It looks like 2015 marked another year led by zombies and football.
Nielsen has released its “Tops of 2015” lists, ranking the highest-rated shows, specials and networks, as well as the most talked-about series on Twitter. AMC’s The Walking Dead is still winning on cable, ESPN’s football telecasts are still No. 1 overall and Univision completely dominated the Spanish-language charts.
In its report, Nielsen found that sports is still king of live programming, but TV fans are turning to dramas for time-shifted viewing. And those dramas tend to be the most discussed on social media, as well, with The Walking Dead closing out 2015 as the top series on Twitter.
For Top TV Programs overall, sports took the lead, filling out eight of the 10 slots (leaving room only for The Oscars on ABC and an episode of NBC’s Blacklist).
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/TopTVPrograms.png)
Primetime TV options are a bit more varied, with NBC’s Sunday Night Football still winning out, followed by CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and NCIS, then AMC’s The Walking Dead and Fox’s Empire.
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/Top10PrimetimeTVPrograms.png)
Spanish-language programs were filled up by Univision, the top-10 list consisting only of episodes of Mi Corazon Es Tuya and Hasta Fin Del Mundo for all 10 spots.
Depending on how one counted time-shifted viewers (both charts are below), FX’s Fargo and The Walking Dead won out, followed by several scripted dramas.
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/Top10TimeShifted_2.png)
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/Top10TimeShifted.png)
Nielsen’s Twitter ratings continued to put The Walking Dead and special events at the top, including the Grammys, the Oscars and MTV’s VMAs, with both lists relatively evenly split between broadcast and cable.
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/Top10SeriesonTwitter.png)
![](http://brief.promaxbda.org/images/uploads/Top10SpecialsonTwitter.png)
[Images and data courtesy of Nielsen.]
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