More Viewers Watch CBS NEWS This Season Than Any Other Broadcast Network

More viewers watched CBS News during the 2015-2016 television season than watched news on any other broadcast network, according to most current Nielsen ratings. Nielsen estimates 177.6 million people watched all or part of a CBS News broadcast since the season began in September and ended in May, with 72.3 million of them in the key adults 25-54 demographic desired by those who advertise in news. CBS News led its broadcast rivals in both viewers and adults 25-54.

CBS News original reporting earned #1 category finishes for 60 MINUTES, FACE THE NATION, CBS SUNDAY MORNING and 48 HOURS, and resulted in record growth for CBS THIS MORNING, the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY and CBS THIS MORNING: Saturday.

"CBS News always aims to lead on quality and original reporting. It's great to see that approach resonate with viewers," said David Rhodes, President of CBS News. "Each of our broadcasts is unique, but all share our core values plus the best broadcast journalists in the business."

Here's a snapshot of CBS News's broadcast television performance for the 2015-2016 season:

CBS THIS MORNING finished the season with the network's largest overall audience delivery in at least 28 years and marked its fourth consecutive season of audience growth. CBS THIS MORNING is the only network morning news program to post gains in viewers (3.67 m viewers, +9% from 3.38m) and women 25-54 (+11%, 1.0 rating from 0.9), and is the only program to maintain its adult 25-54 rating (0.9) for the 2015-2016 season, compared with last season. The broadcast added +290,000 viewers compared with last season and is in its closest competitive position with NBC since the advent of people meters (at least 28 years). The broadcast is also in its closest competitive position with ABC in 17 years (since the 1998-1999 season). CBS THIS MORNING has delivered year-over-year audience growth for 44 consecutive months while ABC has declined 25 consecutive months and NBC has declined 24 consecutive months.

The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY finished the season by delivering the largest audience in the time period for CBS in 10 years. The CBS broadcast also added the most viewers among the network evening news broadcasts (7.35m, up +2% from 7.23m a year ago). The broadcast posted its sixth consecutive season of growth, a first for a network evening newscast since the 1987 advent of people meters. Since Scott Pelley became anchor in June 2011, the CBS EVENING NEWS has added +1.4 million viewers, double the growth of ABC and NBC combined.

60 MINUTES finished the season as America's #1 news program (12.3m), making appearances in the Nielsen weekly Top 10 for 22 of its 30 broadcasts ? more than 70% of its season. On January 17, the CBS News magazine drew 20.62 million viewers, the largest non-sports live plus same-day audience of the season to that point and the biggest 60 MINUTES audience in seven years.

FACE THE NATION finished its fourth consecutive season as the #1 Sunday public affairs broadcast with its largest audience in at least 28 years (3.75m, up +9% from 3.43m). The season marked John Dickerson's first as anchor of the Emmy Award-winning broadcast. Compared with a year ago, FACE THE NATION added more than +300,000 viewers, making it six consecutive seasons of viewer growth.

CBS SUNDAY MORNING finished its 13th consecutive season as the #1 Sunday morning news program and delivered its second-most-watched audience in at least 28 years (6.05m). It also marked its third consecutive season with an audience of more than 6 million.

48 HOURS finished its 10th consecutive season as Saturday's #1 non-sports primetime broadcast (5.41 m).

CBS THIS MORNING: Saturday posted the largest season audience for any CBS Saturday morning news broadcast ever (2.21m, up +5% from 2.11m).

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