The popular CBS sitcoms, Young Sheldon, and Ghosts, led the onslaught in primetime television gathering impressive audience numbers during their premiere week. Young Sheldon entered its final season with a substantial surge in viewership numbers, while Ghosts enjoyed its best first-night audience ever. Both sitcoms outshined their competitors, benefiting from the post-Super Bowl hype and a heavy promo campaign to push CBS to a leading position in primetime viewing.
Young Sheldon and Ghosts Lead The Primetime Charge
Thursday night saw Young Sheldon draw an impressive 7.99 million viewers for its final season premiere, the largest same-day audience the show has seen since April 2020, almost four years ago. Its 0.63 rating in the important 18-49 demographic, marked its best performance in the last eight episodes since March.
Ghosts, on the other hand, captivated 7.05 million viewers during its third season premiere, marking its highest same-day tally to date. The sitcom’s 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic made it the second-highest initial airing, narrowly missing out on toppling a January 2022 episode.
Other CBS Shows Enjoy Successful Premieres
Another comedy, So Help Me Todd, started its second season with a viewership of 4.91 million, slightly more than its series premiere (4.82 million) in the fall of 2022. Interestingly, a rerun of the Tracker premiere managed to get hold of 3.51 million viewers at 10 p.m.
Strong Showing From CBS Post Super Bowl
Following the Super Bowl, CBS’s premiere week had four of its shows top 7 million same-day viewers. Along with Young Sheldon and Ghosts, FBI (7.7 million) and NCIS (7.32 million) also made their mark. Despite NBC’s Chicago and Law & Order franchises taking the week off, CBS still managed to record the top 11 primetime audiences of the week.
Streaming Success For Young Sheldon
Not limited to television, Young Sheldon has also made waves as one of the most-watched streaming shows in the past few months. It’s addition to Netflix in late November, and availability on Max might have had a positive effect on its premiere.
Wrapping Up
Young Sheldon and Ghosts proving to be formidable entrants in the CBS line-up signals a strong start to the year for the network. With more shows set to make their debut in the coming weeks, CBS looks poised to continue its successful run. Interested in catching up on these shows and more? Check them out on HitPlay.
