Broadcast ratings down another 8% with 18-49 year olds

It’s become a yearly occurrence—tallying up how much broadcast declined among adults 18-49 in the previous season.

There’s still a week left in the season, but it appears this year the decline will be 8 percent.

The Big Four are averaging an 8.1 adults 18-49 Nielsen rating, down from an 8.8 at this point last year.

Half of that decline has been from ABC, which has tumbled from a 2.2 last year at this time to a 1.8, ranking fourth among the Big Four.

And the rest has been from NBC, last year’s No. 1 network. This year, without the Super Bowl, NBC is down 0.3, from a 2.4 to a 2.1.

Two networks, first-place CBS (2.3) and third-place Fox (1.9), are even with last year.

The declines got sharper as the year went on. During the first two months of the season, the Big Four were off by 6 percent.