The Simpsons: number of viewers in the U.S. 2000-2020

The 32nd season of the long-running animated comedy show ‘The Simpsons’ drew in an average of 4.44 million viewers, but whilst this figure may seem impressive at first glance, viewer numbers have been on the decline for years. Season 12 pulled in an audience of almost 15 million, however viewership has been falling ever since (with the exception of the small spike in viewer numbers between seasons 20 and 21).

As viewer numbers for the show have dropped, so has the cost of a 30-second ad spot during ‘The Simpsons’ broadcasts, though the price for an ad during 2018-19 season showed signs of improvement and marked the first increase in around four years.

Attitudes towards ‘The Simpsons’

Whilst ‘The Simpsons’ has often come under fire for its controversial content and reinforcement of negative stereotypes, the show continues to run and remains popular. ‘The Simpsons Movie’ made over 180 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office in 2007 and the film regularly features on video streaming services alongside the show itself.

Even in spite of falling viewer numbers the long-running TV series is still held in good favor, especially among younger generations. ‘The Simpsons’ was the favorite contemporary TV show among Millennials according to a survey held in the U.S., and also performed well with respondents in this age group in a ranking of favorite TV shows of all time.