TV Ratings: Multiplatform Data Shows Big Shift in Viewing Habits

Nielsen has released 35-day numbers for premiere week, and they jibe with previous long-tail data from the ratings service. The top shows in both adults 18-49 and total viewers continued to grow their audiences over five weeks, but the gains beyond seven days weren’t terribly big.

The top 20 entertainment shows in the 18-49 demographic, for instance, averaged a 2.15 rating after seven days — a gain of 0.89 over their same-day starting points. The next four weeks of delayed viewing added just 0.22 on average.

Similarly, total-viewer growth as measured by Nielsen among the top 20 was much bigger among the top 20 from days 1-7 (3.89 million viewers on average) than from days 8-35 (871,000).

The key phrase there is “as measured by Nielsen,” because adding in multiplatform viewing — which the ratings service does not currently track — reveals a big shift in viewing habits. Among the top 20 shows where digital ratings figures are available, multiplatform viewing accounts for 20 percent of the total 35-day audience — and more than a third (37 percent) of the total 18-49 rating.

ABC, Fox and NBC have released their multiplatform figures for premiere week, and they show season and series premieres doubling, tripling and even quadrupling their same-day numbers — and in a couple cases even doubling their 35-day, TV-only ratings.

Each network tallies its own digital ratings. CBS has opted not to release its multiplatform numbers, preferring to focus on same-day and three- and seven-day ratings.

Among the digital all-stars are ABC’s long-running Grey’s Anatomy, which grows from a 2.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.53 million viewers after 35 days of TV viewing to a 6.45 rating in the demo and 16.6 million viewers with digital included — more than doubling its demo rating and increasing its total audience by 6 million viewers. NBC’s This Is Us goes from a 3.8 rating in the demo and 14.52 million viewers on TV only after 35 days to a 6.51 rating and 19.5 million with digital.

On average, multiplatform viewing boosted viewership by 24.5 percent over the TV only 35-day ratings for the 12 shows below where digital data is available. The jump was even bigger among adults 18-49, where digital added 59 percent over the TV-only ratings.

Below are the top 20 broadcast shows (including ties) for premiere week, ranked by 35-day Nielsen ratings. Available multiplatform numbers are in the far right column of each chart.

Adults 18-49

Total Viewers

Sources: Nielsen, ABC, Fox, NBC.