TV ratings 2023-24 are in. Who won? Who lost? See the charts.
Final primetime ratings for the 2023–24 broadcast season are now public, and the picture is familiar but noteworthy: overall viewership declined for most long-running unscripted and competition series. This drop is part of a long-term trend accelerated by streaming platforms, short-form video apps, and changing viewing habits. Below we summarize how key reality and talent franchises performed, highlight notable winners and losers, and point out the implications for the future of broadcast competition programming.
The Voice remained the most-watched non-sports competition series in total viewers, while Survivor held strong in the valuable 18–49 demographic, finishing third only behind NFL telecasts in that demo. After more than two decades on air, Survivor continues to attract a dedicated audience despite the broader declines affecting many shows.
In the key 18–49 demo, American Idol outperformed both The Voice and The Masked Singer on certain nights, while Dancing with the Stars posted higher demo ratings than several of its talent-show peers. However, across the board the talent competition genre saw steep year-over-year drops compared with the 2022–23 season.
Other franchise placements in the 18–49 rankings included The Bachelor and The Golden Bachelor, which ranked eighth and ninth with roughly 0.82 and 0.80 demo averages, respectively. Big Brother’s Thursday results show landed at number 12 with a 0.79 demo rating. Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
Broadcast Total Viewer Rankings, 2023-24 (Top 30 including Sports)
| Rank | Show | Network | Viewers (M) | Gains/Loss vs 22=23 (M) |
% gain/loss |
| 19 | The Voice – Monday | NBC | 7.06 | -0.22 | -3 |
| 21 | The Voice – Tuesday | NBC | 6.77 | -0.47 | -6.5 |
| 25 | Survivor | CBS | 6.46 | -0.22 | -3.3 |
Note: Major franchises such as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Masked Singer, The Amazing Race, So You Think You Can Dance, and America’s Got Talent did not place in the Top 30 for total viewers in this season’s overall rankings.
Broadcast 18-49 Rankings, 2023-24
The 18–49 demographic remains the industry’s most-watched advertising benchmark. Notably, Survivor was one of the few shows to increase its demo rating year over year. Several other talent shows either fell out of the top demo rankings or experienced sharp percentage declines.
| Rank | Show | Network | 18-49 rating | Gains/Loss vs 22=23 (M) |
% gain/loss |
| 3 | Survivor | CBS | 1.06 | 0.02 | 1.9 |
| 17 | Dancing with the Stars | ABC | 0.72 | N/A | |
| 23 | The Amazing Race | CBS | 0.68 | -0.04 | -5.6 |
| 24 | American Idol – Sunday | ABC | 0.66 | -0.26 | -28.3 |
| 27 | The Masked Singer | FOX | 0.63 | -0.29 | -28.3 |
Only Survivor gained viewers, the talent shows dropped precipitously
Breaking down some specifics: for the 2023–24 season, American Idol (Sunday) averaged 6.92 million total viewers and ranked 20th overall. That program saw a single-digit total-viewer drop compared with the prior season, while its 18–49 average of 0.92 represented roughly an 8% decline. The Masked Singer matched American Idol in the 18–49 demo but posted a larger year-over-year percentage loss. The Voice (Monday) averaged a 0.80 in the demo and declined about 20% versus the prior season.
Even shows with enduring formats were not immune: while Survivor increased slightly in the demo to 1.06, it still saw a meaningful dip in total viewers compared with seasons past. Other series, such as So You Think You Can Dance, struggled: season 18’s demo ratings hovered in the 0.1–0.2 range with only the premiere clearing 1 million viewers; the series aired a shorter, midseason run of ten episodes.
Why this widespread decline? Industry observers point to a combination of viewer fragmentation, more on-demand options, and changing expectations around event television. The recent writers’ and actors’ strikes disrupted production timelines for some series, but several of the talent shows premiered after the strikes concluded and still experienced audience erosion, suggesting deeper, structural shifts in viewer behavior.
What are the consequences for networks and producers? Lower broadcast audiences can lead to budget reevaluations, format tweaks, and programming shifts. Networks may pilot fewer big-ticket live competition series or double down on cross-platform strategies that blend broadcast premieres with streaming exclusives, social media tie-ins, and shorter season orders to keep costs aligned with audience realities.
The big question going forward: will traditional talent shows adapt their formats and distribution to regain viewers, or will the era of broadcast talent television—at least as we’ve known it over the past two decades—continue to wane? For now, the data from 2023–24 makes clear that even iconic franchises face mounting pressure to evolve. Source: The Hollywood Reporter (final ratings for 2023–24 and comparison to 2022–23).