Recent Nielsen data show that PBS finished the 2013-2014 broadcast season with a dramatic increase in viewership, moving PBS to the fifth largest primetime household rating among all broadcast and cable networks. PBS finished the season with a 1.50 (or an average audience of 2.2 million viewers), a five percent rating increase compared to its average primetime household rating of 1.43 during the 2012-2013 broadcast season. This ranking marks a significant increase for PBS, which ranked eighth at the end of the 2012-2013 broadcast season and 11th at the end of the 2011-2012 broadcast season.
PBS’ viewership increases were seen across the schedule. Sunday nights were up seven percent over the previous season, and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights were each up by four percent. Across all broadcast and cable networks, PBS was one of only three top 10 networks that saw a season-over-season increase in ratings. Of the 21 hours of primetime programming each week on PBS, ratings went up in 19 of those primetime hours when comparing this season to last.
“For PBS and our member stations, this growth in viewership is incredibly gratifying,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming, PBS. “We’ve been laser-focused on offering more new hours of exceptional content, creating a schedule that puts shows of similar genres on the same night, and providing better flow between programs to keep viewers tuned in. It’s a strategy that is paying off.”
Highlights of the 2013-2014 broadcast season include Season Four of “Downton Abbey” on Masterpiece, a Carnival Films/Masterpiece Co-Production, which had an average audience of 13.2 million viewers, making it the highest-rated drama in PBS history. More recently, Ken Burns’s THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY gave PBS its highest-rated week since 1994.