or


[12/08/19 - 08:56 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Wins College Football Showdown
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/7/19):

FOX (12.494 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1) surged to the top spot on Saturday with its coverage of the "Big Ten Football Championship Game" (12.494 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.3, #1).

The siliver then went to ABC (3.733 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) with its presentation of the "ACC Championship Game" (3.733 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was CBS (3.195 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with repeats of "Bull" (3.833 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) and "48 Hours" (2.463 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5) plus a new "48 Hours" (3.290 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4).

And finally, NBC (2.128 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) closed out the night with "The Voice" (1.628 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.489 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5) and "SNL Vintage" (2.267 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· The Dec. 7 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Jennifer Lopez and musical guest DaBaby, has averaged a 4.2 rating in "live plus same day" household results from 44 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Note that current metered-market results are not compatible with data issued before Oct. 5 due to changes in Nielsen methodology.

· The Dec. 7 "Saturday Night Live" is the #2 highest-rated "SNL" original in metered-market households among the seven that have aired since Nielsen changed its methodology Oct. 5, and ranks within 0.1 of a point of the highest rated of those seven, the Nov. 23 edition (4.3 with host Will Ferrell and musical guest King Princess).

· Versus primetime programming on the Big 4 networks last night, "SNL" is the #2 show of the night in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, behind only Fox's Ohio State-Wisconsin Big 10 Championship college football.


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/8/18):

CBS (3.721 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) took home top honors on Saturday with its holiday mix of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (4.079 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1), "Frosty the Snowman" (3.765 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (2.929 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) and "48 Hours" (3.737 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

NBC (3.497 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was the silver draw with its lineup of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.396 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7), another "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.739 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (3.357 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was FOX (1.333 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with its coverage of "MLS Cup 2018" (3.737 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8).

And finally, a rebroadcast of "The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition" (1.793 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9) and the relocated "The Alec Baldwin Show" (1.053 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) rounded out the night on ABC (1.546 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· The Dec. 8 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Jason Momoa and musical guest Mumford & Sons, averaged a 4.3 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 1.7 rating in 18-49 equals "SNL's" high since the show's Sept. 29 season premiere (2.3 with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West).

· The Dec. 8 "Saturday Night Live" easily ranks the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime shows on those nets in both categories. The 1.7 rating in 18-49 in the local people meters nearly doubles the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 (0.9 for the 10 p.m. "SNL Vintage" encore).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2026]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[01/13/26 - 03:02 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Semifinals Averaging 14.9 Million Viewers, On Par with 2024-25 Season
The Peach Bowl (Oregon vs. Indiana) drew 18 million viewers on average, while the Fiesta Bowl (Miami vs. Ole Miss) scored 15.8 million viewers.

[01/13/26 - 02:30 PM]
FOX Sports Holds Winning Hand Leading All Networks in Viewership on Wild Card Weekend
41 million viewers watched FOX Sports' presentation of Sunday's NFC Wild Card Round showdown featuring the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

[01/13/26 - 02:26 PM]
31.61 Million Viewers for Packers-Bears Playoff on Prime Video Shatters NFL Streaming Record
According to Amazon first-party viewership data, Packers-Bears attracted the most concurrent viewers and highest single-day global viewership in the history of Prime Video.

[01/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 5 - "People We Meet on Vacation" Takes a Trip to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In addition to a will they, won't they romance, viewers were sucked into the he said, she said intrigue of "His & Hers," putting the thriller series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.9 million views.

[01/12/26 - 10:30 AM]
ESPN Studio Shows' Deliver Records, Multiyear Highs in 2025
ESPN's daily sports studio shows enjoyed remarkable viewership success in 2025, with "Get Up," "First Take" and "The Pat McAfee Show" delivering their most-watched years ever and "SportsCenter" (6 p.m. ET) delivering its most watched year in a decade.

[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
WWE by the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
In 2025, Netflix members watched 525M hours of WWE content.

[01/09/26 - 08:47 AM]
ESPN's Second Most-Watched NBA Regular Season Ever
Through 21 games, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6M viewers, up 35 percent from last season.

[01/08/26 - 02:00 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record-Breaking Viewership for 2025-26 FCS Playoffs and Championship
The 2026 FCS Championship Game averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, ranking as the third-best FCS Championship audience ever.

[01/08/26 - 01:17 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
In fact, "Nightline" is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight year.

[01/08/26 - 01:16 PM]
ABC News' Primetime Special "The Year: 2025" Earns Nearly 4 Million Total Viewers - Growing by Double Digits Over Last Year in Multiplatform Viewing
The 15th annual year-end special earned 3.857 million Total Viewers, growing impressively over last year's performance by +37% (vs. 2.818 million), after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.

[01/07/26 - 12:32 PM]
Bowl Season on ESPN Networks Delivers Strongest Audience Since 2015-16
ABC delivered its largest non CFP bowl audience in 12 years, averaging 6.2 million viewers across six games.

[01/07/26 - 09:29 AM]
In 2025, Fans Power ESPN and "ESPN on ABC" to Its Most-Watched Year in Over a Decade
ESPN networks increased industry-leading sports share to 35 percent, up from 31 percent in 2024.

[01/06/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX NFL Rings in Best Regular Season Since 2015
The regular season averaged 19.633 million viewers for the network.

[01/06/26 - 03:00 PM]
Record-Setting Season as "Sunday Night Football" on NBC and Peacock Averages 23.5 Million Viewers & Paces as Primetime's #1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
"Sunday Night Football" averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 23.5 million viewers for the 2025 season.