Last year’s top broadcast programs allowed Americans a brief reprieve from a tumultuous year. The shows made us laugh, cry, and cheer for our favorite characters and contestants across a host of program genres.
With millions of viewers glued to their TV screens, advertisers took to the air to engage a captive audience. EDO’s 2021 TV Advertising Insights Report, published yesterday, offers a glimpse into how these ads performed and the programs that earned the highest engagement rates last year.
The Bachelor franchise earns the final rose
ABC’s “Bach” franchise programs are two of three reality shows to crack the top 10 broadcast programs of the year.
The Bachelor earned a chart-topping 45% more Search Engagement than the average broadcast primetime program, while sister show The Bachelorette also performed well with 25% higher Search Engagement than the average. The reality dating shows, which have been airing since the early naughts, have captured the hearts and minds of viewers for nearly two decades.
Playing games
Game shows also performed exceptionally well in 2021, including Ellen’s Game of Games and the Weakest Link reboot, which drove 25% and 24% higher Search Engagement, respectively, than the average broadcast primetime program in 2021.
NBC’s The Voice came in at no. 6, and is the only singing competition show that earned a spot in the top 10. The season, which aired its finale in December, saw its first trio, Girl Named Tom, win the first place prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. The program performed 23% better than the year’s average broadcast program.
CBS’s The Price is Right at Night also ran several new episodes during primetime programming in 2021. In fact, a late December episode earned the program primetime’s highest rating and viewership for the 18-49 demo. The game show outperformed the standard broadcast program by 20% for the year.
NBC shows won half of the top 10
NBC’s drama This Is Us earned its no. 2 spot on the list driving 30% additional online search on a per-person, per-second basis versus the average primetime broadcast program.
Saturday Night Live veteran Kenan Thompson’s sitcom, Kenan, also performed well, reaching 20% more Search Engagement in its first-ever season. Game shows including Ellen’s Game of Games, The Weakest Link, and The Voice round out NBC’s top five most engaging programs of the year.
Want more insights? Check out our recently published TV Advertising Insights Report to know what worked for advertisers in 2021.