The long tail of ratings continues to bring big benefits for broadcast series.
CBS’ Tracker sits atop an early look at 35-day, cross-platform ratings for the fall, as it did last season, and ABC’s High Potential continues to run a strong second. The top of the rankings, in fact, doesn’t look that much different than they did for the 2024-25 season — down to Tracker’s season premiere averaging 17.3 million viewers over five weeks, right in line with its average of 17.34 million last season.
CBS, which debuted most of its lineup the week of Oct. 13, has eight of the top 10 shows (not including live sports) in 35-day ratings through Oct. 19. That may change a bit as the season goes on and viewers settle in more to their habits, but the network’s deep bench of scripted series shows up here. Notable are the strong premiere performances of first-year dramas Boston Blue (12.7 million viewers) and Sheriff Country (12.1 million), which rank fourth and fifth through Oct. 19. Both shows earned second-season renewals earlier this week.
The 35-day ratings also show how viewers continue to discover shows well after they air. Tracker, for instance, adds 3.33 million viewers via streaming and other delayed viewing from days 8-35 of Nielsen measurement. High Potential grows by more than 4 million, and ABC’s Abbott Elementary, which didn’t make the top 20 after seven days, joins its lead-in Shifting Gears at 8.8 million viewers over 35 days.
Eleven shows hit at least 10 million viewers after five weeks of viewing, compared to just three in the seven-day rankings.
Nielsen’s 35-day ratings for Sept. 14-Oct. 19 are below.
