A18-49+: The Networks Post

The A18-49+ theme posts combine all of the individual season info in one specific category, allowing us to line up the last eleven seasons of collective Live+SD ratings declines on a relatively apples-to-apples basis. In future seasons I will update these pages with the new season numbers. Today we'll look at the last 15 years of the network race, comparing only the nets' original non-sports series averages. of this post from back in Spring 2012.

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Put 'em All Together:

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	CW
2001-02	82	93	128	91	42
2002-03	87	91	114	109	48
2003-04	82	96	117	105	43
2004-05	96	106	98	101	40
2005-06	101	105	84	113	39
2006-07	106	100	82	121	41
2007-08	98	93	88	129	36
2008-09	100	103	82	120	39
2009-10	98	106	78	123	39
2010-11	98	106	77	128	37
2011-12	96	115	77	119	29
2012-13	93	109	93	106	30
2013-14	96	106	103	94	34
2014-15	103	100	100	94	41
2015-16	96	102	103	99	41
2016-17	98	100	111	88	40
2017-18	98	99	110	91	38
2018-19	95	97	109	100	32

As Fox proclaimed its desire to move away from scripted programming, it just so happened to have one of its best seasons for scripted programming. Throw in winter sensation The Masked Singer and Fox picked up nine Plus points and had its highest network average in six years. That came at the expense of every other big four network, as they all took relatively small drops but still hit multi-year lows (lowest in six years for ABC, in 11 years for CBS and in three years for NBC).

The biggest drop of all came on the CW, which didn't quite get to the depths of the Dawn Ostroff era but was a lot closer to that than they to the heights of the superhero years. Some (but far from all) of that can certainly be attributed to adding a new night; airing nothing on Sunday and the Sunday lineup on Friday would've been a lot better for the average.

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2001-04: The Tail End of NBC Dominance

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	WB	UPN
2001-02	82	93	128	91	42	52
2002-03	87	91	114	109	48	41
2003-04	82	96	117	105	43	41

The first years of A18-49+ are the last look at NBC's Friends-driven supremacy. 2003-04 was the last season of Friends, and that show appeared to lift all NBC boats to a large extent; shows like ER, Law and Order and especially Will and Grace were never again as strong after these years. And NBC also had a pretty effective new show pipeline, greenlighting sensational unscripted newbie The Apprentice and solid Monday drama Las Vegas.

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2004-05: The Convergence

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	WB	UPN
2004-05	96	106	98	101	40	38

Without Friends, NBC fell from a comfortable first all the way into third place, and below the league average. And while NBC was having one of the worst year-to-year seasons in the A18-49+ era, ABC was having one of the best, fueled by its new drama trio of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. CBS had its own strong year as the CSI brand peaked (and added a third show), but much of their upward movement had to do with the net largely abandoning Saturday night originals.

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2005-06: Fox Makes Its Move

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	WB	UPN
2005-06	101	105	84	113	39	35

Fox became the third #1 network in as many years as American Idol hit its prime and the network finally began to fill in some of the many holes around it with red-hot sophomore House and newbies Prison Break and Bones. NBC took another massive step downward, approaching the A18-49+ level at which it'd stay for the next five years, while ABC kept gaining steam as Grey's Anatomy emerged as its hottest drama.

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2006-11: Fox's Unchecked Prime

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	CW
2006-07	106	100	82	121	41
2007-08	98	93	88	129	36
2008-09	100	103	82	120	39
2009-10	98	106	78	123	39
2010-11	98	106	77	128	39

When I only had six years of A18-49+ data (2006-12), it seemed to me at the time that the network race was extremely stagnant and boring. Fox had five straight overwhelming years with a whooping 120 or more, including two seasons (the writer's strike in 2007-08 and Glee's peak in 2010-11) when the average Fox original actually crossed the 125 "hit" threshold. After peaking in 2006-07, ABC was somewhat derailed by the 2007-08 writer's strike, while CBS recovered from that shutdown much better thanks to the continued rise of a new generation of hits: How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Criminal Minds. NBC took advantage of the strike year pretty well, but in the subsequent years they were ultimately no stronger (in fact, a bit weaker) than in the last couple pre-strike years.

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2011-12: The Brief Rise of CBS

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	CW
2011-12	96	115	77	119	31

Early in 2011, Charlie Sheen's departure from Two and a Half Men looked like it could tear apart CBS' whole comedy department. Instead, Ashton Kutcher replaced him and Men's ratings (at least initially) went through the roof. That helped launch one of the decade's strongest new shows, 2 Broke Girls. Add in The Big Bang Theory's syndication-fueled surge on Thursday, and CBS put together one of the strongest modern sitcom frameworks. Meanwhile, Fox had one of its best autumns ever with new shows The X Factor and New Girl, but New Girl fell way back to earth in the second half of the season, and American Idol took its first huge step downward. It all added up to Fox finally stepping down (though not by much) from its five-year "prime" level.

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2012-16: The Convergence II

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	CW
2012-13	93	109	93	106	30
2013-14	96	106	103	94	34
2014-15	103	100	100	94	41
2015-16	96	102	103	99	41

Fox's woes late in 2011-12 continued into 2012-13 and 2013-14, which were pretty much a disaster on all fronts except for new dramas The Following (which regressed in season two) and Sleepy Hollow. But they were rescued from continued erosion in 2014-15 by the midseason megahit Empire. The other key part of this convergence was the rise from the ashes of long-forgotten NBC, armed with a double-shot of the one talent competition (The Voice) that was still holding up well.

CBS couldn't capitalize on its 2011-12 comedy strength, as most of the series had unfortunate regressions moving forward. ABC fell to its lowest rating in nearly a decade as Dancing with the Stars collapsed in 2012-13, but the network really turned it around the next two years as DWTS steadied and the network's scripted development improved. 2014-15 marked its first #1 finish in the era. A disappointing ABC season in 2015-16 helped usher NBC to the top, meaning all four big networks had won the season in a five-year span.

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2016-19: NBC Returns to Dominance

Year	ABC	CBS	NBC	Fox	CW
2016-17	98	99	111	88	40
2017-18	98	99	110	91	38
2018-19	95	97	109	100	32

In 2016-17, the "convergence" of the four networks came to an abrupt end. In adding megahit This Is Us to its already deep roster, NBC pulled away from the rest of the pack, posting the highest Plus average for a network's original non-sports series in five years. Fox, meanwhile, was looking shaky in 2015-16 and had to deal with the loss of American Idol as well, and it fell to the lowest Plus average for a network in five years, but made a solid comeback in the subsequent years with hits like Empire, 9-1-1 and The Masked Singer.

For additional yearly/theme recaps and more on A18-49+, check out the A18-49+ Index.