Work stoppages halted scripted series last year, throwing the 2023-24 TV season into a realm of the unknown. As networks scrambled to fill schedule holes and make programming decisions, questions arose about what the chaos would mean for linear TV, already in the midst of a battle with streaming for viewer attention.

But a recent analysis from iSpot.tv reveals that, for the most part, the networks’ hustle paid off and delivered ad reach at similar levels as the 2022-23 TV season, thanks largely to sports and unscripted programming. Overall, there were 4.37 trillion national linear TV ad impressions from Sept. 1, 2023 through April 30, 2024, a minor 1.2% year-over-year decrease.

The news was even better for the big four broadcasters (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC), which combined grew total impressions by 6.2% (even with a 2% decrease in ad airings), and increased primetime impressions by 8.8% compared to the same time period in 2022-23.

ABC in particular worked through the myriad challenges, growing its impressions by 14% year-over-year while airing 6.8% fewer ads. One big reason for its success? NFL simulcasts with ESPN, which drove a 231.5% YoY increase in primetime ad impressions. Other top programming on ABC across all dayparts included Good Morning America, college football and ABC World News Tonight With David Muir.

Sports were key for other broadcasters as well. On Fox, sports-related programming accounted for over half its total TV ad reach. In primetime specifically, four of the top five programs were sports: NFL, MLB, WWE Friday Night Smackdown and college football (The Masked Singer ranked fifth for primetime reach). Overall, NFL games delivered nearly 38% of Fox’s TV ad impressions, although total impressions declined by 4% — not surprising, iSpot notes, because the network didn’t have the Super Bowl or Men’s World Cup. 

CBS saw TV ad impressions increase by 11% year-over-year with a 3.4% increase in ad airings. The NFL was part of that, with games (including the Super Bowl) generating 21% more impressions year-over-year, while college football impressions rose 62%. But CBS also strategically integrated reruns of popular crime procedurals such as NCIS, with the genre comprising nearly half of its top 15 primetime programs. 

The NFL was also the name of the game on NBC, and was its top impression-generating programming by a wide margin. Football-related programming led for primetime as well, while The Voice impressions grew 3 percentage points year-over-year. And NBC was able to mostly maintain its primetime reach (-0.8% year-over-year) without increasing ad loads; across all dayparts, NBC impressions declined by 2.9%.  

Stuart Schwartzapfel, iSpot executive VP, media partnerships remarked to Broadcasting & Cable, “It's not a surprise networks continue to deliver so much reach, but seeing just how resilient some of these networks are during such an era of fragmentation is a testament to the power of TV, especially in perishable formats such as sports, news and talk shows.”

For more insights, including top brand advertisers, download iSpot’s 2023-24 Linear TV Season Scorecard here.