“NFL Sunday Night Football” was the most watched TV show in the United States in the 2023/2024 season, with roughly 19.8 million viewers. “NFL Monday Night Football” ranked second with approximately 12 million viewers. NFL sports broadcasts score high with viewers Football matches and other live sports events have always attracted impressive audiences in the United States, and this popularity also extends to their television broadcasts. In 2023, the Super Bowl LVII was the top primetime telecast in the U.S., drawing nearly 115 million viewers to their screens. Furthermore, none of the 10 most successful primetime programs were not football-related, explaining why 30-second advertising slots during the Super Bowl cost an average of seven million U.S. dollars. Most popular TV networks NBC was the leading ad-supported television network in the United States, with an average viewership of around 4.54 million viewers in 2023. One of its most popular shows during the 2023/2024 season included “Chicago Fire,” a drama that has been on the air for many years. The only other network to surpass four million viewers in 2023 was CBS, which aired “NCIS” as one of its most successful fictional series.

Although 19 percent of the U.S. population in 2019 was Hispanic or Latino, only five percent of regular talent performing in debut TV shows were from this demographic. Comparing the size of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States population to the casts of television series, talent from American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander were all underrepresented.

In 2023, TV consumption in the United States was highest among African Americans, who watched an average of 3.28 hours of TV each day. While the viewing time dropped among white, Black, and Hispanic consumers, Asian Americans’ time spent grew from 2021 to 2022 to around two hours per day. TV and streaming engagement among racial groups As of mid 2022, The U.S. population still spent most of their time watching TV and streaming content on traditional media, such as cable and broadcast. Roughly 35 percent of their viewing time was allocated to streaming. It was also observed that Hispanics were more likely to use online video platforms than any other ethnic group, with a viewing time share of over 43 percent. By contrast, using streaming services accounted for around one third of the total viewing time among white and Asian consumers. Traditional TV vs. digital video The way consumers watch TV shows and movies has changed significantly. A forecast showed that traditional TV consumption among Americans will continue to steadily decline in the upcoming years. Meanwhile, with an increasing number of consumers adopting streaming and social videos, digital video soars, outpacing TV viewing time by the end of 2023.

When it comes to share of Americans who watched talk shows online or on TV, 16 percent of 18 - 29 year olds do so in the U.S. This is according to exclusive insights from the Consumer Insights Global survey which shows that 21 percent of 30 - 49 year old consumers also fall into this category.Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than 2,000,000 interviews.

The majority of viewers in the United States considered one hour to be the ideal length for a TV show, according to 42 percent of respondents to a survey conducted in November 2022. Another 25 percent of respondents chose 30 minutes as their preferred length. The data of the source did not show much deviation based on gender, as 42 percent of male respondents and 43 percent of female respondents opted for a length of one hour, while 27 percent of male respondents and 24 percent of female respondents opted for 30 minutes.

According to estimates, there were 125 million TV homes in the United States for the 2023-2024 TV season. Whilst the number of TV households continues to grow, pay TV is becoming less popular – the pay TV penetration rate in the U.S. was pegged at 64 percent in 2023, marking a drop of over 10 percentage points in just five years. The changing TV landscape The trend of consumers (especially younger generations) cutting the cord and instead moving online to streaming services has meant that many pay TV providers have struggled to keep afloat. In spite of this, television statistics show that watching terrestrial TV is still a popular media activity among U.S. consumers. Television has been a popular pastime for so long that it seems impossible the medium could ever die out – but its traditional form is certainly changing. The advent of 3D and smart TV technology, as well as connected TV devices, mean that the ways in which we watch television are changing all the time. User demographics A key factor when considering television consumption in the United States is how a consumer’s age affects their viewing habits and preferences. As of 2022, the average daily time spent watching TV among adults aged 75 years and older amounted to nearly five hours. 20 to 24-year-olds spent just around two hours per day consuming TV content. Moreover, the share of cable TV subscribers was higher among older adults, with half of consumers aged 65 years and older subscribing to a cable TV service, compared to 34 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds at the beginning of 2023.

At the top of the list of most viewed prime time TV shows in United States in 2021 season was "The Equalizer" from CBS, which drew in an average of 23.76 million viewers. In second and third place in terms of average viewers were "Oprah With Megan & Harry" and "60 Minutes," also from CBS.

What kinds of shows are most popular?

A long-standing show which has regularly been one of the most-viewed series is U.S. comedy sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," which premiered in 2007 and ended in 2019 after over ten years on the air. The show achieved an average of 17.44 million viewers in the United States in its final season.

NBC’s showings of Thursday Night Football also tend to perform well in such rankings, as well as comedies and dramas. Both genres have the potential to transcend boundaries due to their broad appeal, and are considered highly favorable among ethnic minorities in the United States as well as men and women alike.

The racial representation in lead roles on U.S. television shows reveals notable disparities between linear and streaming platforms. In the first half of 2024, Black actors led 24 percent of the most popular linear TV shows, while only 12 percent of streaming series featured Black leads. Hispanic representation lagged behind, with just 11 percent of streaming leads and a mere three percent on linear TV, highlighting the ongoing challenge of achieving diversity in television that accurately reflects the U.S. population.

This statistic illustrates the share of Americans who watched reality tv shows online or on TV. As of September 2024, 31 percent of 18 - 29 year old consumers do so in the U.S. This is according to exclusive results from the Consumer Insights Global survey which shows that 34 percent of 30 - 49 year old customers also fall into this category.Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than 2,000,000 interviews.

As of June 2024, watching true-crime content on TV was most common among women and 45 to 64 year-olds, with 46 and 49 percent of respondents in the respective group consuming this kind of content on TV. In total, 41 percent of adults watch true-crime content on television.

The 2025 edition of the Super Bowl, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles emerge victorious against the Kansas City Chiefs was watched by 127.7 million viewers in the United States, making it not only the most watched Super Bowl in history, but also the most popular TV program of all time in the U.S. The second most watched Super Bowl was aired in the previous year, when the Kansas City Chiefs won against the San Francisco 49ers. What is the Super Bowl? The Super Bowl is the last game of the NFL season with the winners of the two football conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), competing with each other. The game determines the champion of the National Football League. The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967, following the 1966 football season. In that game, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, then of the American Football League, with a score of 35 to 10, winning the first-ever Super Bowl championship. Super Bowl giants The Super Bowl came into being as part of a merger agreement between the two rival football leagues (National Football League and the American Football League) at the time. From 1967 to 1970, the game pitted the champions of the two rival leagues against each other. Since 1971 and the completion of the merger agreement, the winners of the two conferences have squared off against each other. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have won the most Super Bowl titles, with a total of six each. The Patriots have also appeared in the National Football League’s annual championship game a record 11 times, thereby topping the list for Super Bowl appearances.

The majority of 18 to 44-year-old U.S. consumers preferred to binge-watch a whole series, according to 40 percent of respondents to a 2023 survey. In comparison, the share of viewers aged 45 years and older stating to do so was 29 percent, while most of the people interviewed in this age group said that this depends on the TV show.

TV shows have become part of the daily routines of many French viewers and keep getting more and more popular, particularly online. TV consumption tends to decrease with age as 30 percent of consumers 60 years old and older watch TV shows regularly in France as of 2023. As a matter of comparison, 62 percent of respondents aged between 25 and 39 years old claim to watch TV shows.

This statistic displays the share of viewers of 'Atlanta' on FX in the United States from September 2017 to May 2018, by ethnicity. According to the source, 27 percent of the viewers of the FX comedy-drama in 2017/2018 were white.

The drama “Tracker” emerged as the most-watched scripted TV show on CBS in the United States in the 2023-2024 season, attracting over eight million viewers. Ranked second was “Young Sheldon,” which drew 7.34 million viewers. “FBI” and “NCIS” also performed strongly, with viewership of just under seven million each.

After an increase in original scripted TV series in the United States between 2020 and 2022, the amount decreased in 2023. 516 original scripted drama, comedy, and limited TV shows were aired on broadcast and cable TV as well as on streaming services in 2023, down by 14 percent from the previous year. Impact of the strikes in Hollywood on TV productions With writers and actors being on strike for several months in 2023, the industry was likely to see a temporary decline in scripted TV show productions and releases as a result. An analysis from mid 2023 showed that over half of productions were expected to be affected by the work stoppages from September 2023 to April 2024. As the strike had not been resolved as of July 2023, even more TV series than expected had been affected. Concerned consumers During the strike, several studios announced production delays of highly anticipated shows and films, such as the last season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and every upcoming Marvel movie. According to a survey from May 2023, U.S. consumers were particularly worried about TV shows being delayed or canceled due to labor disputes. Nearly 40 percent of respondents stated to be concerned about series, while only one percent were worried about movies being impacted.

The long-running investigative news program, “60 Minutes," became the leading non-scripted TV show on CBS in the United States in the 2023-2024 season, attracting around 7.5 million viewers. “Survivor (Fall)” and “Survivor (Spring)” followed closely, drawing nearly five million viewers each.

According to the most recent data, U.S. viewers aged 15 years and older spent on average almost three hours watching TV per day in 2023. Adults aged 65 and above spent the most time watching television at over four hours, whilst 15 to 19-year-olds watched TV for less than two hours each day. The dynamic TV landscape The way people consume video entertainment platforms has significantly changed in the past decade, with a forecast suggesting that the time spent watching traditional TV in the U.S. will probably decline in the years ahead, while digital video will gain in popularity. Younger age groups in particular tend to cut the cord and subscribe to video streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. TV advertising in a transition period Similarly, the TV advertising market made a development away from traditional linear TV towards online media. While the ad spending on traditional TV in the U.S. generally increased until the end of the 2010s, this value is projected to decline to below 60 billion U.S. dollars in the next few years. By contrast, investments in connected TV advertising are expected to steadily grow, despite the amount being just over half of the traditional TV ad spend by 2025.

According to a study conducted in 2024, within the most popular 50 TV shows in the United States, 61 percent of the lead protagonists were white, up by five percent compared with the previous year. In comparison, only six percent were Hispanic leading characters, while seven percent of the leads were Asian actors.

The statistic shows the viewership of This Is Us in the United States as of August 2017, sorted by age group. During a survey, 19 percent of respondents aged 30 to 44 stated that they had watched every episode of the TV series.