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
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.

[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[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.