What Were the Most-Watched Shows of the 2016-2017 Season?

The final numbers for the 2016-2017 television season are in, and guess what? America still loves its football.

NBC's Sunday Night Football remained the most-watched "show" for the sixth-straight year with an average of 19.6 million viewers, according to TV By the Numbers, and it beat out more football to take the number-one spot. NBC's Thursday Night Football was in second place with just under 17 million viewers. If you'll recall, NBC and CBS split the Thursday night broadcasts this past season; CBS' Thursday Night Football was in fourth place, with 14.5 millions viewers.

So what lucky show was ranked third? That would be NCIS, which drew in 14.6 million viewers on average. The Big Bang Theory placed fifth (14 million), Bull was eighth (11.4 million), and The Voice finished in tenth (10.5 million). A list of the Top 20 most-watched shows is below.

This Is Us Gives NBC the TV Season Ratings Win, but CBS Takes Total Viewers

On the ratings side, football and football-adjacent programming (pregame shows, after shows) took up the top five spots, and The Big Bang Theory finished highest of all non-sports programming. CBS' comedy averaged a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, edging out Fox's Empire (2.8 rating). NBC hit it big with This Is Us in eighth place (2.7), which was followed by The Voice and The Bachelor (tied at 2.4). A list of the Top 20 rated shows is below.

Most-Watch Shows of the 2016-2017 Season
(Numbers are in millions of viewers)
1. Sunday Night Football (NBC) - 19.6
2. Thursday Night Football (NBC) - 16.9
3. NCIS (CBS) - 14.6
4. Thursday Night Football (CBS) - 14.5
5. The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 14.0
6. The OT (Fox) - 13.6
7. 60 Minutes (CBS) - 11.9
8. Bull (CBS) - 11.4
9. Football Night in America Pt. 3 (NBC) - 10.8
10. The Voice - Monday (NBC) - 10.6
11. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) - 10.4
12. The Voice - Tuesday (NBC) - 10.3
13. NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) - 10.1
14. Blue Bloods (CBS) - 9.9
15. This Is Us (NBC) - 9.8
16. NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) - 9.6
17. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) - 9.2
18. Little Big Shots (NBC) - 9.1
19. Survivor (CBS) - 8.4
20. Madam Secretary (CBS) - 8.3

Highest-Rated Shows of the 2016-2017 Season
(Numbers are ratings in the 18-49 demographic)
1. Sunday Night Football (NBC) - 6.7
2. Thursday Night Football (NBC) - 5.2
3. Thursday Night Football (CBS) - 4.8
4. The OT (Fox) - 4.6
5. Football Night in America Pt. 3 (NBC) - 3.6
6. The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 3.1
7. Empire (Fox) - 2.8
8. This Is Us (NBC) - 2.7
9 (tie). The Voice - Monday (NBC) - 2.4
9 (tie). The Bachelor (ABC) - 2.4
11. The Voice - Tuesday (NBC) - 2.2
12. (tie) Modern Family (ABC) - 2.1
12. (tie) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - 2.1
14. Saturday Night College Football (ABC) - 1.9
15. (tie) Survivor (CBS) - 1.8
15. (tie) The Simpsons (Fox) - 1.8
17. (tie) The Goldbergs (ABC) 1.7
17. (tie) NCIS (CBS) - 1.7
19. (tie) Hunted (CBS) - 1.6
19. (tie) Dancing with the Stars (ABC) - 1.6
19. (tie) 60 Minutes (CBS) - 1.6
19. (tie) Kevin Can Wait (CBS) - 1.6
19. (tie) Football Night in America Pt. 2 (NBC) - 1.6
19. (tie) Lethal Weapon (Fox) - 1.6
19. (tie) Speechless (ABC) - 1.6