For advertisers, it's another blow: the viewership base is dwindling, leading some marketers to scramble for new, innovative platforms to reach consumers. 

On Monday, a Goldman analyst team led by Michael Ng highlighted to clients yet another series of grim data points from traditional TV:

We refresh our Nielsen TV ratings tracker for our US Media coverage (DIS, CMCSA, PSKY, WBD, FOXA) that includes traditional ACM (average commercial minute) prime time and total day ratings across broadcast and cable. This edition focuses on the C3 cable and broadcast ratings through week ending August 10, 2025 (14 day delay), and L3 cable ratings through week ending August 24, 2025.

Prime time commercial ratings for broadcast ex-sports were down 20% yoy in 3Q25-to-date (through week ending August 10).

Prime time commercial ratings decreased 54% for broadcast including sports and declined -28% for cable, in 3Q25-to-date (through week ending August 10).

Through August 24, cable networks continued to lose viewers. In 3Q25 so far, total day ratings fell at Disney (-11%), Paramount Skydance (-22%), Fox (-20%), Warner Bros. Discovery (-26%), AMC Networks (-34%), and Comcast (-49%).

Exhibit 1: Comcast viewership declined the most QTD at -49% y/y C3Q25-to-date

Additional TV ratings data for the period through August 10:

C3 ratings released

Nielsen released the latest C3 ratings' data for the week ending August 10, 2025. Cable network primetime ratings for 3Q25-to-date (through August 10) are down 28% yoy. For a sequential comparison, in 2Q25 cable network primetime ratings were down 21% yoy. In 3Q25-to-date, broadcast network primetime ratings are down 54% yoy and down 20% yoy excluding sports. For a sequential comparison, ratings for broadcast primetime were down 15% yoy while broadcast primetime ex-sports were down 21% in 2Q25.