CBS Is the Wall Street of Networks

Around these parts, we like to make fun of CBS for its large stable of copy-and-paste police procedurals and multi-camera comedies that pander to the lowest common denominator — it’s the only way that we can sleep at night knowing that those shows are massively popular. How popular?

According to Nielsen ratings data from Sept. 19 through Oct. 9, CBS has 20 of the top 30 shows among the broadcast networks in total viewership, making CBS the first network to accomplish such a feat. It was also the number one network in average viewership and in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Stalwarts “NCIS” and “NCIS: LA” certainly helped the network’s cause on Tuesday, garnering 18.7 million viewers and 15.4 million respectively. [NY Times]

Can we siphon off some of the Occupy Wall Street protesters and send them to CBS headquarters? The 99% need to realize that there are other channels with shows that don’t have laugh tracks and tell stories about people who aren’t cops. This is important, dammit.