CBS is set to take over as the king of the broadcast networks, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

The network is most likely to claim victory even two days before the end of May sweeps on May 22, and with more days of ratings still to report.

CBS has long held its place as the most watched network for 10 of the last 11 seasons. It averaged 11.85 million viewers, 4 million over its next competitor in that category, ABC.

But what's especially notable is CBS' win among the coveted 18-49 demographic, snapping Fox's eight-year win streak. CBS had not placed top in that demographic in 21 years, since the 1991-92 television season.

While CBS did air the Super Bowl, generally the most watched event of any season (this year's event garnered 108.7 million viewers), ratings statistics show that the network would still have won with it.

According to Entertainment Weekly, nine of the top 15 scripted prime-time programs air on CBS, including The Big Bang Theory, the highest rated comedy on TV, NCIS, and Person Of Interest.

THR cites increasingly lower ratings by Fox's flagship reality program American Idol and the largely relaunch of The X-Factor as explanations for Fox's loss.

NBC came third in the demo and fourth overall, buoyed by its own successful reality competition, The Voice. However, the network had trouble capturing viewers during the show's winter hiatus.

ABC, fourth in the demo though second overall, saw a dip in ratings for its reality competition Dancing With The Stars and sophomore programs Once Upon A Time and Revenge; the network also seemed to miss the recently ended Desperate Housewives, said THR.

The success of CBS has not been lost on its CEO Les Moonves.

Responding to a comment from Jimmy Kimmel at ABC's up fronts presentation, Moonves said, "I was very flattered when Jimmy Kimmel called us 'smug motherf-kers. You don't call somebody 'smug motherf-kers' unless they're smug and they're winning."

Furthermore, said the CEO, the success of its programs on cable -- The Big Bang Theory is also the top-rated comedy there -- suggested that they have great foundation and strategy for television success.

"We are the center of the universe," said Moonves. "This is where the shows start, then they go out to the world."

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Television