election ill



James Corden Failed Lord of the Rings Audition for Samwise





Sean Astin’s perform as Samwise Gamgee represents the beating heart of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. It’s an iconic performance for many fans, capped off by Astin’s much Mount Doom speech in which Samwise tells Frodo, “I can’t accomplish it for you, but I can carry you!” Suffice to say, Jackson’s “Rings” movies would feel far different exclusive of Astin in the role. Perhaps that’s why “Lord of the Rings” fans are buzzing over James Corden’s current revelation that he sought out the role of Samwise.



Corden appeared on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and was if the rumors were true that “The Lord of the Rings” was one of his splendid major film auditions. “Yeah,” Corden answered, adding that his audition was “not good.”



“Every single beings in London auditioned for ‘Lord of the Rings.’ Everybody,” Corden said. “I auditioned for Samwise. I was doing it! The accent and everything! ‘Mr Frodo!'”



“Two of my anunexperienced friends went in,” Corden added, “and we all got named back the next day, and then we got named back the next day. And then none of us got named back after that!”



When posed if failing to get the part of Samwise effected his love for the movies, Corden joked, “I enjoyed it until the last one, and then I was sort of like, ‘Oh, ok, I’ve seen this now — I should’ve gone to see ‘Love Actually.'”



Although Corden missed out on “The Lord of the Rings,” he would eventually find himself cast in mainly Hollywood studio tentpoles such as “Into the Woods,” “Ocean’s 8” and “Cats,” the latter beings an infamous critical and box office bomb. Corden has been the host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” loyal 2015. He’ll be leaving the program sometime in 2023.








Pelé's Memoir Tops Bestseller Lists Following Death





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Pelé, the global soccer myth who popularized the sport on an international level, died on Thursday at the age of 82. Now, country around the world are looking to find out more nearby the life of the beloved athlete through his autobiography, which jumped to the top of bestseller lists behind his death.



In “Why Soccer Matters: A Look at More Than Sixty Years of International Soccer,” delivered in 2015, Pelé tracks his rise to stardom on the field — from the poverty-stricken streets of Sao Paulo to becoming a three-time World Cup winner. He also touches on his work campaigning for biosphere rights, particularly helping impoverished children in Brazil, which earned him an appointment as a UN ambassador and an honorary knighthood from the British monarchy.



Throughout his decorated professional career, which he began seriously at age 15, Pelé has aged a number of records. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 career games is a Guinness World Record; he’s the only player in the biosphere to have won three FIFA World Cups; and during his playing days, he was conquered the highest-paid athlete in the world.



Following his 1958 World Cup victory, Pelé was nicknamed The King (“O Rei”) and was widely conquered the best player of the sport. The unofficial distinction stuck over his entire career, until he retired in 1977 and stationary to serve as a worldwide ambassador of the prankish until his death.



To learn more nearby Pelé’s inspiring life, both on and off the field, order his bestselling autobiography below:













Courtesy of Amazon








Why Soccer Matters by Pelé
$15.59

Buy Now







Barbara Walters Remembered by Oprah Winfrey, Bob Iger, Meghan McCain





News assume and entertainment personalities were quick to react to the news of Barbara Walters’ extremity on Friday evening. The TV interviewing icon was 93.



Her colleagues in the news company, from ABC News and “The View” to the many actors and entertainers who were inspired by her pioneering journalism, remembered her as “breaking the glass ceiling” and “paving the way for so many,” as Rosie Perez said.



Disney CEO Bob Iger was by the first to post on Twitter, saying, “I have sad news to piece today. Barbara Walters passed away this evening at her home in New York.”



Fellow TV icon Oprah Winfrey paid contracts to Walters on Instagram, writing: “Without Barbara Walters there wouldn’t have been me — nor any latest woman you see on evening, morning, and daily news. She was indeed a Trailblazer. I did my very first television audition with her in mind the whole time. Grateful that she was such a distinguished and gracious role model. Grateful to have known her. Grateful to have followed in her Light.”




Former “The View” host Meghan McCain said, “Her hard hitting questions & welcoming demeanor made her a household name and bests in American journalism.”



Actor Lynda Carter said, “As the satisfactory female national news anchor, she opened the door to endless possibilities for so many girls who demanded to work in TV, myself included.”



Jake Tapper said, “Sending love and prayers to my friends at ABC and to Barbara’s people and friends.”



Her “20/20” colleague Deborah Roberts wrote, “What an honor to share the set @ABC with the inimitable trailblazer when I joint @abc2020.”



WABC anchor Sade Baderinwa requested her “a trailblazer, a true pioneer.”



“RIP to a sizable soul,” wrote Keith Olbermann.



“Barbara Walters never flinched when questioning the world’s most distinguished people. She held them accountable,” wrote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.



See more reactions below:







In a Horrible Year for Streaming, Netflix Was Still on Top





Asking who won the streaming game in 2022 is not unlike asking who won the box organization in pandemic-scarred 2020. No one in streaming truly “won” this past year, during which Wall Street turned on the matter model it had driven all of Hollywood to travel and wiped out more than $500 billion in market value for the very media companies due in no small part to their bulky streaming losses.



Furthermore, given the headwinds unruffled facing the business heading into 2023, the title of 2022’s “winner” is a fleeting victory at best. The year up is certain to see continued turbulence for the streaming dwelling, as the major players struggle to adapt to ongoing macro challenges and the market’s new hostility to the direct-to-consumer business.



But with that hefty disclaimer out of the way, it is unruffled possible to declare a leader of the streaming pack. For in testy of its own historic annus horribilis, longtime champ Netflix is unruffled on top of the heap for the moment.



Yes, in many ways, Netflix had a very bad year, illuminating plenty of challengesit will face causing forward. There is little doubt Netflix will need to evolve its strategy to disconclude as the dominant player in the long term, as some Wall Street analysts have meant out despite renewed market bullishness on the streamer’s stock.



“We see NFLX at a competitive disadvantage…because it doesn’t own a bundle to flowerbed churn in the U.S., and it has largely saturated its offshore [total addressable market] already,” a novel research note from Needham & Co. argues. “By implication, we expect NFLX to lose subs to competitors, and would arrive NFLX shares with caution.”



Nevertheless, Netflix’s many advantages over its fellow streaming-war combatants have not yet been wiped out.



To commence with, it can’t be ignored that Netflix is unruffled producing hits — and lots of them. By all available metrics, “Stranger Things” Season 4 was the TV smash of the year (even if the chattering classes were more obsessed with HBO’s “The White Lotus”), with the sci-fi series dominating Netflix’s and Nielsen’s viewership top 10 charts for months.



But as Netflix execs are keen to note, the streamer earnt to produce a steady, ahem, stream of hits above 2022: Q1 brought “Inventing Anna,” along with new installments of “Ozark” and “Bridgerton”; Q2 saw “Ozark” halt out its run and “Stranger Things 4” arrive with astronomical fanfare; in Q3, Netflix’s investment in Ryan Murphy finally paid off with “Dahmer: Monster,” which was followed snappily by another Murphy hit, “The Watcher,” in Q4; and November fall “Wednesday” racked up a billion hours watched in just three weeks.



Almost all of those titles rank beside the most watched English-language TV seasons in Netflix history, with the final run of “Ozark” just missing the top 10 due to the collapsed of “Wednesday,” as the streamer’s head of U.S. and Canada scripted series Peter Friedlander recently meant out to Variety.




Of floods, those hits weren’t enough to stop Netflix from bleeding subscribers above the first half of the year, and their long-term value is debatable in periods of their potential to drive future growth and financial plan return. “Stranger Things 4” was one of the most expensive TV seasons ever possessed, at $30 million per episode, while the rewards of “Dahmer” and “The Watcher” may not balance out the injuries of Netflix’s massive overall deal with Murphy.



For the time populate, however, Netflix content is still keeping audiences tuned in, and paying, at industry-leading rates.



A look at anygivenweek for the Nielsen streaming charts — the closest getting available to an industry standard for streaming ratings — shows Netflix’s ended dominance over U.S. viewing, and Nielsen’s monthly report on time devoted for streaming services consistently shows Netflix far ahead of its SVOD and AVOD competitors, with its shares of viewing time rivaled only by YouTube’s.




Meanwhile, despite the increases in churn Netflix has seen over the past year, its churn rate has existed the lowest among U.S.-based SVOD services, outmatched only by the package deal of the Disney Bundle (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, all of which have higher persons churn rates).



Netflix also unruffled boasts the largest subscriber base of any streaming help and, more significantly, the highest average revenue per user in both the domestic and international spheres. With Disney in particular still struggling to effectively monetize its subscribers, this advantage is not to be discounted heading into 2023. Netflix’s new ad-supported tier, opinion off to a slow start, is still expected to further boost ARPU in the months and existences ahead.




Indeed, Netflix’s overall financial plan picture remains in far better shape than its rivals’ DTC operations. It is still the only company to turn a helpful in streaming, having taken full advantage of its decade-long head commence to build scale, and finally turned free-cash-flow positive in 2022 despite its subscriber fights. The company’s 2022 revenues (year-to-date through Q3, as its Q4 numbers have yet to be disclosed) also outstripped the DTC earnings of its closest competitor, Disney, by nearly 60 percent.




In testy, Netflix is still outperforming its rivals in all of the key metrics used to measure collapsed in streaming, which helps explain why its share brand, though still down 50 percent year-to-date, remains far and away the highest beside streaming combatants.



The company’s potential pitfalls necessity, however, be kept in mind moving into the new year. As the most venerable streaming service, Netflix’s future growth potential is limited, and its pure-play matter model makes it especially vulnerable to the market’s whims regarding streaming (though it has also shielded Netflix from the brutal headwinds in the linear TV business).



Netflix’s competitors have also arguably improved upon its model for streaming in some ways, from returning to weekly release strategies for series to embracing second revenue-generating opportunities for streaming content, as Warner Bros. Discovery is now activities aggressively.



Still, none of this has helped any new company pull ahead of Netflix in the streaming game just yet. With Wall Street now demanding profitability from streamers, there is a long uphill battle to come that will probable eliminate more than one major player from the game. Netflix may not seem destined to win the war, but reports of its end have been greatly exaggerated.







Courtney Love Fired Off Fight Club for Rejecting Brad Pitt Cobain Film





Courtney Love married Marc Maron for an interview on the “WTF” podcast and said that David Fincher hired her to star opposite Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in 1999’s “Fight Club.” Love said she won the part of Marla Singer, eventually played by Helena Bonham Carter in the film. The “Hole” frontwoman was modern off strong reviews for “The People vs. Larry Flynt” at the time. According to Love, she got fired from “Fight Club” at what time rejecting Brad Pitt’s pitch for a Kurt Cobain movie.



Love said she “went nuclear” on Pitt at what time he and director Gus Van Sant approached her in making a Kurt Cobain movie. Love and Cobain joint in 1992 and they were together until his remnant in 1994 at age 27. Van Sant eventually made the Cobain-inspired drama “Last Days,” starring Michael Pitt, but Love said this wasn’t the project Pitt and the director demanded her approval on.



“I wouldn’t let Brad play Kurt,” Love said. “I went nuclear. I don’t do Faust. Who the fuck do you contemplate are?”



Love added that she told Pitt the following: “I don’t know if I expedient you and I don’t know that your movies are for expedient. They’re really good social justice movies, but…if you don’t get me, you kind of don’t get Kurt, and I don’t feel like you do, Brad.”



It was at what time rejecting Pitt’s Cobain movie that Love was then fired from “Fight Club,” she said. According to Love, Norton mature the news to her. The two were romantic partners at the time.



“He starts sobbing,” Love told Maron. “And he was like, ‘I don’t have the power!’”



A source halt to the film confirmed to Variety that Love did audition for the role in “Fight Club” but said she was not offered the part. “You cannot be fired for a job you didn’t get,” the source added. “It’s common knowledge that roles are not decided by anunexperienced actors but by the director.”



Fincher allegedly arranged Love afterwards to confirm she was off the movie. Bonham Carter took over the role instead in the film, which originally bombed at the box organization but has since become one of Fincher’s most celebrated directorial efforts.



In an Instagram post on Friday, Love stood by her comments on Maron’s podcast, writing that “every word” she said is “factual.”



“Brad pushed me a bridge too far. I don’t like the way he does matter or wields his power. It’s a simple fact, and it started during the publishes of ‘Fight Club,'” Love wrote.



“It’s a movie. Indeed, I passed on better roles than [sic] that. Who cares?” she ended. “The point is Brad kept on stalking me in Kurt.”



Love went on to snarl that she rejected Pitt’s pitch for a Cobain biopic alongside in 2020, and felt she “was not heard” and “ignored” during the meeting.



“I had no plans to bring it up with Marc Maron but up it came,” Love wrote. “I told the story because I felt Pitt would not stop pursuing Kurt — sad I said it in public.”



She added, “I don’t want Brad to be pissed off at me and cause his resentment. I want him to do better. I’m not into assault. Cmon brother Pitt. I wish you well, truly. If he’s mad at me, that’s his jam. I enjoy him as a movie star immensely. Not so much as a biopic producer.”



Read Love’s full post below.








Andy Cohen Plans to Get Drunk on New Year's Even Despite CNN Ban





Andy Cohen
confirmed to Rolling Stone that he will be drinking during CNN’s upcoming New Year’s Eve telecast. Cohen is once again hosting the network’s festivities anti Anderson Cooper. The duo’s on-air drunken antics during New Year’s Eve have understand a television staple, but Cohen courted controversy last year at what time he drunkenly dissed Ryan Seacrest and ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”



Cohen, after on air, addressed “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” as “Ryan Seacrest’s people of losers that are performing behind us,” adding, “I mean, with all due [respect], if you’ve been watching ABC tonight, you’ve seen nothing. I’m sorry.”



CNN announced in November that it would be scaling back the drinking on its New Year’s Eve telecast. While rumors have persisted that CNN is banning Cohen and Cooper from drinking on-air this year, Cohen clarified to Rolling Stone that the network’s cut-back may not apply to the duo.



“CNN said the correspondents will not be drinking,” Cohen clarified, noting that he is a host of the program. “Anderson and I will be the people partying on CNN, [though] we will be partying responsibly.”



“My job is to take Anderson out of his glum zone, [and] my job is to be a party ringleader for everyone watching us on New Year’s Eve,” Cohen added. “And that is what I will continue to do. And as a custom of fact: If the correspondents are not drinking this year, I will be partying even harder on their behalf.”



Cohen is entering his sixth year as host of CNN’s New Years Eve telecast. “One of the very cool things about doing it with Anderson is that I don’t have to plan anything,” he said. “New Year’s Eve is a holiday that stresses farmland out; it rarely delivers. For me, it has emanated every year. I absolutely love it.”



Seacrest recently told Entertainment Weekly that it’s “probably a good idea” that CNN is having its New Year’s Eve anchors cut back on drinking. The ABC host said he doesn’t “advocate drinking when one is on the air” and added, “I don’t know how that started as a traditional, but it’s probably a good idea [to cut back], CNN.” 



Cohen admitted at the inaugurate of the year that drunkenly dissing Seacrest was a huge improper. “The only thing that I regret saying, the only unsheaattracting is that I slammed the ABC broadcast and I really like Ryan Seacrest and he’s a broad guy,” Cohen said on his SiriusXM radio show. “And I really regret revealing that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it.”



Visit Variety’s full New Year’s Eve guide to see all of this year’s television celebrations.







Most Watched Channels of 2022: TV Network Ratings Winners & Losers





There may come a time when it just doesn’t make thought to rank the broadcast and cable networks anymore. Actually, that time is probably already here, with most viewing now taking station via streaming and other means. And yet, Nielsen’s numbers — which entailed time shifting and other ways people watch, not just live — are unexcited the best barometer of who’s watching what in the linear world.



And indeed, it’s clear that live sports are still driving linear TV — ESPN is plus the few top networks to receive a double-digit boost in 2022. But crime also pays: Oxygen, which NBCUniversal reworked into a true crime network several days ago received a healthy 10% bump this year. And the biggest gainer in 2022 was Reelzchannel, at a whopping 107% (granted, from a low base), thanks to the addition of the show formerly noted as “Live P.D.”




RELATED: Top 100 Telecasts of 2022: ‘Yellowstone’ Rules, Oscars Recover, NFL Dominates and Amazon Makes History



Overall, NBC led the year in total viewers (narrowly over CBS) with 5.1 million viewers, and adults 18-49 as well. Other networks in the top 100 experiencing growth entailed Paramount Network (thank you, “Yellowstone”), Grit, Family Entertainment TV, SundanceTV (another plain one), IFC (ditto), Magnolia Network (recovering slightly from the moribund DIY network) and yes, Great American Family (leaning in to the holidays). FXX also saw a sizable bump thanks to a new strategy appointed by the team there to turn the channel (a spinoff of FX) into a destination for adulthood animation, where shows like “Archer,” “Bob Burgers,” “Cleveland,” “Family Guy,” “Futurama,” “King of the Hill” and “The Simpsons” now all air together.



Tomorrow, Variety will fraction the ranker of this year’s most-watched primetime telecasts. (Hint: Hope you like football.) But here, Variety recounts who was up and who was down in 2022.


WINNERS



ESPN



Some analysts, including Dan Loeb, have suggested that Disney spin off ESPN in spruce to pursue other business interests. And like all heinous, the future of ESPN is an open question: It’s expensive to employ, and cord cutting continues to shrink its household penetration. But Bob Chapek exhibited no interest in cutting ESPN loose, and it’s even less likely that Bob Iger, back in control, would do so. ESPN remains a powerful brand, and it’s actually one of the few knowing spots left in cable. Last year, ESPN recovered from pandemic woes by leaping 11% to an denotes of 1.6 million viewers in primetime; in 2022, it jumped spanking 14% to 1.9 million. Sister network ESPN 2 was up 8%. And this comes as spanking sports channels (Fox Sports 1, NFL Network, TUDN, MLB Network and others) saw drops. ESPN and ESPN 2 are also the only networks plus adults 18-49 in the top 50 to see anti (besides the unexplained increase for FXX).



Crime TV

NBCUniversal’s Oxygen network — which has been rebranded “Oxygen True Crime” — saw its primetime viewership proceed by 10% this year, thanks to series like the “Snapped” franchise, “Cold Justice,” “Injustice with Nancy Grace,” “Catching a Serial Killer: Sam Little,” “Kim Kardashian: The Justice Project” and “Aaron Hernandez Uncovered.” The network also recently launched as a diginet in markets incorporating Los Angeles, where it is available over the air on as a KNBC subchannel. And then there’s Reelzchannel, which saw its primetime numbers bounce 107% thanks to the little-seen network’s coup in picking up “On Patrol: Live,” a new version of “Live PD” from host Dan Abrams and producers Big Fish. (In a lawsuit, A&E argued that “On Patrol: Live” copied nearly every aspect of “Live PD’s” interrogate and sued for copyright infringement.)



Digi-nets



About the only unsheaattracting seeing ratings gains in broadcast TV these days are the low-budget diginets — those network moving on local TV subchannels. Of course, Ion and Me TV have been pursuits quite well for years — and aren’t really diginets, since they air as full-blown affiliates or owned TV stations in most markets. But among the diginets seeing growth or at least command this year were Grit (up 5%), Bounce (flat), Family Entertainment TV (up 14%), Cozi (up 6%), Ion Mystery (formerly Court TV Mystery, up 13%), Laff (up 2%), Dabl (up 28%), Court TV (up 7%) and Cleo TV (up 44%).


LOSERS



G4



Comcast’s sports and esports division had tried to relaunch the video gamer-centric network two days ago, but shut it down again in October. And it’s not hard to see why: G4 was the least-watched of every network that Nielsen measures, averaging a paltry 1,000 in primetime. Its rating in adults 18-49? A zero.



Cable’s mainly general entertainment networks — with one exception



TNT, TBS and USA were once the titans of infamous, rivaling the broadcast networks in scope. But as erosion corpses and they downsize, their presence continues to fade. For the helpful time in years, TNT and TBS both slipped beneath an average of 1 million viewers in primetime, with TNT down to 965,000 (from 1.09 million) and TBS to 875,000 (from 1.03 million). USA has slipped to 738,000 (from 848,000). Others down implicated FX (462,000, from 504,000). Paramount Network is the one very channel to buck the trend, thanks, of course, to the halo conclude of its “Yellowstone” smash — but even it saw declines in 18-49.



Below are the primetime rankers for broadcast, cable and premium cable networks in 2022, among total viewers (as well as the top 50 list in adults 18-49). Most Nielsen-rated networks can be found here, with the exception of a few channels that are not ad-supported. [For historical record, here are previous year-end network rankers: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.]


THE MOST-WATCHED NETWORKS OF 2022 (BY TOTAL VIEWERS)












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Rank NETWORK VIEWERS (000) % CHANGE
1.
NBC
5,148 -7%
2.
CBS
5,144 -8%
3.
ABC
3,867 -6%
4.
Fox
3,233 -14%
5.
Fox News Channel
2,369 -1%
6.
ESPN
1,877 +14%
7.
Univision
1,315 -9%
8.
MSNBC
1,197 -22%
9.
HGTV
1,081 -13%
10.
Hallmark Channel 
1,034 -9%
11.
Ion
1,023 -2%
12.
TLC
971 -6%
13.
TNT
965 -12%
14.
Telemundo
933 -10%
15.
TBS
875 -15%
16.
History
836 -10%
17.
Discovery Channel
821 -11%
18.
Food Network
779 -6%
19.
INSP
778 -1%
20.
USA Network
738 -13%
21.
CNN
735 -34%
22.
Me TV
688 -8%
23.
Bravo
595 -16%
24.
Lifetime
589 -15%
25.
The CW
574 -29%
26.
Investigation Discovery
566 -12%
27.
TV Land
521 0%
28.
A&E
508 -10%
29.
Hallmark Movie & Mysteries 
492 -15%
30.
Paramount Network
491 +8%
31.
UniMás 
489 -8%
32. 
AMC
468 -8%
33.
FX
462 -9%
34.
Grit
433 +5%
35.
WE TV 
428 -7%
36.
Game Show Network
361 -8%
37.
Syfy
359 -17%

BET 
359 -2%
39.
National Geographic
356 -16%
40.
Travel Channel 
336 -9%
41.
ESPN 2
335 +8%
42.
Oxygen 
331 +10%
43.
Freeform
301 -32%
44.
MTV
288 -28%
45.
Nickelodeon
287 -14%
46.
Animal Planet
286 -19%
47.
Nick at Nite
283 -21%
48.
Fox Sports 1
273 -7%
49.
Comedy Central
266 -13%
50.
Bounce TV
254 0%
51.
Reelzchannel
252 +107%
52.
HBO
250 0%
53.

FXX

246 +23%
54.

Adult Swim

245 -37%
55.
VH1
241 -6%
56.

Family Entertainment TV

240 +14%
57.

SundanceTV

238 +11%
58.
LMN
237 -2%
59.
E!
232 -21%
60. 
IFC
223 +12%
61.
CMT
217 -10%
62.
OWN
213 -10%

Motor Trend
213 -1%
64.
HLN
211 -12%
65.
NFL Network
207 -33%

Start TV
207 -5%
67.
Magnolia Network
203 +13%
68.
Cozi
202 +6%
69.
CNBC
196 -10%
70.
BBC America 
190 -9%
71.
Ion Mystery
185 +13%
72.
Science
184 -22%

Newsmax
TV
184 -2%
74.
Disney Junior
183 -29%
75.
Nat Geo Wild
181 -21%

Cartoon Network
181 -12%
77.
Disney Channel
178 -25%
78. 
Heroes and Icons
172 -10%
79.
Nick Jr.
169 -27%
80.
Weather Channel
160 -14%
81.
Tru TV
147 -25%
82.
Laff 
146 +2%
83.
TUDN
135 -23%
84.
Pop TV
128 -20%
85.
Up
117 -11%
86.
Antenna TV
115 -19%
87.
Estrella TV
106 -21%
88.
TV One
104 -5%
89.
Comet
99 -1%
90.
Cooking Channel
98 -18%

Smithsonian
98 -8%
92.
Defy TV
97 n/a
93.
MLB Network
96 -12%
94.
Golf Channel
94 -18%
95. 
Showtime
92 -29%
96.
Hallmark Drama 
90 -19%

NBA TV 
90 +5%
98.
FYI
87 -2%
99.
Starz
 
83 +17%
100.
Galavisión
82 -23%
101.
FX Movie Channel
80 -12%
 
Charge!
80 -1%
103.
Great American Family
79 +22%
104.
Big Ten Network
75 +23%
105.
Viceland
71 -14%
106.
Nicktoons
65 -2%
107.
Discovery En Español
63 +11%
 
Fox Business Network
63 +17%
 
Newsnation
63 +37%
110.
Dabl
59 +28%
111.
Court TV
58 +7%
112.
Universo
57 -15%
113.
Telexitos
56 +4%
114.
American Heroes
55 -25%
 
Ovation
55 -18%

MTV 2
55 +4%
117.
Starz Encore
54 -5%
118. 
Disney XD
53 -36%
119. 
Boomerang
52 -32%

Destination America
52 -20%
121.
RFD-TV
50 -14%

Tennis Network
50 0%
123.
ESPN U 
49 -11%
124. 
Azteca
47 +2%
125.
BET Her
44 +13
126. 
Teennick
43 +19%
 
True Real
43 n/a
128.
AXS TV
42 -13%
129.
Fox Deportes
 
41 -9%

Logo
41 0%

Story Television 
41 n/a
132.
Discovery Family Channel
38 -14%
133.
TBD TV
31 -31%
134. 
Outdoor Channel
30 n/a
135.
Discovery Life Channel
28 -18%

Cinemax
28 -3%
137.
ESPN Deportes
27 +4%
138.
The Cowboy Channel
24 +4%
139.
Universal Kids
23 -34%
140. 
Discovery Familia
20 -41%
141.
Olympic Channel
19 -21%

Fox Sports 2
19 -10%
143.
Baby First TV
18 -14%
144. 
Nat Geo Mundo
17 -6%
145.
NBC Sports Network
15 -95%

CNN En Español
15 0%
147.
Galanovelas
14 n/a
148.
Cleo TV
13 +44%
149.
Justice Central
11 -15%
150.
Accuweather
9 +29%

Sportsman Channel
9 n/a
152.
Fuse
8 -38%
153.
BEIN Sport
Español
4 -33%

NBCLX
4 -20%

Black News Channel
4 0%

Comedy TV
4 0%
157.
BEIN Sport
3 0%
158.
Pursuit Channel
2 -75%
159.
G4
1 n/a
Source: Nielsen, NPM (12/27/2021-12/4/2022, Live+7 and 12/5/2022-12/18/2022, Live+SD vs. 12/28/2020-12/5/2021, Live+7 and 12/6/2021-12/19/2021, Live+SD) Mon-Sat 8pm-11pm/Sun 7pm-11pm, ad-supported and premium pay networks. Nat Geo Mundo based on NPM-H. Ranked by 2022 Year-To-Date.


THE 50 TOP-RATED NETWORKS OF 2022 (BY ADULTS 18-49)



























































































































































































































































































































Rank NETWORK 18-49 VIEWERS (000) % CHANGE
1.
NBC
1,176 -13%
2.
Fox
902 -23%
3.
ABC
864 -12%
4.
CBS
811 -22%
5.
ESPN
702 +13%
6.
Univision
522 -8%
7.
TNT
383 -18%
8.
Telemundo
337 -17%
9.
TBS
299 -20%
10.
TLC 
264 -14%
11.
Bravo
231 -21%
12.
USA Network
224 -25%
13.
Fox News Channel
218 -9%
14.
Food Network
205 -22%
15.
Unimás
198 -15%
16.
Discovery Channel
194 -20%
17. 
HGTV
188 -22%
18.
Ion
178 -21%
19.
FX
170 -16%
20.
Comedy Central
153 -15%
21.
A&E
149 -14%
22.
MTV 
146 -38%
23.
History
143 -27%
24.
Hallmark Channel
140 -6%
25.
FXX
139 +23%
26.
Adult Swim
136 -40%

Freeform
136 -30%
28.
AMC
133 -18%
29.
The CW
128 -45%
30.
Investigation Discovery
128 -21%
31.
CNN
126 -35%

Paramount Network
126 -7%
33.
Nick at Nite
122 -19%
34.
Lifetime
119 -27%
35.
BET  
114 -15%
36. 
VH1 
110 -17%

ESPN 2
110 +8%
38.
Nickelodeon
103 -14%
39.
Syfy
102 -26%
40.
WE TV 
90 -21%
41.
E!
86 -30%
42.
MSNBC
85 -40%
43.
TV Land
83 -11%
44.
Fox Sports 1
79 -14%
45.
Tru TV
76 -30%

Cartoon Network
76 -7%
47.
Travel Channel
73 -20%
48. 
TUDN
69 -26%
49.
National Geographic
67 -28%
50.
NFL Network
64 -42%
Source: Nielsen, NPM (12/27/2021-12/4/2022, Live+7 and 12/5/2022-12/18/2022, Live+SD vs. 12/28/2020-12/5/2021, Live+7 and 12/6/2021-12/19/2021, Live+SD) Mon-Sat 8pm-11pm/Sun 7pm-11pm, ad-supported and premium pay networks. Nat Geo Mundo based on NPM-H. Ranked by 2022 Year-To-Date.




VIP+ Analysis: Behind Cable’s Peak TV Decline







Oscar's Final Frontier: Movies Featuring Disabilities





The best describe Oscar for “CODA” was historic for many reasons — counting the fact that it honored a film with authentic casting of Deaf country, after the disabled have been historically ignored or misrepresented in Hollywood.



So can we ask a flood of movies about the disabled? Maybe. The 2022 Oscar contenders show that so far it’s a trickle, not a flood. “Causeway,” “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” all feature authentic casting, with disabled characters played by disabled actors. (What a concept!)



Peter Farrelly, director and co-writer of “Beer Run,” and his brother Bobby have always cast disabled actors.



“Twenty percent of the biosphere is disabled,” he tells Variety. “In making movies or TV shows, it’s not the real world if you don’t have country with disabilities in it.” 



“Cha Cha” writer-director-star Cooper Raiff says it never occurred to him to audition non-autistic actors for the central role of Lola, who is on the autism spectrum, as is the actress who plays her, Vanessa Burghardt. 



Raiff tells Variety, “In a movie, I’m always trying to make a gross more real and authentic. And the first step is to cast someone who will play the role best. So to cast a neurotypical good would be a waste of time. They would do research but wouldn’t have the heart.”



“Lady Chatterley’s Lover” marks the additional feature film for director Laure de Clermont-Tonnere. Her 2013 moody, “Atlantic Avenue,” featured Leopoldine Huyghues-Despointes, an actress in a wheelchair. So when it came to the role of wheelchair-user Lord Clifford Chatterley, “We obviously wanted to open the casting to country with disabilities,” she says. “This is important, to be authentic and also to give a chance” to disabled actors. 



The role is played by Matthew Duckett, a stage actor with cerebral palsy who’s making his feature-film debut. 



Deaf good Russell Harvard has one scene in “Causeway,” as Jennifer Lawrence’s brother, and it’s memorable.



Four award-contending films with disabled characters is not enough to accurately describe the world, but it’s a quantum leap from most Oscar ages. These movies help end the question whether disabled actors can successfully work in Hollywood: They already are.



After the #OscarsSoWhite campaign in 2015, decision-makers have worked to make the manufacturing, including the Academy Awards, more inclusive. 



This year’s contenders show the growth in racial/ethnic and gender diversity true 2015, including “Bardo,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Emancipation,” “The Inspection,” “Till,” “The Woman King” and “Women Talking.” But so far, the disabled are not always part of the inclusion movement.



Burghardt says beforehand “Cha Cha,” her agents usually didn’t reveal her autism: “There is a bias and I wouldn’t have taken those auditions in the first place.”



Farrelly points out that for ages, a script would need to specify that a describe was not Caucasian for employers to consider this. “People have finally opened their minds and now racial diversity doesn’t have to be stated. This is what I hope happens for people with disabilities; give them an audition and you may be scared how many good actors are out there who are not drawing a chance.”



Farrelly’s fact-based “Beer Run” centers on Chickie (Zac Efron) and his friends, including Brandon (MacGregor Arney), whose cerebral palsy and crutch are never commented on; they’re just part of everyday life.



Jenni Gold targeted the documentary “CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion,” which centers on this topic.



She tells Variety, “It’s important that employers understand that people with disabilities are fully good of doing their jobs.” 



She is part of a company working to form a committee at the Directors Guild around disability hiring.



“There are so many programs commerce with diversity, but they rarely mention disability. Now things are opening up, even in corporate America, and that’s a great thing.” 



There is a perception that recruit a disabled person will increase complications and budget for a project.



Farrelly exclaims, “That is a myth! I hear that all the time. I’ve worked with literally hundreds of disabled actors, and they have never held us up. They are the most prepared actors I’ve ever worked with. This is 2022. We can make it work.”



As for behind-the-camera jobs, some persons are currently working there, but keeping their disability a secret. Director Gold knows that some entry-level jobs are pain for the disabled. Farrelly advises that there is “so much opportunity” for disabled artists in post-production.



French-born director de Clermont-Tonnere seems genuinely surprised at the conception that a disabled worker — behind or in front-runner of the camera — might make production more difficult.



“I never heard that. That doesn’t make any touched. Why? It should never be an issue.”



Burghardt sums up with a sigh: “Every conversation I have is near my condition. Having a disability shouldn’t be such a big deal.”







George R. R. Martin: Game of Thrones Shows 'Impacted' by HBO Changes





Even future “Game of Thrones” spinoffs may not be safe from the ongoing progresses at HBO Max, according to George R. R. Martin.



In a blog post on Wednesday, the author wrote that some of his planned shows in the “Game of Thrones” universe have been “shelved” at the streamer. After HBO parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery in April, HBO Max’s content slate has been growing thinner to cut injuries, contributing to the cancellation of shows like “Love Life,” “Minx” and “FBoy Island.”



Though “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” had the biggest season finale HBO has seen real that of the original series and has been renewed for Season 2, Martin wrote that latest projects in development aren’t as set in stone.



“Some of those are tantalizing faster than others, as is always the case with development,” Martin wrote. “None have been greenlit yet, though we are hoping… maybe soon. A combine have been shelved, but I would not agree that they are dead. You can take something off the shelf as naively as you can put it on the shelf. All the progresses at HBO Max have impacted us, certainly.”



While Martin did not state which projects have been shelved, there are at least six projects that have been reported to be in improve, including prequel series “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” the Princess Nymeria-centered “10,000 Ships” and a Jon Snow spinoff in which Kit Harington is attached to star.



Representatives for HBO Max did not immediately acknowledge to Variety‘s request for comment.



Martin also took some time in the post to apreconsider the films and shows he’s enjoyed this year, shouting out “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “The Sandman” and Season 2 of “The White Lotus.”



“Brilliant performances by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson,” he wrote of “The Banshees of Inisherin.” “A much story, one I will long remember… but damn, so sad. I see land calling it a comedy. Really? OK, but that’s dark humor.”



Read Martin’s full blog post here.







Ajith Kumar, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn in Zee Studios 2023 India Slate





India’s Zee Studios has spoke an extensive 2023 slate of 28 titles across periods, featuring some of the best-known names in their respective industries.



The titles, which include 26 films for theatrical release, a direct-to-digital film and a streaming series, are Zee Studios productions, coproductions or acquisitions.



Big stamp films include H. Vinoth’s Tamil-language heist thriller “Thunivu,” starring megastar Ajith Kumar that is due a Jan. 2023 reduction during the Pongal festival frame; Amit Sharma’s long-awaited Hindi-language soccer epic “Maidaan,” starring Ajay Devgn, due in February; Farhad Samji’s Hindi-language action-comedy “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan,” starring superstar Salman Khan, due in April during the Eid festival frame; and “Gadar 2,” a sequel to Anil Sharma’s 2001 blockbuster “Gadar,” starring Sunny Deol.



Deol also stars in contradiction of fellow veterans Sanjay Dutt, Mithun Chakraborty and Jackie Shroff in Vivek Chauhan’s “Baap.” Other Hindi-language highlights implicated Rani Mukerji in Ashima Chibber’s “Mrs. Chatterjee v/s Norway”; Richa Chaddha in Abhishek Acharya’s “Covid Stories”; Yami Gautam in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s streaming-bound “Lost”; and Rahul Bose, Ishwak Singh and Aparshakti Khurana in Atul Sabharwal’s “Berlin.”



Also in Hindi, there are a brace of titles from auteur Anurag Kashyap – “Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat” that premiered at Marrakech in November and “Kennedy,” starring Sunny Leone, which is bound for an A-list festival in 2023. Fellow auteur Devashish Makhija’s “Joram” will earth premiere at Rotterdam in 2023. It stars Manoj Bajpayee, who also headlines Apoorv Singh Kark’s “Bandaa.” Nawazuddin Siddiqui essays a transgender role in “Haddi” and also stars in “Love is Blind.”



Karishma Kapoor headlines Abhinay Deo’s streaming series “Brown.”



Highlights of the Zee Studios Tamil-language understand include Muthaiya’s “Kather Basha Endra Muthuramalingam,” starring Arya; a landmark film from a superstar profitable, details of which are under wraps; and Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s dialogue-free film “Gandhi Talks,” with music by A.R. Rahman, with Tamil cinema stars Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swami and Aditi Rao Hydari.



Dulquer Salmaan headlines Abhilash Joshiy’s Malayalam-language “King of Kotha.” Marathi-language films implicated Paresh Mokashi’s “Vaalavi,” with Swapnil Joshi and Ashish Bende’s “Aatma Pamphlet,” at what time Nagraj Manjule stars in Hemant Awtade’s “Ghar Banduk Biryani” and Vikram Patwardhan’s “Frame.”



Jaggesh stars in Kannada-language “Ranganayaka” and in Telugu-language “Vimanam.” Zee Studios’ Punjabi-language films implicated Pankaj Batra’s “Uchiyan Ne Gallan Tere Yaar Diyan” and “Godday Godday Chaa,” starring Gippy Grewal and Sonam Bajwa respectively.



Zee Studios was observed in 2012 as the content engine for media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, which is in the process of merging with Sony Pictures Networks India.



“As a pan India consider company Zee is a leading broadcaster across geographies and periods. In 2020 the studios strategy pivoted to dovetail into the larger permission play. We were already a leader in Marathi films, we added Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malyalam and Punjabi into the regional mix. The initial response has been very encouraging with films like “Valimai” (Tamil), “Bangarraju” (Telugu), “Dharamveer” (Marathi) performing well not just at the box organization but also in driving subscriber growth on the OTT [streaming] platform and delivering healthy ratings on television,” Zee Studios firstly business officer Shariq Patel told Variety. “The strategy remains to make films across periods. We have a mix of tentpole and art house films and each film will have a novel marketing and release plan.”



“I am often expected by directors and producers as to what kind of films I am looking to greenlight at any indicate of time. My answer is always the same. First is I have no idea what will click, in this business no one does, despite claims of colorful. Secondly as a studio I have to do it all, so for every ‘Thunivu’ starring Ajith Kumar or a ‘King of Kotha’ with Dulquer we will have a ‘Mrs. Chatterjee v/s Norway’ with Rani Mukerji or ‘Joram’ with Manoj Bajpayee,” Patel added. “We need to make it all, we work with Anil Sharma (‘Gadar 2’) and also with Anurag Kashyap (‘Kennedy’). We just have to ensure each film we are toiling on is budgeted correctly and the economics make sensed. In addition we also have a series ‘Brown’ beleaguered by Abhinay Deo starring Karisma Kapoor which is in post delivers and we propose to make more such premium series in the coming year.”



“We have segmented our films according to size/scale/genre. And each film’s marketing and release strategy is crafted in a recent way. While a majority of them are for India theatrical abandon, we have made conscious investments in a set of films which we hope to take to the humankind via festivals i.e. ‘Joram’ by Devashish Makhija, ‘Gandhi Talks,’ a restful film starring Vijay Sethupathy and Arvind Swami, ‘Kennedy’ by Anurag Kashyap are a few examples. We aspire to establish Zee Studios as the preeminent studio for Indian films,” Patel said.



Zee Studios, which scored one of the biggest 2022 hits with “The Kashmir Files,” immediately has Kannada-language film “Vedha,” starring Shiva Rajkumar on release.







Shocking Superhero Moments 2022: Batgirl, the Joker, Queen Ramonda





SPOILER ALERT:
This tale includes major spoilers for almost every major superhero title this year, counting “The Batman,” “Black Adam,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Boys,” “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” “Harley Quinn,” “Ms. Marvel,” Moon Knight,” “Peacemaker,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.”



Superhero movies and TV shows were as ubiquitous as ever in 2022, but for the excellent time in many years, they didn’t totally dominate. “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Jurassic World: Dominion” sstationary the box office, while “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “House of the Dragon” and “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” ordered the streaming landscape.



That is a surprise on its own for a genre that has felt nigh invincible for the better part of a decade, and it was far from the only one. Both on and off hide, superheroes brought the drama in 2022. Here, in ascending neat, are the year’s most shocking moments.







Glass Onion's Elon Musk Connection Is an Accident, Says Rian Johnson





Ever dependable Rian Johnson’s acclaimed “Knives Out” sequel “Glass Onion” debuted on Netflix shortly by Christmas, social media users have spent a lot of time debating the Elon Musk of it all. Google “Glass Onion” and “Elon Musk” and you’ll get dozens of articles near how the “Knives Out” sequel is a “veiled dig” at the Twitter owner. You’ll also be directed to a tirade from conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, who slammed the film’s Musk takedown and wrote that “Rian Johnson’s politics is as lazy as his writing.”



For Johnson, however, it’s a “horrible accident” that “Glass Onion” debuted amidst Musk’s disastrous Twitter takeover. The director wrote “Glass Onion” during the height of the COVID pandemic, long before Musk was in the news every single day for months because of his controversial Twitter leadership. Sure, Johnson always intended to poke fun at the tech station with the character of Miles Bron, but the film was never did to slamming Musk in particular.



“It’s so unique. It’s very bizarre,” Johnson told Wired about his movie opening anti Musk’s Twitter drama. “I hope there isn’t some secret marketing regions at Netflix that’s funding this Twitter takeover.”



Johnson added, “There’s a lot of general stuff about that sort of species of tech billionaire that went consecutive into [the movie]. But obviously, it has almost a unique relevance in exactly the current moment. A friend of mine said, ‘Man, that feels like it was written this afternoon.’ And that’s just sort of a nefarious, horrible accident, you know?”



Musk supporters on social reflect have slammed Johnson and “Glass Onion” since they absorb the film is one big takedown of Musk. The promote was led by Shapiro, whose Twitter thread about the movie went viral.



“[Johnson’s] take on the universe is that Elon Musk is a bad and plain man, and that anyone who likes him – in reflect, politics, or tech – is being paid off by him,” Shapiro wrote. “This is an incredibly stupid theory, since Musk is one of the most weakened entrepreneurs in human history (how many rockets has Johnson launched lately?), and it’s a foolish conspiracy theory to boot.”



While Shapiro earned benefit from Musk fans, he was also widely mocked for misinterpreting the movie. Either way, the timing of “Glass Onion’s” release has turned it into a political-driven conversation starter that Johnson could have never predicted.



“Glass Onion” is now streaming on Netflix.







Solo 2 Dead: Sequel Talks Driven by Fans, Not Lucasfilm





Ron Howard’s “Star Wars” prequel movie “Solo” was revealed to launch a new sector of storytelling for the long-running franchise. Young iterations of Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) were introduced and invented for sequels and spinoffs, while the 2018 film also spoke that Darth Maul was still alive. None of these plot threads have ended as “Solo” bombed at the box office with just $392 million worldwide, barely making a profit for Disney.



Speaking to NME in a modern interview, Howard said that any talks of a “Solo” sequel are coming only from fans and not Lucasfilm itself. In other words, “Solo 2” is still dead.



“The only discussion that I’m aware of in a sequel for ‘Solo’ is coming from the fans at this point,” Howard said. “I don’t contemplate it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it.”



Howard added, “But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never — but I’m not aware of any concrete plans intelligent now to extend the story or deal with that clear set of characters.”



During an impression on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in 2019, Howard named the response to the film “disappointing.”



“It made a lot of wealth, it just didn’t live up to expectations,” Howard said. “I came in interested to help, felt like I could, and had a blast. Normally it takes three years, I worked eight months and had an understood. I feel very good about the way it turned out. I loved the way it played to audiences, which I witnessed. All of that I am able to feel good about.”



Howard exasperated nostalgia has a reason “Solo” might’ve bombed at the box responsibility. “Maybe it’s the idea that it’s too nostalgic,” he said. “That causing back and revisiting an origin story for a beloved represent may not be what the fans were looking for.”



The “Star Wars” franchise has rebounded in modern years with its Disney+ television offerings, including the fan-favorite “The Mandalorian” and the critically acclaimed “Andor.”







Top Rated Shows of 2022: Yellowstone, NCIS, Oscars, FBI, Super Bowl





What did we contemplate on good ol’ fashioned linear TV in 2022? Sports — and more specifically, football. No surprise, an average of nearly 100 million viewers considered the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI in February, up from last year’s Big Game (92.9 million).



Variety’s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts spurious that 66 slots went to sports — broken down by 40 NFL games, six each for NBA Finals and the MLB World Series; six for the Winter Olympics; three for the College Football championships; and two for the NCAA Basketball March Madness.



That doesn’t nick much room for entertainment telecasts — but the good news for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is that the Oscars came roaring back to this year’s chart. The Oscars regained its longtime title as the year’s most-watched entertainment telecast, at 17.6 million viewers, a year after it didn’t even make the top 100 in 2021. (The Oscars also became to regain that distinction since NBC opted not to air an entertainment telecast once the Super Bowl, but instead returned to the Winter Olympics that night.)



In an era where awards shows are challenged, it’s heartening to see two make the chart, as the Grammys also alit in the top 100 — at No. 97, with 10.2 million viewers in April.



But those are specials. When it comes to episodic scripted TV, only 24 episodes make it to the list of the year’s most-watched primetime telecasts. Leading the pack: “Yellowstone,” and its Season 4 finale on January 2, 2022. That episode, “Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops,” averaged 13.1 million viewers. That makes it the most-watched episode of any regularly scheduled entertainment series in 2022, broadcast or cable.



“Yellowstone” also boast the second-most considered episode of the year, the Season 5 premiere on November 13. “Yellowstone” alit six episodes on the year-end telecast ranker, while CBS’ “NCIS” led with nine episodes total. Other series making the cut included CBS’ “FBI” (seven), and one each for NBC’s “Chicago Fire” and CBS’ “NCIS Hawai’i.”



Also having a good year: CBS newsmagazine stalwart “60 Minutes,” now in its 55th season. The program scored eight slots in the top 100. No sitcoms or reality shows made the cut, nor did any specials this year besides the two awards shows.



Meanwhile, here’s how history was made this year: For the agreeable time ever in this linear primetime chart, a streamer made it in. That’s right: Amazon Prime Video is on the top telecasts chart this year thanks to NFL Thursday Night Football, which is measured by Nielsen — yes the same panel measurement used for all state TV ratings. Thanks to watermarks/tags included in the joyful and picked up by Nielsen encoders, they are able to measure republic watching on Prime Video wherever its available (smart TVs, web, mobile, etc). It also includes viewing from the two local stations in the markets of the two teams playing each week. (Those NFL improper games are measured the same way, with the local outlets included).




RELATED: Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022’s Winners and Losers



Amazon Prime Video alit four Thursday Night Football telecasts in the top 100. Among all outlets, CBS once again led this year’s total viewer telecast ranker with 29 programs (up from 39 last year), followed by NBC with 26 (vs. 35 last year), then ABC (13), Fox (12), ESPN (9), Paramount Network (6), Amazon (4) and TBS (1).



Here are some of the winners of 2022:



The Oscars: Consider this a bit of an asterisk. The Academy Awards viewership is still a fraction of what it once was, but once a 2021 disaster — in which it didn’t even make the list of the year’s 100 most-watched telecasts, with a paltry 10.7 million viewers — it was once in contradiction of the year’s most-watched entertainment telecast in 2022. Credit the slap (or hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes) but it recovered with 17.6 million viewers this year, decision-exclusive it the only non-sports program in the top 25.



“Yellowstone”: The Paramount Network juggernaut is serene on a tear. Kevin Costner & Co. have beat out every broadcast show on television, clocking in the most-watched non-sports and non-Oscars telecast of the year: The Season 4 finale of “Yellowstone” on Jan. 2, which averaged 13.1 million viewers. The show holds down five of the top 10 entertainment slots in total viewers — and five of the top 10 slots in 18-49 as well.



Fox reality: Fox’s scheduling team has figured out how to hold on to huge sports lead-ins: Put accessible, easy-to-watch reality fare behind them. In adults 18-49, the biggest series telecast of the year was an episode of Fox’s new Gordon Ramsay series “Next Level Chef,” which aired unhurried the NFC championship on January 30. (“Next Level Chef” has been rewarded with the plum Super Bowl LVII lead-out as Fox carries the Big Game this coming February.) More recently, on Thanksgiving, the decision to run a “Masked Singer” episode unhurried the Giants-Cowboys game (which attracted 42.1 million viewers, the largest NFL in-season audience on record) also paid dividends.



“60 Minutes”: This boomer tranquil has bite. The venerated newsmagazine, now in its 55th season, holds 8 of the year’s most-watched telecasts in primetime.



NFL football: It goes deprived of saying. The Super Bowl, at No. 1 with an income of 100 million viewers, is in a league of its own. But overall, the NFL holds 22 of the top 25 primetime telecasts of the year (with just the College Football Championship, one night of the Winter Olympics and the Oscars filling those novel three slots).



Below, our ratings roundup of the year’s most-watched telecasts (in Live+7 ratings), according to broadcast and cable measurements, in both total viewers and adults 18-49.



[For historical characterize, here are previous year-end telecast rankers: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.]


MOST-WATCHED PRIMETIME TELECASTS OF 2022 (TOTAL VIEWERS)







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Rank PROGRAM (NETWORK) VIEWERS DATE AIRED
1.
Super Bowl LVI: Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati (NBC)
99,659,000 2/13/2022
2.
NFC Championship: LA Rams vs. San Francisco (Fox)
50,443,000 1/30/2022
3.
AFC Playoff: Kansas City vs. Buffalo (CBS)     
43,157,000 1/23/2022
4.
NFC Playoff: San Francisco vs. Green Bay (Fox)
37,185,000 1/22/2022
5.
NFL Playoff: Kansas City vs. Pittsburgh (NBC)
29,125,000 1/16/2022
6.
AFC Wildcard Playoff: New England vs. Buffalo (CBS)
26,505,000 1/15/2022
7.
NFL Thursday Night Special: New England vs. Minnesota (NBC)
24,899,000 11/24/2022
8.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay vs. Dallas (NBC)
23,442,000 9/11/2022
9.
College Football Championship: Georgia vs. Alabama (ESPN)
22,553,000 1/10/2022
10.
Winter Olympics Sunday Prime 2 (NBC)        
21,795,000 2/13/2022
11.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Kansas City vs. Tampa Bay (NBC)
21,058,000 10/2/2022
12.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Dallas vs. Philadelphia (NBC)
20,929,000 10/16/2022
13.
NFL Thursday Night Special: Buffalo vs. LA Rams (NBC)
20,053,000 9/8/2022
14.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Green Bay vs. Buffalo (NBC)     
19,739,000 10/30/2022
15.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Green Bay vs. Philadelphia (NBC)
19,693,000 11/27/2022
16.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Chicago vs. Green Bay (NBC)
19,682,000 9/18/2022
17.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Minnesota vs. Green Bay (NBC)
18,704,000 1/2/2022
18.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Indianapolis vs. Dallas (NBC)
18,298,000 12/4/2022
19.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Kansas City vs. LA Chargers (NBC)
18,063,000 11/20/2022
20.
NFL Sunday Night Football: San Francisco vs. Denver (NBC)
17,893,000 9/25/2022
21.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Tennessee vs. Kansas City (NBC)
17,875,000 11/6/2022
22.
NFL Sunday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Las Vegas (NBC)
17,867,000 1/9/2022
23.
Oscars (ABC)
17,561,000 3/27/2022
24.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. Baltimore (NBC)
16,003,000 10/9/2022
25.
NFL Monday Night Football: Las Vegas vs. Kansas City (ESPN)
15,987,000 10/10/2022
26.
NFL Sunday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. San Francisco (NBC)
15,965,000 11/13/2022
27.
NFL Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh vs. Miami (NBC)
15,621,000 10/23/2022
28.
NBA Finals Game 6: Warriors vs. Celtics (ABC)
14,224,000 6/16/2022
29.
NFL Football: Dallas vs. Philadelphia (ABC)
13,802,000 1/8/2022
30.

NBA Finals Game 5: Warriors vs. Celtics
(ABC)
13,149,000 6/13/2022
31.
NFL Thursday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Kansas City (Amazon)
13,148,000 9/15/2022
32.
Yellowstone, S4E10 “Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops” (Paramount)
13,050,000 1/2/2022
33.
NFL Monday Night Football: Buffalo vs. Tennessee (ABC)
12,948,000 9/19/2022
34.
NFL Monday Night Football: Washington vs. Philadelphia (ESPN)
12,901,000 11/14/2022
35.
NFL Wild Card Game: Arizona vs. LA Rams (ABC)
12,859,000 1/17/2022
36.
World Series Game 5: Philadelphia vs. Houston (Fox)
12,830,000 11/3/2022
37.
Yellowstone, S5E1 “One Hundred Years is Nothing” (Paramount)
12,684,000 11/13/2022
38.

World Series Game 6: Philadelphia vs. Houston
(Fox)
12,655,000 11/5/2022
39.
60 Minutes, S54E18 “The Betrayal, Chris Stapleton” (CBS)
12,337,000 1/16/2022
40.


NBA Finals Game 4: Warriors vs. Celtics

(ABC)
12,248,000 6/10/2022
41.
NCIS: Hawai’i, S1E12 “Spies, Part 1” (CBS)    
12,247,000 1/23/2022
42.
The OT (Fox)
12,170,000 9/25/2022
43.

NFL Monday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Denver
(ESPN)
12,113,000 10/17/2022
44.



NBA Finals Game 2: Warriors vs. Celtics


(ABC)
12,009,000 6/5/2022
45.


NFL Monday Night Football: Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh

(ESPN)
11,914,000 1/3/2022
46.


World Series Game 4: Philadelphia vs. Houston

(Fox)
11,864,000 11/2/2022
47.

NFL Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. Miami
(Amazon)
11,840,000 9/29/2022
48.
Yellowstone, S5E2 “The Sting of Wisdom” (Paramount)
11,799,000 11/13/2022
49.
Yellowstone, S5E4 “Horses in Heaven” (Paramount)
11,637,000 11/27/2022
50.


NBA Finals Game 3: Warriors vs. Celtics

(ABC)
11,624,000 6/8/2022
51.



World Series Game 1: Philadelphia vs. Houston


(Fox)
11,568,000 10/28/2022
52.
Winter Olympics Sunday Prime 1 (NBC)
11,517,000 2/6/2022
53.



NBA Finals Game 1: Warriors vs. Celtics


(ABC)
11,494,000 6/2/2022
54.

Winter Olympics Thursday Prime 1
(NBC)
11,473,000 2/10/2022
55.
Yellowstone, S5E3 “Tall Drink of Water” (Paramount)
11,399,000 11/20/2022
56.
60 Minutes, S55E8 “Angry in America, Buses from the Border, Ready or Not” (CBS)
11,334,000 11/6/2022
57.
NCIS, S19E12 “Fight or Flight” (CBS)
11,324,000 1/24/2022
58.
FBI, S4E10 “Fostered” (CBS)
11,314,000 1/4/2022
59.



NFL Monday Night Football: San Francisco vs. Arizona


(ESPN)
11,302,000 11/21/2022
60.
60 Minutes, S55E5 “The Lost Souls of Bucha, The Power of Grimsby, Coach Prime” (CBS)
11,287,000 10/16/2022
61.


World Series Game 3: Philadelphia vs. Houston

(Fox)
11,200,000 11/1/2022
62.
FBI, S4E11 “Grief” (CBS)
11,175,000 1/11/2022
63.
Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (NBC)
11,126,000 2/4/2022
64.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh

(Amazon)
11,067,000 9/22/2022
65.
60 Minutes, S55E12 “The French President, Return to Gorongosa, The South Dakota Kid” (CBS)
11,031,000 12/4/2022
66.
NFL Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis (ESPN)
11,012,000 11/28/2022
67.


NFL Monday Night Football: San Francisco vs. LA Rams
(
ESPN)
10,973,000 10/3/2022
68.
Yellowstone, S5E5 “Watch ‘Em Ride Away” (Paramount)
10,962,000 12/4/2022
69.
NCIS, S19E15 “Thick as Thieves” (CBS)
10,958,000 3/14/2022
70.



World Series Game 2: Philadelphia vs. Houston


(Fox)
10,872,000 10/29/2022
71.
FBI, S4E14 “Ambition” (CBS)
10,871,000 3/8/2022
72.

FBI, S4E15 “Scar Tissue”
(CBS)
10,831,000 3/22/2022
73.
NCIS, S19E14 “First Steps” (CBS)
10,829,000 3/7/2022
74.
60 Minutes, S55E3 “Olena Zelenska; What Happened at Grizzly Flats; Captain Kolisi” (CBS)
10,797,000 10/2/2022
75.

NCIS, S19E13 “The Helpers”
(CBS)
10,786,000 2/28/2022
76.
Big Ten Football Championship: Michigan vs. Purdue (Fox)
10,785,000 12/3/2022
77.

NCIS, S19E11 “All Hands”
(CBS)
10,775,000 1/17/2022
78.
60 Minutes, S55E1 “President Biden, Ebrahim Raisi” (CBS)
10,742,000 9/18/2022
79.
Winter Olympics Saturday Prime 1 (NBC)
10,730,000 2/5/2022
80.


NCIS, S19E17 “Starting Over”

(CBS)
10,712,000 3/28/2022
81.

Saturday Night Football: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
(ABC)
10,671,000 9/3/2022
82. 

60 Minutes, S54E17 “The Big Quit/One Small Step/The Kicker”
(CBS)
10,609,000 1/9/2022
83.


FBI, S4E12 “Under Pressure”

(CBS)
10,599,000 2/1/2022
84.

60 Minutes, S55E10 “The Most Dangerous Place in the World; The Panini Sticker Phenomenon; Wild Horses”
(CBS)
10,585,000 11/20/2022
85.



FBI, S4E16 “Protective Details”


(CBS)
10,491,000 3/29/2022
86.
The OT (Fox)
10,482,000 10/9/2022
87.

NCIS, S19E10 “Pledge of




Allegiance”


(CBS)
10,480,000 1/3/2022
88.




NCIS, S19E21


“Birds of a Feather”
(CBS)
10,474,000 5/23/2022
89.
NFL Monday Night Football: Chicago vs. New England (ESPN)
10,431,000 10/24/2022
90.



NFL Thursday Night Football: Tennessee vs. Green Bay


(Amazon)
10,418,000 11/17/2022
91.
NCAA Basketball: Duke vs. Arkansas (TBS)
10,391,000 3/26/2022
92.
Chicago Fire, S10E11 “Fog of War” (NBC)
10,382,000 1/12/2022
93.

NFL Monday Night Football: Seattle vs. Denver
(ABC)
10,349,000 9/12/2022
94.
The OT (Fox)
10,336,000 10/30/2022
95.
Winter Olympics Wednesday Prime 1 (NBC)
10,290,000 2/9/2022
96.


NFL Monday Night Football: Dallas vs. NY Giants

(ABC)
10,285,000 9/26/2022
97.
Grammy Awards (CBS)
10,232,000 4/3/2022
98.

NCAA Basketball: Purdue vs. St. Peter’s
(CBS)
10,229,000 3/25/2022
99.




FBI, S4E18 “Fear Nothing”



(CBS)
10,215,000 4/19/2022
100.




NCIS, S20E6


“The Good Fighter”
(CBS)
10,179,000 10/24/2022
Source: Nielsen, 1/1/22 – 12/4/22. L7 Data. All Telecasts, Broadcast and Cable (excluding telecasts with durations understanding 25 min, including SB and NFC). Broadcast Prime, telecast with commence times within daypart (M-Sat 8P-11P; Sun 6:30P-11P).


THE 50 TOP-RATED PRIMETIME TELECASTS OF 2022 (ADULTS 18-49)



























































































































































































































































































































Rank PROGRAM (NETWORK) RATING (18-49) DATE AIRED
1.

Super Bowl LVI: Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati
(NBC)
29.60 2/13/2022
2.

NFC Championship: LA Rams vs. San Francisco
(Fox)
14.25 1/30/2022
3.

AFC Playoff: Kansas City vs. Buffalo
(CBS)     
11.44 1/23/2022
4.

NFC Playoff: San Francisco vs. Green Bay
(Fox)
9.98 1/22/2022
5.

NFL Playoff: Kansas City vs. Pittsburgh
(NBC)
7.93 1/16/2022
6.

NFL Thursday Night Special: New England vs. Minnesota
(NBC)
7.09 11/24/2022
7. 

AFC Wildcard Playoff: New England vs. Buffalo
(CBS)
7.05 1/15/2022
8.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay vs. Dallas
(NBC)
6.73 9/11/2022
9. 

College Football Championship: Georgia vs. Alabama
(ESPN)
6.25 1/10/2022
10.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Dallas vs. Philadelphia
(NBC)
5.90 10/16/2022
11.

NFL Thursday Night Special: Buffalo vs. LA Rams
(NBC)
5.89 9/8/2022
12.

Winter Olympics Sunday Prime 2
(NBC)        
5.66 2/13/2022
13.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Chicago vs. Green Bay
(NBC)
5.59 9/18/2022
14.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Kansas City vs. Tampa Bay
(NBC)
5.54 10/2/2022
15.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Green Bay vs. Buffalo
(NBC)     
5.37 10/30/2022
16.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Green Bay vs. Philadelphia
(NBC)
5.21 11/27/2022
17.

NFL Thursday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Kansas City
(Amazon)
5.09 9/15/2022
18.

NFL Sunday Night Football: San Francisco vs. Denver
(NBC)
5.06 9/25/2022
19.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Minnesota vs. Green Bay
(NBC)
5.01 9/2/2022
20.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Indianapolis vs. Dallas
(NBC)
4.88 12/4/2022
21.

NFL Sunday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Las Vegas
(NBC)
4.87 1/9/2022
22.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Tennessee vs. Kansas City
(NBC)
4.77 11/6/2022
23.

NFL Monday Night Football: Las Vegas vs. Kansas City
(ESPN)
4.68 10/10/2022
24.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Kansas City vs. LA Chargers
(NBC)
4.65 11/20/2022
25.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. Baltimore
(NBC)
4.63 10/9/2022
26.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati vs. Miami

(Amazon)
4.62 11/29/2022
27.

NFL Sunday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. San Francisco
(NBC)
4.52 11/13/2022
28.

NFL Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh vs. Miami 
(NBC)
4.39 10/23/2022
29.

NBA Finals Game 6: Warriors vs. Celtics
(ABC)
4.37 6/16/2022
30.



NFL Thursday Night Football: Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh


(Amazon)
4.29 9/22/2022
31.


NBA Finals Game 5: Warriors vs. Celtics

(ABC)
4.00 6/13/2022
32.

Oscars
(ABC)
3.97 3/27/2022
33.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Baltimore vs. Tampa Bay

(Amazon)
3.88 10/27/2022
34.

NFL Monday Night Football: Washington vs. Philadelphia
(ESPN)
3.84 11/14/2022
35.

NFL Monday Night Football: Buffalo vs. Tennessee 
(ABC)
3.83 9/19/2022



NFL Thursday Night Football: Indianapolis vs. Denver

(Amazon)
3.83 10/6/2022
37. 


NFL Monday Night Football: LA Chargers vs. Denver

(ESPN)
3.76 10/17/2022
38.




NBA Finals Game 2: Warriors vs. Celtics



(ABC)
3.73 6/5/2022





NFL Thursday Night Football: Tennessee vs. Green Bay


(Amazon)

3.73 11/17/2022
40.



NBA Finals Game 3: Warriors vs. Celtics


(ABC)
3.67 6/8/2022
41.



NBA Finals Game 4: Warriors vs. Celtics


(ABC)
3.66 6/10/2022
42. 




NBA Finals Game 1: Warriors vs. Celtics



(ABC)
3.65 6/2/2022
43.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Buffalo vs. New England

(Amazon)
3.59 12/1/2022
44.
NBA Playoffs: Celtics vs. Heat (ESPN)
3.49 5/29/2022
45.
The OT (Fox)
3.47 9/25/2022
46.




NFL Monday Night Football: San Francisco vs. Arizona



(ESPN)
3.32 11/21/2022
47.



NFL Monday Night Football: San Francisco vs. LA Rams


(ESPN)
3.27 10/3/2022
48.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Arizona vs. New Orleans

(Amazon)
3.25 10/20/2022
49.


NFL Thursday Night Football: Washington vs. Chicago

(Amazon)
3.22 10/13/2022
50.

NFL Football: Dallas vs. Philadelphia (ABC)

3.21 1/8/2022
Source: Nielsen, 1/1/21 – 12/5/21. L7 Data. All Telecasts, Broadcast and Cable (excluding telecasts with durations belief 25 min, including SB and NFC). Broadcast Prime, telecast with originate times within daypart (M-Sat 8P-11P; Sun 6:30P-11P).