CBS Wins Nielsen’s Fall Multiplatform Ratings Among Broadcast, Led by ‘Tracker’ — but Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ Dominates Overall (EXCLUSIVE)
The final numbers are in for fall, and CBS’ “Tracker” continues its winning streak — leading the Eye’s dominance among broadcast networks when both linear and 35 days of streaming viewership of non-sports series fare is tallied.
Of course, add the streamers to the mix, and the final season of “Stranger Things” was no match for the competition: The Netflix series dominated the fall, with an average of 32.86 million viewers. That was followed by Netflix’s blockbuster docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” (20.64 million) and Paramount+’s surging “Landman” (19.64 million). “Tracker” was next, with 16.65 million — making it tops among broadcast series — followed closely by ABC’s “High Potential” (16.07 million).
CBS, which returns its schedule with new originals this week (now that the Olympics competition has wrapped on NBC), led the fall top ten among broadcast with eight shows (“Tracker,” “Matlock,” “Sheriff Country,” “Ghosts,” “60 Minutes,” “Boston Blue,” “NCIS,” “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”) — with “Sheriff Country” and “Boston Blue” as the fall’s top two most-watched new series in broadcast. The Eye net also boasted nine of the top 20 series among both linear and streaming.
Streaming is continuing to help expand eyeballs for broadcast fare: “Tracker,” for example, averaged 11.4 million viewers on linear, then another 5.2 million in streaming. “High Potential” was nearly a 50/50 split: 8.3 million viewers on linear, and 7.8 million on streaming. “Abbott Elementary” actually attracts more viewers in streaming on Hulu (4.4 million) than on ABC linear (3.8 million).
These lists don’t include sports, of course, which would add even more broadcast heft to the rankers. But even without sports, the broadcast networks did quite well in the fall. Now, on to midseason — where several additional high performers, like ABC’s “Will Trent” and “The Rookie,” will be added to the mix too.
Here are the fall 2025 rankers:
Source: Source: Nielsen Panel+ Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 9/14/2025-1/04/2026 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming. Does not include specials, finales, or sports that fall within FSD. Does not include series or specials with less than 4 telecasts.
Source: Source: Nielsen Panel+ Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 9/14/2025-1/04/2026 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming.
Of course, add the streamers to the mix, and the final season of “Stranger Things” was no match for the competition: The Netflix series dominated the fall, with an average of 32.86 million viewers. That was followed by Netflix’s blockbuster docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” (20.64 million) and Paramount+’s surging “Landman” (19.64 million). “Tracker” was next, with 16.65 million — making it tops among broadcast series — followed closely by ABC’s “High Potential” (16.07 million).
CBS, which returns its schedule with new originals this week (now that the Olympics competition has wrapped on NBC), led the fall top ten among broadcast with eight shows (“Tracker,” “Matlock,” “Sheriff Country,” “Ghosts,” “60 Minutes,” “Boston Blue,” “NCIS,” “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”) — with “Sheriff Country” and “Boston Blue” as the fall’s top two most-watched new series in broadcast. The Eye net also boasted nine of the top 20 series among both linear and streaming.
Streaming is continuing to help expand eyeballs for broadcast fare: “Tracker,” for example, averaged 11.4 million viewers on linear, then another 5.2 million in streaming. “High Potential” was nearly a 50/50 split: 8.3 million viewers on linear, and 7.8 million on streaming. “Abbott Elementary” actually attracts more viewers in streaming on Hulu (4.4 million) than on ABC linear (3.8 million).
These lists don’t include sports, of course, which would add even more broadcast heft to the rankers. But even without sports, the broadcast networks did quite well in the fall. Now, on to midseason — where several additional high performers, like ABC’s “Will Trent” and “The Rookie,” will be added to the mix too.
Here are the fall 2025 rankers:
Source: Source: Nielsen Panel+ Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 9/14/2025-1/04/2026 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming. Does not include specials, finales, or sports that fall within FSD. Does not include series or specials with less than 4 telecasts.
Source: Source: Nielsen Panel+ Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 9/14/2025-1/04/2026 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming.