MIDiA: The Big Bang Theory Tops 2017 TV Rankings for Fandom

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory is the top series on MIDiA’s Brand Tracker rankings, with an average 45 percent fan penetration across all of 2017.

For the past 15 months, MIDiA Research has been tracking every quarter more than 60 leading TV shows across the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. For the MIDiA TV Show Brand Tracker, it surveyed 3,500 consumers to track the popularity of shows with a “neutral and objective methodology.”

The Big Bang Theory topped MIDiA’s list in each quarter in every market except for the U.K., where it was beat out by the BBC’s Sherlock and ITV’s Broadchurch.

Another CBS show, NCIS, takes the second spot, with 41 percent fan penetration, holding the same position in the U.S. and Australia, but slipping to third in Canada and sixth in the U.K.

HBO’s Game of Thrones ranks third, with 31 percent fan penetration. Game of Thrones is a top-four show across all four markets surveyed. Although Game of Thrones is HBO’s only series in the top 20, the network has three other shows in the top 40, including Westworld, which maintained strong fandom despite having aired in December 2016.

Sherlock ranks fourth overall (28 percent), followed by The Voice (27 percent) and The Walking Dead (27 percent). Fandom for The Walking Dead, however, varies widely by market, slipping to tenth in the U.K.

Netflix has seven shows in the top 40, more than any other network, though only two are in the top 20: Stranger Things (24 percent) and House of Cards (20 percent). Superhero shows are proving popular for Netflix, with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Daredevil all in the top 40. Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why comes in at number 23, driven largely by 16- to 24-year-old viewers.

“In the post-linear-schedule world, Netflix has learned how to super-serve audience segments with shows that are ‘prime-time’ titles within its service that would not be able to occupy prime-time slots on broadcast TV because their appeal to older audiences is limited,” MIDiA said. “Netflix might have built its revenue business around 25- to 44-year-olds but it is winning the programming battle for younger millennials. Traditional TV networks should pay heed.”