Do TV ratings (viewership) matter anymore?

This is a question I’ve been intrigued by for a couple years, as TV ratings have been declining all around the world. Sure we still own TVs, but maybe watch 3 or 4 shows on cable. I’ve been looking at the decline of Nielsen ratings and, yeesh thing’s have gone south when The Big Bang Theory was the highest-rated series of 2016-17. Networks that we focus our attention on on SBM (ie, Nick, CN, Disney XD) are lucky if their shows get more than 1 million viewers, and don’t get me started on how that’s affecting their lifespans.

I feel like, if these ratings are going to continue declining for the next decade, network TV will be gone. Maybe NickToons and CN originals will have longer runs when they’re finally allowed to be streamed. These are just my two cents on the decline of TV ratings, what have you got to say about it?

EmployeeAMillion said:

The Big Bang Theory was the highest-rated series of 2016-17.

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I hate the human race.

"Do TV ratings matter anymore?*"

*Spongebob and Lincoln Loud start panicking*

Honest Slug said:

I hate the human race.

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To be fair, some episodes are puer kino.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf0kC-MJZrU

CN usually releases new episodes on their app before airing on TV.

I do think ratings and viewership matter. They still play a large part in whether shows get canceled or renewed for another season.

Honest Slug said:

I hate the human race.

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Black Lives Matter

I think we'll keep seeing overall viewership declining for TV, but the ratings are definitely still useful in comparison to other shows so they can see which shows are doing the best. Useful for advertisers as well

Well, more people are watching shows on Netflix and Hulu, so I am not surprised that TV (cable) ratings are on the decline. Viewership matters in some way since it is an indicator of how a show is doing and whether it gets canned or not.