Win some, lose some — right, 2016? Scroll through our gallery to see 13 of TV’s biggest winners and losers of the calendar year.
Winner: NBC
While CBS claimed the traditional fall and spring television season — thanks in large part to Super Bowl 50 — it was another 52-week TV ratings win for NBC. Obviously the Summer Olympics didn’t hurt, and NBC is poised to keep it up, thanks to the huge launch of “This Is Us,” the fall’s biggest freshman show.
Loser: ABC
ABC has been struggling mightily in the Nielsen numbers. As a direct result, Paul Lee was pulled from his Entertainment chief post, replaced by Channing Dungey.
Winner: HBO
It was another great Emmys season for HBO, which swept the best series categories with “Game of Thrones” (Drama) and “Veep” (Comedy). Plus, love or it not, the launch of new series “Westworld” has kept the pay-TV channel in the conversation through December.
Loser: NFL football
Thus far, this has mostly been an NFL season to forget. Primetime games have been particularly bad, and most “Thursday Night Football” match-ups haven’t even been watchable. That, plus perhaps a few too many rules changes have sent NFL TV ratings in the wrong direction — just hope for a memorable playoffs at this point.
Winner: “Grease: Live”
Just when we thought live TV musicals couldn’t get any more fun than “The Wiz Live,” they definitely did. Fox’s “Grease: Live” was simply awesome, incorporating crowds, weather and a giant campus to play with. NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” paled in comparison.
Loser: Thomas Gibson
Ain’t life a kick in the shins sometimes? Thomas Gibson literally lost something this year — his longtime gig on CBS hit “Criminal Minds.” The parting of ways wasn’t his choice, and it all came about after a run-in with a producer. And by “run-in,” we mean Gibson’s foot into the other guy’s leg.
Winner: Cable news
Election season is always a boon to cable news channels. Throw in Donald Trump, and Nielsen can’t count the viewers quickly enough. Mix in an actual Trump victory, and the TV ratings will carry on through the holidays.
Loser: Billy Bush
OK, so it wasn’t just Thomas Gibson who lost a gig this year — and Billy Bush’s booting by NBC’s “Today” show was even more high-profile. In case you somehow forget, Bush was the laughing hyena in Donald Trump’s “grab ’em by the p—y” conversation.
Winner: FX miniseries
Here’s how good FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson” was — it completely overshadowed an excellent “Fargo” Season 2 (ignoring that weird spaceship stuff).
Loser: Viacom
Did you not see this one coming? What a disaster 2016 has been for Viacom. Most of the year saw Sumner Redstone and Philippe Dauman squabbling through the media and court system. Eventually Dauman was bought out and replaced — twice. Here’s to 2017.
Winner: James Corden
This has undoubtedly been the year of James Corden. The CBS “Late Late Show” host has gone from a relative unknown to one of TV’s biggest darlings. The internet loves the “Carpool Karaoke” driver too, and the multi-hyphenate has already graduated from the Tonys to the Grammys.
Loser: Roger Ailes
After a flurry of sexual harassment allegations, Fox News boss Roger Ailes was handed a giant check and his walking papers. Can one still be a loser if given $40 million to retire? In this case, yes.
Winner: Netflix
Let’s end this on a happy note, shall we? Netflix just keeps killing it, and 2016 has been no exception. The streaming giant started the year with some strong “Making a Murderer” carryover. It then added a bunch of promising series to its original lineup, like “Fuller House,” “Black Mirror,” “Luke Cage” and “Stranger Things.”
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind? Probably, yeah. Here’s hoping 2017 is full of winners, including you, dear reader.