Why Broadcast TV Is Betting Big on Live Events

The Resurgence of Broadcast TV
Sports Take Center Stage
Award Shows and Specials Join the Lineup
Streaming and Broadcast: A Powerful Duo
What Network Executives Are Saying
Sources

The Resurgence of Broadcast TV

Live events are breathing new life into broadcast television. Once thought to be fading in the age of on-demand streaming, networks like NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox are experiencing a surprising revival—thanks to live programming.

According to Nielsen data from September 2025, more viewers tuned into over-the-air broadcast networks than the entire cable universe for the first time in years. This shift is no accident. Broadcasters are doubling down on what they do best: delivering shared, real-time experiences that can’t be paused, rewound, or skipped.

Sports Take Center Stage

Sports are leading the charge. From the NBA to college football and even the World Cup, major live games are migrating from cable to broadcast airwaves.

NBC now airs regular-season NBA games on Tuesday nights—a first for the network.
Fox has replaced WWE wrestling with college football and basketball on Friday nights.
For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Fox will broadcast 69 live matches on its main channel—the most in U.S. network history.

“We’re in a situation now where live sports packages that you probably wouldn’t have considered for broadcast prime 10 or 20 years ago are now totally appropriate,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox’s president of analytics.

Award Shows and Specials Join the Lineup

It’s not just sports. Award shows and live entertainment events are also returning to broadcast TV:

MTV’s Video Music Awards, a cable staple for 40 years, aired on CBS in 2025 for the first time.
ABC brought back Dancing With the Stars to its broadcast schedule during the 2023 Hollywood strikes—and ratings surged.
NBC is planning a live 100th-anniversary special for the network in 2026, following the success of its Saturday Night Live 50th-anniversary broadcast.

Streaming and Broadcast: A Powerful Duo

Contrary to early fears that streaming would cannibalize traditional TV, networks are using their streaming platforms—like Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu, and the new Fox One—to amplify live events, not replace them.

For example, the 2025 Oscars drew 19.7 million viewers on ABC, with an additional 2 million watching via Hulu. “The audience grew because these platforms are all additive to each other,” said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television.

This synergy creates a “bigger event” effect, driving social buzz, TikTok trends, and watercooler conversations the next day.

What Network Executives Are Saying

Executives across the industry agree: live TV taps into a fundamental human desire for shared cultural moments.

“Broadcast is still the greatest reach vehicle out there.”
— George Cheeks, Chairman of CBS

“There are very few platforms that reach every television household in our country.”
— Matt Strauss, Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group

Even attitudes toward sports have flipped. In 1997, an NBC exec famously wished the World Series would end quickly to return to scripted shows. Today? “I wish the World Series was 15 games long,” Mulvihill joked.