NBC Wins TV Season in Total Viewers, Reclaiming the No. 1 Spot

NBC will finish as the No. 1 broadcast network in total viewers for the 2025-26 season.

As the September-to-May TV season comes to a close, NBC will deliver an across-the-board win among total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The milestone season was fueled in part by two-plus weeks in February featuring the second most-watched Super Bowl ever and a resurgent Winter Olympics.

Through May 17, NBC is averaging 5.83 million viewers in primetime this season, up approximately 14 percent from 2024-25.

NBC also delivered the season’s No. 1 program with Sunday Night Football, which extended its record-setting streak as primetime television’s top show for a 15th consecutive season. Sunday Night Football averaged 21 million viewers on NBC and 23.5 million viewers across Peacock and other digital platforms.

NBC also ranked No. 1 in the key advertising demographics of adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. In adults 18-49, NBC earned a 1.01 primetime rating — equivalent to approximately 1.37 million viewers in the demographic — marking its first season win in the category since 2021-22, another Super Bowl and Winter Olympics season.

Among adults 25-54, NBC posted a 1.32 rating, equivalent to 1.66 million viewers.

Additional highlights from the 2025-26 season include:

• Saturday Night Live ranks as television’s No. 1 comedy among adults 18-49 for the 2025-26 season to date and is the No. 2 entertainment series overall in the demo.

• NBC is the No. 1 most-watched entertainment network on Wednesday nights thanks to the strength of the One Chicago lineup.

• The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins ranks as the No. 1 new comedy (excluding reboots) among adults 18-49 across broadcast for the 2025-26 season to date.

• 2025 marked the third consecutive year of growth for the linear telecasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show.

• NBC is the most co-viewed broadcast network on a live basis in 2026, with more than half of viewers watching with another person (53 percent live adults 2+ co-viewing through April 26, 2026).

NBC recently announced its Fall 2025-2026 premiere schedule, featuring returning hits and new series across entertainment, sports and late night programming. The slate includes The Voice, Brilliant Minds, Law & Order, America’s Got Talent, On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, St. Denis Medical and Happy’s Place, along with the tipoff of NBA on NBC. All programming will stream next day on Peacock.