BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group says primetime ratings for its three free over-the-air, multicast television networks Comet, CHARGE! and TBD have collectively grown a 30% increase in viewership so far this year.
For the first 7 weeks of 2023, the networks experienced year-over-year growth across all key dayparts in the coveted P25-54 demographic. In Prime, the networks collectively garnered a 30% audience increase, while cable networks as a whole have declined by 23% on average for the same period, according to the broadcaster.
CHARGE!, which features a lineup of high-profile police procedural dramas including CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, saw a 54% increase, while TBD’s audience, who are attracted to the channel’s offerings of reality-based series including Fear Factor and World’s Dumbest garnered a 50% increase. Viewership for Comet, which broadcasts sci-fi and fantasy series franchises, including The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, rose 5% during the period.
In daytime, CHARGE! kicked off 2023 with the launch of its new weekday line up, anchored by the long-running CBS prime-time hit Without a Trace, resulting in a 50% double-digit year-over-year increase while Comet saw an increase of 82% viewership year over year with the Jan. 16 premiere of Stargate SG-1—one of the longest running sci-fi series in TV history—during the early evening 5-8 P.M. M-F timeslot.
“In recent months, Comet, CHARGE! and TBD have added new programming acquisitions, grown ratings and successfully launched several new series,” said Adam Ware SVP, Growth Networks Group for Sinclair. “In January we announced the addition of new and upgraded local broadcast affiliates and linear carriage, adding 2.4 million national TV households. 2023 is off to a great start, it’s clear that the OTA broadcast sector is on the rise with even more exciting things to come, stay tuned.”
