things need to happen this many minutes into the show. We have the "all hope is lost" moment near the end of every super hero franchise movie before you get the happy ending. "Save the Cat!" has become the bible for movie producers and studio executives. They force screenwriters to follow it.

America has dominated world popular culture for the past few decades. I think all of this corporate consolidation of all media distribution and the bland-ness coming out of it gives content creators in other nations a big opportunity to offer up something different.