Basketball Bounces Up, Oscars Still Slaps: TV By the Numbers

Here’s a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Mar. 6-12, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks with data from Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio, with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

As we head into March Madness, basketball is in full-court press: Watch-time for men’s college games increased week-over-week, up to 4.16% from 2.28% previously. Meanwhile, the 2023 PGA Players Championship swings into second place with 1.48% of minutes watched, while the Oscars take fourth (0.91%). 

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• NBA games slipped in watch-time week-over-week, landing at No. 3 with 1.22% of minutes watched, a decrease from the previous week’s 2.04%. 

• The 2023 World Baseball Classic tournament kicked off on Mar. 8, with coverage of Pool A (Mar. 8-12) accounting for 0.56% of watch-time, putting it at No. 12.  

• Aside from the week-over-week ranking newcomers, only two programs increased their chart positions compared to the previous week: SportsCenter, which moved into ninth from No. 15 and Tucker Carlson Tonight (up to No. 20 from No. 24). NCIS: New Orleans squeaked into the final chart position, up from No. 30 previously. 

• It’s worth noting that the Oscars took first place for watch-time on Mar. 12 specifically (5.67% of minutes watched that day), beating out Sunday’s wide variety of sports broadcasts which included the Players Championship, NASCAR Cup Series, NBA and men’s college basketball games, the World Baseball Classic and the live NCAA Tournament Selection Show. 

Thanks in part to the Oscars, ABC moves into first place in the network ranking with 7.22% of watch-time. Bolstered by the 2023 Players Championship, NBC also rises up a notch to second place from third previously with 6.97% of minutes watched. 

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from Mar. 6-12: 

• Investigation Discovery makes the largest week-over-week position increase, moving from No. 14 to No. 11 with 1.54% of minutes watched. 

• Although they retain their ranking positions week-over-week, Fox, ESPN, ION, HGTV, Discovery Channel and Bravo all had increases in watch-time. 

• There was a single week-over-week ranking newcomer: ESPN2, at No. 24 with 0.99% of minutes watched.