This is nonsensical.Depends entirely on looking at the "growth" in the right context.. Say in 2017 you lost 30% of your audience. In 2018, you gain 8%. Yes. It's an increase. But I certainly wouldn't qualify it as a "great leap" either. I would call it encouraging, but with more work still to do. Until you equal or better where you were, it's not a "leap" at all. You're still behind where you once were. If however, your ratings increased 8% in 2018, and there was no decline or growth in 2017, yes, that is indeed a great leap.
So unless you set a new record every year, no progress from the year before can be considered significant? If I used your logic, I;d say last year was super-awesome because they had so many more viewers than they did in 1957.