Nielsen: Sporting & Live Events Dominated U.S. TV Viewing in 2012

NEW YORK: Super Bowl XLVI and live competition shows such as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice led TV viewing in the U.S. in 2012, according to Nielsen, which also reports that NCIS and Vegas were the only two scripted shows to make the list of Top 10 programs for the year.

Super Bowl XLVI set record viewership with 111.3 million viewers. The event easily topped the list of Top 10 single telecasts in 2012. Also making the list were the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, which came in at number nine with 40.6 million viewers, and the Grammy Awards, at number ten with 39.9 million.

Competition reality programming had high engagement in 2012. Of the Top 10 regularly scheduled prime-time programs, American Idol held down the number two and three spots. Dancing with the Stars ranked number five and six. The Voice came in eighth. For the second year in a row, only two scripted shows made the list. NCIS was number seven for the year, with 13.6 million total viewers and a 4.7 rating. Vegas was at number ten with 11.6 million and a 4.0 rating.

Time-shifting played a bigger role in Americans’ viewing habits this year, notably with cable programming. Cable shows made up 90 percent of the Top 10 time-shifted TV programs of 2012, and all of the shows on the list were dramas. With time-shifting factored in, Breaking Bad got a boost of 130 percent, making it the top time-shifted show. Mad Men and Warehouse 13 followed, each gaining 127 percent from time-shifting. Covert Affairs and Suits rounded out the top five. Also making the list as the most time-shifted shows of the year were, in order, Justified, White Collar, Fringe, Sons of Anarchy and American Horror Story.