Yellowstone: Broadcast Debut Draws 6.6 Million Viewers

September 18, 2023 by

‘Yellowstone’ Draws 6.6 Million Viewers With Broadcast Debut

“Daybreak” – Academy Award winner Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton, patriarch of a Montana ranching family and owner of the largest ranch in the U.S. It’s the story of Dutton’s fight to defend his land and his family from the modern-day forces that threaten his way of life, as the critically acclaimed Paramount Network series YELLOWSTONE kicks off its broadcast run, Sunday, Sept. 17 (8:30 – 10:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and will stream live on Paramount+ with Showtime. Pictured (L-R): Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler and Kevin Costner as John Dutton. Photo: Emerson Miller for Paramount
Emerson Miller for Paramount
Though Yellowstone is now in its fifth and final season on Paramount, its series premiere just landed on broadcast TV for the first time, bringing 6.6 million viewers to CBS Sunday night.

This marks a substantial leap from the episode’s 2.8 million viewers when it first premiered back in 2018.

CBS now reaches a larger audience than its sister cable networks, and “Yellowstone” has since become a major hit.

Paramount Network’s airing of the Season 5 premiere in November drew 8.8 million viewers, and simulcasts across Country Music Television, TVLand and Pop TV brought that number up to 10.5 million.

Sunday’s Yellowstone episode also benefitted from lead-in from “60 Minutes,” which aired right before and drew 11.4 million viewers. The series will continue to air in order, with two episodes per week except on NFL doubleheader nights, when only one episode will air.

Yellowstone was the first Taylor Sheridan-created series for Paramount Global, but has since become a full universe.

Prequel series “1883” premiered on Paramount+ in 2022, as did prequel series “1923,” which will return for a second season. “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” will premiere on Paramount+ in November as a spinoff of “1883,” while “6666” heads to Paramount Network. “1944” is in development as a sequel to “1923,” and another untitled spinoff is also in the works.

 

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