NEW YORK • CBS claimed the distinction of most-watched television network for the 15th straight year, even as those bragging rights don’t mean what they used to.

The network averaged just under 6 million viewers on a typical moment in prime time for the season that just concluded, the Nielsen company said on Friday. NBC was the second most popular, followed by Fox and ABC — the same pecking order as last year.

All of the networks lost viewers from the year before, with NBC’s 13% decline the steepest and Fox’s 1% drop the smallest, Nielsen said.

CBS’ winning streak began in a different era, back when the mention of streaming or cord-cutting would earn a quizzical look.

Its viewership average during that 2008-09 season was 11.75 million, nearly double what it was this year.