While broadcast television is often declared dead, the Super Bowl's 115.1 million viewers in 2023 prove it's still a cultural juggernaut, and this deep dive into the industry's viewership, revenue, and technological evolution reveals a medium in the midst of a dramatic and high-stakes transformation.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the Super Bowl LVII broadcast on Fox averaged 115.1 million viewers, marking the second most-watched U.S. broadcast in history
- During the 2022-2023 TV season, CBS led broadcast networks with an average of 5.13 million total viewers in primetime
- NBC's primetime audience averaged 3.55 million viewers in the 2022-2023 season among total viewers
- U.S. broadcast TV revenue reached $57.5 billion in 2022, primarily from advertising
- ABC's revenue from TV advertising was $8.2 billion in 2022
- CBS Corporation reported $18.6 billion in total revenue for fiscal 2022, with TV contributing majority
- Primetime scripted series accounted for 45% of broadcast programming hours in 2022-2023 season
- Number of original scripted series on broadcast TV fell to 52 in 2022-2023 from 68 prior year
- Reality/unscripted shows made up 28% of broadcast primetime slots in 2022-2023
- Super Bowl ad spots sold for average $7 million for 30 seconds in 2023
- Broadcast TV political ad airings exceeded 1.2 million in 2022 cycle
- CPM for broadcast primetime 18-49 demo averaged $25.40 in Q1 2023
- ATSC 3.0 rollout reached 50% of U.S. households by end of 2023
- 44% of U.S. TV households subscribed to vMVPDs over traditional pay-TV in Q2 2023
- Broadcast TV usage among Gen Z fell to 8% of total TV time in 2023
The broadcast television industry remains strong, especially for live sports and news, but faces declining audiences and ad revenue.
Advertising Statistics
- Super Bowl ad spots sold for average $7 million for 30 seconds in 2023
- Broadcast TV political ad airings exceeded 1.2 million in 2022 cycle
- CPM for broadcast primetime 18-49 demo averaged $25.40 in Q1 2023
- Local TV news ad revenue was $18.5 billion in 2022
- Pharma ads accounted for 12% of broadcast TV ad minutes in 2023
- Average primetime broadcast ad load was 14.2 minutes per hour in 2023
- Auto ads increased 15% on broadcast TV post-2023 strikes
- Q4 2022 upfront broadcast ad commitments totaled $9.2 billion
- Retail ad spend on broadcast TV reached $6.8 billion in 2022 holiday season
- C3 ratings basis saw 8% decline in ad impressions for broadcast in 2023
- Legal services ads surged 22% to top spender category on local TV in 2023
- Broadcast networks sold 92% of inventory upfront for 2023-24 season
- Financial services ads averaged 4.1 minutes per primetime hour in 2023
- Hispanic-targeted ads on broadcast grew 10% to $1.2 billion in 2022
- Streaming measurement led to 5% shift of ad dollars from broadcast in 2023
- Candy/confection ads doubled during Halloween on broadcast TV 2023
- Broadcast TV ad revenue per viewer fell 7% YoY to $120 in 2023
- Telecom ads occupied 9% of broadcast ad time in Q2 2023
- Upfront pricing for broadcast primetime rose 4% to $27 CPM in 2023
- Quick-service restaurant ads averaged $2.1 billion on broadcast in 2022
- Addressable TV ads on broadcast platforms reached 20 million households in 2023
- Beer ads declined 6% amid cord-cutting impact on broadcast 2023
- Broadcast scatter pricing exceeded upfront by 12% in late 2023
- Packaged goods ads share was 11.3% of broadcast TV time in 2023
- Travel ads rebounded 25% to $1.5 billion on broadcast post-COVID 2023
- Election Day 2022 saw 45,000 political ad airings on broadcast TV
Advertising Statistics Interpretation
The numbers don't lie: broadcast TV remains a uniquely potent, and savagely expensive, town square where democracy is pitched next to pharmaceuticals, cars, and candy, all while wrestling with a reality of declining viewers and shifting dollars.
Industry Trends and Technology
- ATSC 3.0 rollout reached 50% of U.S. households by end of 2023
- 44% of U.S. TV households subscribed to vMVPDs over traditional pay-TV in Q2 2023
- Broadcast TV usage among Gen Z fell to 8% of total TV time in 2023
- 72% of local TV stations offered live streaming in 2023, up from 65% in 2022
- NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) enabled 4K HDR broadcasts in 40 markets by 2023
- Over-the-air only households rose to 15% of U.S. total in 2023
- AI usage in broadcast newsrooms reached 35% for content creation in 2023
- 4K broadcast adoption hit 25% of NFL games in 2023 via ATSC 3.0
- Virtual production stages used in 12% of broadcast pilots for 2023-24 season
- 88% of broadcasters invested in IP workflows by end of 2023
- FAST channels from broadcasters grew to 150 on platforms like Roku in 2023
- Remote production used for 60% of live sports broadcasts in 2023
- 55 million U.S. smart TVs tuned to broadcast apps monthly in 2023
- Cloud-based playout adopted by 40% of local stations in 2023
- 5G integration for field production reached 28% of news teams in 2023
- Broadcast TV carbon footprint reduced 12% via LED lighting in 2023 studios
- Personalized ads via ATSC 3.0 tested in 10 markets reaching 20M homes 2023
- 65% of broadcasters planned OTT app launches by 2024 per 2023 survey
- HDR broadcasts increased to 35% of primetime content in top markets 2023
- Robotic cameras used in 45% of network news studios in 2023
- 30% decline in broadcast TV employment since 2019 to 120,000 jobs in 2023
- Interactive TV trials via ATSC 3.0 engaged 5 million viewers in 2023 pilots
- 76% of local stations multicasted 4+ channels in 2023 digital slots
- VR/AR news experiences broadcast to 10% of stations experimentally in 2023
- Edge computing reduced latency 40% for live broadcasts in 2023 tests
- 92% of top affiliates used automated captioning AI in 2023
Industry Trends and Technology Interpretation
While traditional broadcast TV is learning to flirt with the cord-cutting, tech-embracing younger generation—offering 4K sports, streaming apps, and AI-crafted news even as its job numbers shrink—it's clear the industry is desperately remodeling its aging house into a sleek, multi-platform smart home before the last boomer changes the channel.
Programming and Content Statistics
- Primetime scripted series accounted for 45% of broadcast programming hours in 2022-2023 season
- Number of original scripted series on broadcast TV fell to 52 in 2022-2023 from 68 prior year
- Reality/unscripted shows made up 28% of broadcast primetime slots in 2022-2023
- Live sports programming occupied 15 hours per week on average across major networks in 2023
- Newscasts averaged 4.5 hours per day on local broadcast stations in 2022
- ABC aired 120 episodes of Grey's Anatomy across 2022-2023 seasons
- CBS's NCIS franchise aired 50 episodes in 2022-2023
- Fox renewed The Masked Singer for 10th season with 22 episodes planned
- Broadcast networks debuted 18 new scripted series in fall 2022
- Game shows occupied 12% of daytime broadcast schedules in 2023
- Local investigative reporting segments increased 8% to average 2.1 per newscast in 2022
- Broadcast TV produced 1,250 hours of original news content weekly in 2022
- Sitcoms declined to only 8 series on broadcast primetime in 2022-2023
- NBC's Law & Order franchise expanded to 4 series with 44 episodes in 2022-2023
- Weekend morning children's programming reached 95% of affiliates in 2023
- Broadcast TV election coverage totaled 450 hours across networks in 2022 midterms
- Procedural dramas accounted for 35% of top 20 broadcast shows by ratings in 2023
- ABC's Dancing with the Stars aired 24 episodes in season 31 (2022)
- CBS Big Brother summer 2023 season had 70 episodes
- Fox's 9-1-1 series moved to ABC after 118 episodes on Fox
- Local stations aired average 22 hours of news per week in 2022
- Broadcast TV Spanish-language programming hours grew 5% to 1,200 weekly in 2023
- Daytime soaps on ABC (GH, Y&R) totaled 520 episodes in 2022-2023
- Broadcast networks canceled 15 scripted shows mid-2023 season
Programming and Content Statistics Interpretation
Broadcast television is stubbornly clinging to scripted drama by the fingernails while reality shows, live sports, and an endless conveyor belt of crime procedurals and singing competitions steadily hoist the rest of the schedule.
Revenue and Financial Statistics
- U.S. broadcast TV revenue reached $57.5 billion in 2022, primarily from advertising
- ABC's revenue from TV advertising was $8.2 billion in 2022
- CBS Corporation reported $18.6 billion in total revenue for fiscal 2022, with TV contributing majority
- NBCUniversal's broadcast revenue grew 4% to $11.3 billion in 2022
- Fox Corporation's TV revenue was $10.4 billion in fiscal 2023
- Broadcast TV ad revenue declined 11% to $41.7 billion in 2023, per IAB
- Sinclair Broadcast Group revenue was $4.3 billion in 2022
- Nexstar Media Group's TV revenue hit $4.9 billion in 2022
- Tegna Inc. reported $3.4 billion revenue in 2022 from broadcast stations
- Gray Television's revenue grew to $3.7 billion in 2022
- Average profit margin for top broadcast networks was 15.2% in 2022
- Political ad spending on broadcast TV reached $3.2 billion in 2022 midterms
- Retransmission consent fees generated $4.5 billion for broadcasters in 2022
- Disney's linear TV segment revenue fell 5% to $23.1 billion in fiscal 2023
- Paramount Global's TV media revenue was $20.3 billion in 2022
- Warner Bros. Discovery's networks revenue was $25.7 billion in 2022 post-merger
- Local TV stations' average revenue per station was $22.5 million in 2022
- Broadcast TV affiliate revenue from national ads averaged $1.8 million per station in 2022
- Cost of programming for broadcast networks rose 7% to $12.4 billion in 2022
- EBITDA for top 10 station groups averaged 28% margin in 2022
- Broadcast TV debt levels for major groups averaged $15 billion in 2022
- Sports rights fees for broadcast TV increased 12% to $10.2 billion in 2023 deals
- Digital revenue for broadcasters grew 18% to $2.1 billion in 2022
- ABC News division revenue estimated at $1.1 billion in 2022
- Local news revenue per DMA market leader was $45 million in top markets 2022
- Broadcast TV M&A activity totaled $8.7 billion in deals in 2022
- News programming generated 22% of local station revenue in 2022
Revenue and Financial Statistics Interpretation
Broadcast television is still a multi-billion-dollar Leviathan stubbornly swimming in the digital sea, where every dip in advertising is fiercely countered by a surge in political spending, sports fees, and the life support of retransmission cash.
Viewership Statistics
- In 2023, the Super Bowl LVII broadcast on Fox averaged 115.1 million viewers, marking the second most-watched U.S. broadcast in history
- During the 2022-2023 TV season, CBS led broadcast networks with an average of 5.13 million total viewers in primetime
- NBC's primetime audience averaged 3.55 million viewers in the 2022-2023 season among total viewers
- ABC averaged 3.92 million primetime viewers in the 2022-2023 TV season
- Fox broadcast network averaged 2.76 million primetime viewers during 2022-2023
- The 2023 Oscars on ABC drew 18.7 million total viewers, down 9% from the previous year
- NFL games on broadcast TV averaged 17.9 million viewers per game in 2023 regular season
- The 2023 NCAA March Madness championship game on CBS averaged 14.1 million viewers
- Primetime live + same-day viewership for broadcast networks fell 5% year-over-year in Q1 2023 to 20.3 million
- Households using TV averaged 3 hours and 43 minutes per day in 2023, with broadcast TV contributing 21% of usage
- In 2022, the finale of ABC's The Bachelor averaged 5.7 million live+same-day viewers
- CBS's 60 Minutes averaged 6.2 million viewers in the 2022-2023 season
- Fox News Sunday averaged 1.8 million total viewers in Q1 2023, leading morning shows
- NBC's Sunday Night Football averaged 19.9 million viewers in 2022 season
- The 2023 Grammy Awards on CBS drew 16.8 million viewers, up 31% from prior year
- Broadcast TV share of total TV usage was 19% in May 2023, per Nielsen Gauge
- ABC's Good Morning America averaged 2.4 million viewers in 2023
- In 2023, live sports accounted for 90% of broadcast TV's top 50 telecasts by viewership
- The View on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers daily in 2022-2023 daytime slot
- Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged 3.2 million viewers before cancellation in 2023
- NBC Nightly News averaged 6.1 million viewers in 2023
- CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell averaged 5.3 million in 2023
- ABC World News Tonight led with 7.8 million average viewers in 2023 evenings
- The 2023 CMA Awards on ABC averaged 9.8 million viewers
- Broadcast networks' primetime viewership among adults 18-49 was 0.52 rating in 2022-2023
- Wheel of Fortune averaged 5.9 million viewers in syndication 2022-2023
- Jeopardy! averaged 6.4 million viewers in 2022-2023 syndication
- Live + 7 day ratings boosted ABC's The Conners finale to 4.1 million viewers
- In Q4 2022, broadcast TV viewing time per TV household was 44 hours 15 minutes
- The 2023 Tony Awards on CBS drew 4.8 million viewers
Viewership Statistics Interpretation
The only script broadcast television still follows religiously is a live sports schedule, with news and game shows serving as commercial breaks for the entire industry.
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