Warner Bros. Discovery announced the following, touting the success of AEW programming in addition to the other programs across their networks:
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY NETWORKS PREMIERED 20 OF THE 25 HIGHEST-RATED FRESHMAN SERIES IN 2023 – THE MOST OF ANY CABLE PORTFOLIO
TNT, Investigation Discovery and Adult Swim Delivered Solid Year-Over-Year Ratings Growth
New York [Jan. 8, 2024] With significant year-over-year ratings gains for TNT, Investigation Discovery and Adult Swim, the US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) wrapped 2023 as the only cable portfolio to deliver 20 of the 25 highest-rated freshman series. TLC’s spinoff series 90 Day: The Last Resort ranked as the #1 unscripted freshman series in prime among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.
Live telecasts of NBA, NHL and All Elite Wrestling sporting events helped TNT grow its prime ratings by 14 percent among Adults 25-54, while Adult Swim garnered an 11 percent prime ratings gain versus year-ago. ID delivered ten consecutive months of year-over-year growth among Women 25-54 and seven months of year-over-year growth among Adults 25-54.
Outperforming all other network groups, WBD’s US Networks delivered more than 40 nights of a 40 percent share of primetime cable viewing among adults in 2023 as well as 17 nights with more than a 50 percent share and four nights with a 60 percent share.
“To keep our momentum going, we’re investing in, developing and producing thousands of hours of scripted and unscripted content, including adult animation, for 2024,” said Kathleen Finch, Chairman and CEO, US Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery. “We closed out 2023 with more freshman hits across our portfolio than any other competitor, a solid performance from Food Network’s holiday lineup, incredible ratings growth from Adult Swim and ID, and huge audiences coming to TNT and TBS for premium live sports. When you put all of that together with our successful franchises like Shark Week, Puppy Bowl, 90 Day Fiancé and Naked and Afraid, we’ve got an unmatched content offering for viewers.”
Comprised of close to 20 network brands including Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, TBS, TNT, TLC, Adult Swim and OWN, the US Networks together accounted for nearly 31 percent of primetime cable viewing among Adults 25-54. On average each month, more than 127 million total viewers watched the portfolio’s content which featured live sports, complex relationships, true crime, high-stakes cooking and home renovation competitions, and popular animated series.
Six of the US Networks – TNT, TBS, TLC, Food Network, Discovery and HGTV – maintained their position in the top 10 of ad-supported cable networks. Additional outstanding freshman performers across the US Networks portfolio last year included: 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Tell All: No Limits, MILF Manor and Match Me Abroad (TLC); Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing and Naked and Afraid: Castaways (Discovery); The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster, The Price of Glee and The Playboy Murders (ID); Summer Baking Championship and Ciao House (Food Network); and Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge (HGTV).
2023 performance highlights for brands in the US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery include:
· TNT’s ratings among Adults 25-54 grew 14 percent year-over-year, with the network maintaining its rank as the #1 cable entertainment network in prime among Adults 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34. Popular AEW Dynamite, AEW Collision and AEW Rampage reached nearly four million viewers each week across TNT and TBS. In addition, TNT’s coverage of the 2023-24 NBA regular season to date is up 13 percent among Adults 25-54 (Q4’23 vs. Q4’22), while the 2023-24 NHL regular season to date is up 53 percent among Adults 25-54 (Q4’23 vs. Q4’22).
· Posting more growth in prime among Adults 18-49 than any other top cable network in the fourth quarter, Adult Swim finished 2023 as a top 5 cable network among Adults 18-34 and 18-49 – and as a top 10 cable network among Adults 25-54. Adult Swim, which premiered the top three new animated series on cable this year with Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, My Adventures with Superman and Royal Crackers, delivered a 48 percent increase in prime ratings since Aug. 28. Season seven of the hit animated series Rick and Morty ranked as the #2 cable comedy of the year among key adult demos.
· TLC was the #1 ad-supported primetime cable network without sports among Adults 25-54 in 2023 for the second consecutive year. On Sunday nights, the network was the #1 primetime cable network among Women 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34 for the sixth consecutive year, bolstered by the popular 90 Day Fiancé franchise and Sister Wives.
· TBS ranked as the #2 cable entertainment network in prime among Adults 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34. The Big Bang Theory remains cable’s #1 acquired series among Adults 25-54 and 18-49. MLB Postseason coverage on TBS delivered the most-watched NLCS coverage on any network in eight years, as well as the most-watched MLB postseason game on TBS in eight years (NLCS Game 7: Phillies vs. Diamondbacks).
· Discovery Channel was the #1 primetime non-news/sports cable network among Men 25-54 and 18-49 in 2023. Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing was the network’s highest-rated freshman series in five years as well as the #1 unscripted cable freshman series of 2023 among Men 25-54. And, Expedition Unknown and Expedition X both had their highest-rated seasons in three years. Shark Week, with the largest year-over-year ratings growth in 10 years, delivered its highest ratings since 2020.
· Food Network was a top 10 cable network among Adults 25-54 across every night of the week. Tournament of Champions as well as seasonal tentpoles Holiday Baking Championship and Halloween Baking Championship were the net’s top three highest-rated series in 2023. Holiday Wars, Halloween Wars and Spring Baking Championship delivered year-over-year ratings growth among adults and women. BBQ Brawl, Supermarket Stakeout, Bobby’s Triple Threat and Outchef’d also performed strongly among key demos.
· HGTV ranked as a top 10 non-news/sports ad-supported cable network among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54 every night of the week in prime as well as a top 5 non-news/sports cable network among Women 25-54 in prime six nights out of the week. In total day, HGTV was a top 10 non-news/sports ad-supported cable network among Women 25-54. Attracting more than 12.7 million total viewers, the popular competition series Rock the Block was once again the network’s highest-rated title of the year among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54. And Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge was the network’s highest-rated new series, ranking as a top 5 non-news/sports cable program among Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49.
· ID’s prime ratings were up six percent among Women 25-54 versus year-ago levels, with the network ranking as a top 10 primetime cable network in the demo. ID secured the #2 spot in total day among Women 25-54 (excluding sports) and closed 2023 with cable’s top two unscripted new non-spinoff original series: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace and Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster.
· OWN boasted Saturday night’s top 5 ad-supported original cable series among African-American Adults 25-54 and African-American Women 25-54, including Love & Marriage: Huntsville, Love & Marriage: DC, Love & Marriage: Detroit, First Time Buyer’s Club and All Rise.
About Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film, and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
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Warner Bros. Discovery Networks has recently announced the success of AEW programming, along with other programs across their networks. In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery premiered 20 out of the 25 highest-rated freshman series, making it the cable portfolio with the most successful new shows.
TNT, Investigation Discovery, and Adult Swim were among the networks that contributed to the year-over-year ratings growth. TNT experienced a 14 percent increase in prime ratings among Adults 25-54, thanks to live telecasts of NBA, NHL, and All Elite Wrestling sporting events. Adult Swim also saw an 11 percent gain in prime ratings compared to the previous year.
The US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery outperformed all other network groups, delivering more than 40 nights with a 40 percent share of primetime cable viewing among adults in 2023. They also had 17 nights with a share of over 50 percent and four nights with a share of 60 percent.
Kathleen Finch, Chairman and CEO of US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery, expressed their commitment to maintaining momentum by investing in and producing thousands of hours of scripted and unscripted content for 2024. She highlighted the success of their franchises like Shark Week, Puppy Bowl, 90 Day Fiancé, and Naked and Afraid, which contribute to their unmatched content offering for viewers.
The US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery consist of close to 20 network brands, including popular channels like Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, TBS, TNT, TLC, Adult Swim, and OWN. These networks accounted for nearly 31 percent of primetime cable viewing among Adults 25-54. On average, more than 127 million total viewers watched their content each month, which featured live sports, complex relationships, true crime, cooking competitions, home renovation shows, and popular animated series.
Several networks within the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio maintained their position in the top 10 of ad-supported cable networks. Additionally, they had outstanding freshman performers, such as 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Tell All: No Limits, MILF Manor, and Match Me Abroad on TLC; Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing and Naked and Afraid: Castaways on Discovery; The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster, The Price of Glee, and The Playboy Murders on Investigation Discovery; Summer Baking Championship and Ciao House on Food Network; and Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge on HGTV.
The performance highlights for brands in the US Networks at Warner Bros. Discovery include TNT’s 14 percent growth in ratings among Adults 25-54, Adult Swim’s increase in prime ratings, TLC’s consecutive years as the #1 ad-supported primetime cable network without sports, TBS’s ranking as the #2 cable entertainment network in prime, Discovery Channel’s success among Men 25-54 and 18-49, Food Network’s consistent presence in the top 10 cable networks, HGTV’s popularity among Women 25-54, ID’s growth in prime ratings among Women 25-54, and OWN’s success with African-American audiences.
Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that distributes a wide range of content and brands across television, film, and streaming platforms. With iconic brands like Discovery Channel, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, and Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Discovery aims to inspire, inform, and entertain audiences worldwide.
In conclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery Networks has achieved significant success with AEW programming and other shows across their portfolio. Their commitment to producing high-quality content and their diverse range of networks have contributed to their impressive ratings growth and audience engagement.