NEW YORK — Who would have thought a sitcom that premiered in 1988 would help rescue the ABC television network?

Welcome to 2018.

The Walt Disney Co. broadcast network on Tuesday celebrated its successful reboots of “Roseanne” and the singing competition show “American Idol” with hundreds of advertisers who flocked to the David Geffen Hall in New York City for a peek at ABC’s new fall schedule.

Nielsen ratings released earlier in the day showed that ABC is distancing itself from its cellar-dweller days. ABC, which has finished the last few TV seasons in third or fourth place among viewers ages 18 to 49, is tied with CBS and Fox for second place in the coveted demographic for the current TV season. NBC continues to lead the pack.

Much of the credit goes to “Roseanne,” whose success has surprised some analysts. The show, which showcases a struggling working-class family, has averaged more than 19 million viewers an episode, outpacing “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS.

“The last time we had the No. 1 show was 24 years ago,” said Ben Sherwood, president of Disney/ABC Television Group. “If anyone came to play a drinking game for how many times we mention ‘Roseanne’ — you’re welcome.”

The ABC sitcom, starring Roseanne Barr, is jockeying with NBC’s acclaimed family drama “This Is Us” for the crown as the highest-rated scripted show among 18- to 49-year-olds this season. In addition, ABC launched the season’s most popular new drama, “The Good Doctor.”

ABC and other networks are grappling with sweeping changes in the TV industry, including the loss of TV show hitmakers to Netflix. Media companies including Disney are aggressively searching for ways to compete against Netflix and other tech giants such as Amazon.com, Google and Facebook.

Disney has offered $52.4 billion to buy much of 21st Century Fox, including the FX and National Geographic cable channels.