or


[02/08/20 - 08:29 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Gets Boost from Democratic Debate
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (2/7/20):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live events.]

ABC (6.859 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) pulled off a rare victory on Friday with its coverage of "ABC News: The Democratic Debate" (6.859 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1).

FOX (2.547 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) had to settle for second in adults 18-49 with "WWE SmackDown" (2.547 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.968 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with the return of "MacGyver" (5.969 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) followed by a new "Hawaii Five-0" (6.622 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and a repeat "Blue Bloods" (5.314 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.802 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up its duo of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (3.609 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (3.899 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

And finally, fresh installments of "Charmed" (0.596 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8) and "Dynasty" (0.326 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #9) closed out the evening on The CW (0.461 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Dateline NBC
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0
0.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector
0.00% - Charmed
0.00% - Dynasty

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+57.14% - ABC News: The Democratic Debate (vs. Various)
+9.09% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-20.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-22.22% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. Celebrity Big Brother)
-36.36% - MacGyver (vs. Celebrity Big Brother)


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/8/19):

CBS (5.444 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) claimed top honors on Friday thanks to a special "Celebrity Big Brother" (4.608 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1), a second hour of "Celebrity Big Brother" (4.190 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) and "Blue Bloods" (7.532 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6).

FOX (3.186 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then was a close second with the penultimate "Hell's Kitchen" (3.263 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) and the season finale of "Hell's Kitchen" (3.109 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3).

Next up was ABC (4.536 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) with a repeat "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" (3.295 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and a two-hour "20/20" (5.157 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.496 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up its trio of "Blindspot" (3.493 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9), "The Blacklist" (4.203 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and "Dateline NBC" (2.792 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9).

And finally, new episodes of "Dynasty" (0.657 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #11) and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (0.425 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #12) on The CW (0.541 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - The Blacklist
+14.29% - 20/20
+10.00% - Celebrity Big Brother (vs. 1/25/19)
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen
0.00% - Blindspot
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Dynasty
0.00% - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
-12.50% - Blue Bloods

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. Bull (Repeat))
+60.00% - 20/20 (vs. Child Support/20/20)
+33.33% - Hell's Kitchen - 9:00 (vs. Who Shot Biggie & Tupac? (Repeat))
+33.33% - Hell's Kitchen - 8:00 (vs. Who Shot Biggie & Tupac? (Repeat))
+10.00% - Celebrity Big Brother - 8:00
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-10.00% - Celebrity Big Brother - 9:00
-66.67% - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (vs. Jane the Virgin)
-89.47% - The Blacklist (vs. 2018 Winter Olympics)
-91.23% - Blindspot (vs. 2018 Winter Olympics)
-91.23% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2018 Winter Olympics)

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

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.8/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.7/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/5 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/3; "Late Show," 0.5/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.4/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.1/4 in metered-market households with an encore; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.1/4 with an encore. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2 with an encore.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.

[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.

[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.

[05/19/26 - 02:01 PM]
Netflix Viewership Peaks with Nearly 17 Million Global Viewers for MVP MMA's Rousey vs. Carano, Averaging 12.4 Million Viewers Across the Triple Main Event
In the US, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million viewers during Rousey vs. Carano.

[05/19/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 11 - "The Roast of Kevin Hart" Heats Up to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
True crime audiences also streamed the second season of "Worst Ex Ever," which rose to the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.1 million views.

[05/19/26 - 07:07 AM]
TNT Sports Posts Its Most-Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Ever
Thursday's Game 5 of the Montreal/Buffalo series averaged 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched, Second Round, Game 5 on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/18/26 - 04:03 PM]
"The Rookie" Season 8 Finale Surges to Over 9 Million Total Viewers
Setting new records with its exceptional momentum this season, "The Rookie" finale earned an all-time streaming high for the series based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.

[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.

[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.

[05/13/26 - 07:56 AM]
ESPN Networks Delivered Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Ever with Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever on May 9
ESPN today announced that the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever matchup on May 9 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game across ESPN networks ever.

[05/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 4 - The Critters of "Swapped" Soar to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The pursuit of justice is action-packed in "Man on Fire," which set the English TV list ablaze at No. 1 with 12.6 million views.