Welcome to our weekly snapshot of TV by the numbers, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks for January 1-7, with insights from Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The first week of 2024 continued in much the same vein as fall 2023: Football, football and more football! The NFL’s viewership share decreased from 11.88% to 8.89% week-over-week, in part due to the lack of a Monday Night Football game. Meanwhile, the college football bowl-a-palooza continued, with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl ranking second and third, respectively, for watch-time out of all programs on TV. 

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• This year’s Rose Bowl, which saw the Michigan Wolverines emerge victorious against the Alabama Crimson Tide, had a notably higher viewership share than last year’s: 1.96% for the week, compared to 0.82% for 2023’s matchup (Penn State vs Utah). 

• The 81st Golden Globe Awards lands at No. 15 on the ranking with a 0.51% viewership share for the week, a notable jump from the 0.31% share it had last year. 

• The Rose Parade, an annual New Year’s Day tradition in Pasadena, CA that precedes the college football Rose Bowl, accounted for 0.45% of all minutes watched during the week. 

• Thanks to rerun marathons on Comedy Central and TV Land, Seinfeld jumps into the ranking at No. 24, capturing 0.42% of watch-time. 

Get more insights about the most-watched networks for Jan. 1-7 over on The Measure.