Broadcast TV Bounces Back: More Orders as Network Fare Drives Streaming Ratings

The 21st century has not been terribly kind to broadcast TV. The DVR, a spike in cable original programming and, most recently and seriously, the rise of streaming to become the primary way people consume TV, have battered the network model for the past couple of decades.

The stats don’t lie: Over the past year, broadcast networks have averaged only about 21 percent of all TV use in the United States, based on Nielsen’s Gauge measurement. The Oscars are moving to a streaming platform, and the Emmy Awards may follow. Late night shows are suffering deaths by a thousand cuts (or, in CBS‘ case, one big one).

Obviously, there’s a “but” coming, and here it is: Despite the structural forces weighing on the network business, there’s also a good deal of optimism among those who work there. Network shows don’t draw the on-air ratings they once did, but they make up a lot of the difference when they hit streaming platforms. The media giants that own both networks and streaming services seem to have figured out that the two platforms can support one another. And among the people who actually make the shows, there’s a growing sense that the network model of producing shows on a set schedule is a good way to do business.

UTA partner and TV literary agent Mickey Berman, who represents several writers and showrunners, puts things pretty succinctly: “When you look at the combined package, the shows are working and people are watching them.”

Part of the appeal of network TV, both for audiences and creatives, is its consistency: The expectation is that they’ll be on the air every year, usually with 12 to 22 episodes per season. The early years of the streaming boom promised a reprieve from the admittedly grueling schedule of a full network season — but as that model has moved from still fairly regular (if shorter) seasons to eight or 10 episodes every couple of years, the network model has come back into vogue (see also: The Pitt and HBO Max’s recently ordered How to Survive Without Me and FX and Hulu’s The Bear, among other streaming series that have approximated the network model).

“I think for a while, people were a bit seduced by streaming and enjoyed some of the creative freedom and other things about it,” Lisa Katz, president scripted content for NBC and Peacock, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But over time, broadcast shows have continued to show they’re consistent, and I think that they continue to be high in quality and bring in fans. There’s something about it — maybe the new thing felt great, but NBC is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and there’s a reason it’s had the staying power and the legacy that it has.”

Berman also notes the “tremendous amount of stability” in working on a network series. For writers, actors, directors and other crew members, “They know that if a show works, they’re going to be shooting or writing for a certain period of time with more episodes and hopefully more seasons.”

Michelle and Robert King, the creators and showrunners of The Good Wife, The Good Fight and CBS’ freshman drama Cupertino (among other shows), have moved back and forth between broadcast and streaming. The network business has its pluses, they say.

“Selfishly, one thing about doing broadcast shows is they don’t get lost,” Michelle King says. “There are a few streaming shows that one hears about, but there are so very many that seem to just get lost that no one has heard of. Broadcast shows tend to get marketed. People have heard of them, and people get to see them. We’re super proud of Cupertino, so we’re thrilled that people are going to get to see it.”

Robert King adds that he’s found — somewhat counterintuitively — that they have more control over a network show than they might on a streaming series.

“You don’t have a lot of non-writing producers looking over your shoulder because of the speed with which everything needs to be done,” he says. “I mean, they talk about streaming doesn’t know how to do 20 episodes a year anymore. Writers do. It’s just the non-writing producers want to [sweat] everything. … I like doing 20 episodes because you can be intuitive in the writing and the stories you tell.”

Amy Reisenbach, the president of CBS Entertainment who greenlit Cupertino, says she has fielded calls from creators and showrunners looking to return to a broadcaster after making streaming shows.

“There is nothing like waking up the next day, from a writer’s perspective and executive’s perspective, in my mind, to getting the ratings and getting a [glimpse] into what you did last night,” she says. “And when you’re waking up to 8 million-ish viewers for Tracker and Marshals the next day … I don’t think you can underestimate the power in that and knowing how many people tuned in for your show the night before.”

The stability of network TV extends to the number of scripted series at the networks as well: 56 shows are due to air on the big four broadcasters in the 2026-27 season, up from 50 (plus one limited series, Fox‘s The Faithful) last season. ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC combined canceled only six scripted series (ABC kept all 10 of its shows), while adding a dozen to their rosters.

“There’s been a renewed interest from the talent base in broadcast because of the stability, because of the quicker turnaround, because of the opportunity for more episodes and more seasons, and that’s not just financial,” Berman says. “It’s also about building a relationship with the audience, where they fall in love with characters and can see them on a schedule that they expect. Grey’s Anatomy has been on the air for so long. People love those characters. But even [for shows that haven’t been on for as long], people want to grow with those characters.”

NBC’s Katz also led the charge for a mini-revival of pilot season in the spring, making eight of them and picking up four (dramas Line of Fire and The Rockford Files and comedies Newlyweds and Sunset P.I.). Networks continue to develop shows year-round and using various methods to develop shows, from smaller pre-pickup writers rooms to straight-to-series orders. But the pilot process has a lot of upside, from Katz’s perspective.

“It benefits the show and gives us the opportunity to launch it in the most successful way possible, and to make some adjustments, whether it be in casting or a storyline, when we still have time to do it,” she says. “That’s one of the things I’ve loved about broadcast that’s really challenging in streaming. In streaming, the way that we’re doing it, you have maybe three weeks left of shooting when you’re seeing the first cut. It’s very hard to make adjustments.”

One other key factor fueling the optimism around network shows is that in the past few years, media giants have recognized that broadcast and streaming can be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. That network shows bring in sizable audiences when they reach streaming is hardly new information, but better Nielsen measurement of streaming — and the public release of more data — has helped bring the point home.

For the 2025-26 season, about half of the top 25 shows in cross-platform ratings originated on broadcast networks. Nine network series (not including sports and news programs) averaged 10 million or more cross-platform viewers, and four others came in just below that threshold. With ABC, CBS and NBC’s parent companies each owning a big streaming service (Hulu/Disney+, Paramount+ and Peacock, respectively), the broadcast-streaming symbiosis is good for both aspects of the business. (Fox has a next-day streaming deal with Hulu for its shows, and some are also available on its own platforms, free streamer Tubi and the year-old Fox One subscription platform.)

“We have always considered Paramount+ and CBS parts of a larger ecosystem that includes Pluto as well,” Reisenbach says. “We have a great partnership with Cindy [Holland] and Jane [Wiseman]. They’re obviously working on their shows, which are very different than our shows, but we’re conscious of wanting to be complementary. I’m so appreciative of how grateful they have been for the next-day programming from CBS. They totally get what we do and the kind of shows that we make, and they have created this lane for us.”

The network-streaming relationship and the uptick in series orders has Berman feeling good about the next couple of years for his clients, and for network TV.

“I think in the next couple years, there’s going to be tremendous opportunity to capitalize on that [momentum], and hopefully new models come from that about how our clients participate,” Berman says. “I’m really optimistic. I feel like the worst is definitely behind us, and I’m glad we have a four-year [labor] deal so that we can really build some momentum toward the future.”