How things have changed! Go back and look at the numbers Bing Crosby put up in terms of sheer size and percentage of population in audience and sales. It’s no wonder that they guy always seemed so cool and confident. 12 million is a rounding error to him.
As I told you you are living in pre cable days. Only 3 networks at most in any market and maybe 1 or 2 independent stations.
Cable destroyed the world you are referring to, and streaming has eroded it even further
Today the highest watched scripted network broadcast show doesn’t even pull in 11 million viewers a week.
https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/most-popular-tv-shows-ncis-fbi-chicago-fire-1235263770/amp/