{"id":359906,"date":"2025-12-20T06:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T06:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/359906\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T06:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T06:37:13","slug":"high-potential-tracker-lead-in-total-viewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/359906\/","title":{"rendered":"‘High Potential,’ ‘Tracker’ Lead in Total Viewers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFor broadcast TV, 2025 was the year that the narrative swung back their way \u2014 and we have \u201cHigh Potential<\/a>\u201d and \u201cTracker<\/a>\u201d in particular to thank for that. Both shows continue to dominate with viewership when multiplatform numbers \u2014 linear, timeshifted and streaming \u2014 are tallied, putting those shows (and several others in the broadcast realm) higher, in many cases, than their competitors from the streaming-only world.<\/p>\n

\n\tPer ratings from both ABC and CBS, \u201cHigh Potential\u201d and \u201cTracker\u201d are virtually tied as the most-watched entertainment series (when sports and news aren\u2019t included) on broadcast in the 2025 calendar year (which means the second half of the 2024-2025 TV season, and the first half of the 2025-2026 season). Both networks are using slightly different methodologies to get to their tallies, but the two shows are within spitting distance of each other, averaging around 16.5 million viewers depending on how many episodes are included in the mix.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to ABC and confirmed by Nielsen, when looking at linear+streaming content ratings data based on 35 days of viewing \u2014 and excluding episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture \u2014 the 12 episodes of \u201cHigh Potential\u201d that aired during the time frame of ABC\u2019s report averaged 8.6 million viewers in linear, and another 7.9 million in streaming \u2014 adding up to 16.5 million. That made \u201cHigh Potential\u201d No. 1 for the calendar year. Meanwhile, 14 episodes of \u201cTracker\u201d averaged 11 million in linear and 5.4 million in streaming, adding to 16.4 million viewers total, putting it close behind. <\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, CBS\u2019 multiplatform 35-day ranker has 15 episodes of \u201cTracker\u201d topping out at 16.5 million, edging out 13 episodes of \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d which added up to 16.4 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tABC\u2019s analysis of Nielsen data shows CBS with four of the top five shows (\u201cTracker,\u201d \u201cMatlock,\u201d \u201cGhosts\u201d and \u201cGeorgie & Mandy\u2019s First Marriage\u201d) in total viewers, but isn\u2019t able to include newcomers \u201cBoston Blue\u201d and \u201cSheriff Country,\u201d as Nielsen\u2019s streaming data capture is missing viewership information for those series\u2019 first few episodes. <\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the other shows reaching more than 10 million viewers this year, ABC had thriving players in \u201cWill Trent,\u201d \u201cThe Rookie<\/a>,\u201d \u201cShifting Gears\u201d and \u201c9-1-1,\u201d while CBS\u2019 \u201cElsbeth\u201d also made the cut.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe difference between linear and streaming is more stark when it comes to demographic charts. Among adults 18-49, ABC has \u201cHigh Potential\u201d in the top spot with a 3.77 rating. In that tally, the initial linear rating is just 0.75 \u2014 and then the streaming rating adds a whopping 3.02 to that final number. <\/p>\n

\n\tABC held seven of the top 10 shows in adults 18-49 \u2014 besides \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d that included \u201cAbbott Elementary\u201d (3.22 rating), \u201cThe Rookie\u201d (2.54 rating), \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d (2.28 rating), \u201cShifting Gears\u201d (2.16 rating), \u201c9-1-1\u201d (2.15 rating) and \u201c9-1-1: Nashville\u201d (1.82 rating). Also in the top 10 were CBS\u2019 \u201cGhosts\u201d (2.07 rating) and \u201cTracker\u201d (2.01 rating), and Fox\u2019s \u201cBob\u2019s Burgers\u201d (1.73 rating).<\/p>\n

\n\tIn other demos, perhaps the most surprising is the power of ABC\u2019s \u201cThe Rookie\u201d with teens. A procedural that perhaps wouldn\u2019t seem to be geared toward the 12-17 crowd, the show was No. 1 for the year with the Gen Z crowd thanks to streaming. Other teen faves included \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d \u201cGeorgie & Mandy\u2019s First Marriage,\u201d \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d and \u201cGhosts.\u201d ABC had six of the top 10 shows with teens, but CBS had three \u2014 not bad for a network that is seen as traditionally old-skewing, and a reminder again that streaming has helped put more young eyeballs back on broadcast fare.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith adults 18-34, ABC\u2019s \u201cAbbott Elementary\u201d was tops, while \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d led with kids 2-11. Interestingly, drama procedurals \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d \u201cRookie\u201d and \u201cTracker\u201d were also top 5 with kids.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs ABC shared its 2025 highlights, the network emphasized the resurgence of \u201cDancing With the Stars,\u201d which ended its Season 34 with 9.43 million viewers for its finale \u2014 its largest season ender since 2016 \u2014 and a 2.06 rating for the finale with adults 18-49, its best since 2015. \u201cDWTS\u201d also became the first fall show to see its ratings increase for six consecutive weeks following a season premiere in the Nielsen electronic measurement era.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong other Alphabet net highlights, \u201cWill Trent\u201d grew its total viewer audience in live+7 ratings for the third year in a row, the only drama to do so; and according to ABC, \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d logged more than 38 billion minutes this year, making it the most-streaming drama on TV.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere are calendar year 2025 Nielsen multiplatform+35 ratings charts, which include the live+35 day big data plus panel and streaming content ratings. (A few caveats to keep in mind: CBS\u2019 fall launched late, so only a handful of episodes are in the ABC charts \u2014 and shows missing streaming info like \u201cBoston Blue\u201d and \u201cSheriff Country\u201d aren\u2019t included. CBS\u2019 ranker includes episodes missing streaming info, but that means the averages may be skewed for shows like \u201cThe Rookie\u201d)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: ABC. Cross platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on 35 days of viewing from the linear air date and streaming FSD. Broadcast original series only. Excludes sports, specials,newsand repeats.1\/1\/25-11\/30\/25, data generated 12\/8\/25. Linear based on Nielsen\u2019s Updated Big Data Plus Panel Sample. Min. 2 telecasts. Excludes episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: CBS. Nielsen Panel+ Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 1\/1-11\/02\/25 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming. Excludes sports, specials, repeats, and programs with less than 3 TCs. SCR individual exclusions due to incomplete data or program specials are as follows: THE VOICE recap shows, road to the playoffs, and playoff shows\/THE AMERICA\u2019S episodes 2 & 4\/LAW & ORDER & SUV 4\/10\/25\/AGT TUE 7\/22\/25 & 8\/12\/25\/AFV 6\/15\/25\/ ELSBETH & GHOSTS, GEORGIE & MANDY 2\/6\/25, 2\/13\/25, 2\/20\/25, 2\/27\/25\/ HOLLYWOOD SQUARES 2\/5\/25, 2\/12\/25, 2\/19\/25, 2\/26\/25\/ BIG BROTHER unclocked episodes\/ SURVIVOR 2\/26\/25\/ POPPA\u2019S HOUSE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, NCIS 2\/3\/25, 2\/10\/25, 2\/24\/25\/ NCIS: ORIGINS 2\/3\/25 & 2\/10\/25\/ FBI FRANCHISE 2\/4\/25, 2\/11\/25, 2\/18\/25, 2\/25\/25\/ WATSON & EQUALIZER 2\/16\/25, 2\/23\/25, 3\/2\/25\/ FIRE COUNTRY, SWAT, NCIS: SYDNEY 2\/7\/25, 2\/14\/25, 2\/21\/25, 2\/28\/25.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: ABC. Cross platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on 35 days of viewing from the linear air date and streaming FSD. Broadcast original series only. Excludes sports, specials,newsand repeats.1\/1\/25-11\/30\/25, data generated 12\/8\/25. Linear based on Nielsen\u2019s Updated Big Data Plus Panel Sample. Min. 2 telecasts. Excludes episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: ABC. Cross platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on 35 days of viewing from the linear air date and streaming FSD. Broadcast original series only. Excludes sports, specials,newsand repeats.1\/1\/25-11\/30\/25, data generated 12\/8\/25. Linear based on Nielsen\u2019s Updated Big Data Plus Panel Sample. Min. 2 telecasts. Excludes episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: ABC. Cross platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on 35 days of viewing from the linear air date and streaming FSD. Broadcast original series only. Excludes sports, specials,newsand repeats.1\/1\/25-11\/30\/25, data generated 12\/8\/25. Linear based on Nielsen\u2019s Updated Big Data Plus Panel Sample. Min. 2 telecasts. Excludes episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSource: ABC. Cross platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on 35 days of viewing from the linear air date and streaming FSD. Broadcast original series only. Excludes sports, specials,newsand repeats.1\/1\/25-11\/30\/25, data generated 12\/8\/25. Linear based on Nielsen\u2019s Updated Big Data Plus Panel Sample. Min. 2 telecasts. Excludes episodes missing full Nielsen streaming data capture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For broadcast TV, 2025 was the year that the narrative swung back their way \u2014 and we have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,109586,181041,8243,427,2657],"class_list":{"0":"post-359906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-high-potential","12":"tag-the-rookie","13":"tag-tracker","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-tv-ratings"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}