or


[03/21/20 - 08:45 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Snaps FOX's Demo Win Streak
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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/20/20):

ABC (5.073 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) pulled in front on Friday with its duo of "Shark Tank" (5.969 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) and "20/20" (4.626 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2).

FOX (2.563 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) had to settle for second with its weekly "WWE SmackDown" (2.563 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2).

Next up was NBC (4.462 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) with the return of "The Blacklist" (5.391 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) plus a new "Dateline NBC" (3.997 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5).

Meanwhile, CBS (5.316 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) opted for repeats of "MacGyver" (5.388 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5), "Hawaii Five-0" (5.410 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7) and "Blue Bloods" (5.148 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #8).

And finally, The CW (0.756 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) likewise served up second runs of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.871 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.619 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.665 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - The Blacklist (vs. 12/13/19)
+37.50% - Shark Tank
+16.67% - Dateline NBC
+14.29% - 20/20
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Blindspot)
+100.00% - Shark Tank (vs. Fresh Off the Boat/Speechless)
+33.33% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+27.27% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - 20/20


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/22/19):

CBS (4.876 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) cruised to victory on Friday with night two of its "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament" (6.201 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) coverage followed by a second game from the "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament" (3.551 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2).

ABC (4.154 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then was the silver draw with its trio of "Fresh Off the Boat" (3.019 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6), "Speechless" (2.499 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "20/20" (4.851 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

Next up was FOX (3.418 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with fresh installments from "Last Man Standing" (4.939 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3), "The Cool Kids" (3.857 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) and "Proven Innocent" (2.438 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.597 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up originals from "Blindspot" (3.049 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10), "The Blacklist" (4.138 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (3.603 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8).

And finally, The CW (0.543 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the evening with new episodes of "Dynasty" (0.629 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (0.456 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Dynasty
+20.00% - The Blacklist
+14.29% - 20/20
0.00% - Last Man Standing
0.00% - The Cool Kids
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Speechless
0.00% - Proven Innocent
0.00% - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
-20.00% - Blindspot

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - 20/20 (vs. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD/20/20)
+50.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Taken)
+50.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Once Upon a Time)
+25.00% - Speechless (vs. Once Upon a Time)
+12.50% - Last Man Standing (vs. MasterChef Junior)
0.00% - Dynasty
0.00% - Proven Innocent (vs. 9-1-1 (Repeat))
-12.50% - The Cool Kids (vs. MasterChef Junior)
-16.67% - Dateline NBC
-33.33% - Blindspot
-50.00% - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (vs. Jane the Virgin)

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," 1.9/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.4/4 with an encore delayed by NCAA basketball; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/5 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/2; "Late Show," 0.4/3 with an encore delayed by NCAA basketball; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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 with an encore in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 0.8/3 with an encore delayed by NCAA basketball. 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 delayed by NCAA basketball.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 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





  [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
[01/09/26 - 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.

[01/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 29 - "Stranger Things 5" Concludes Right Side Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series "Run Away," centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her.

[01/05/26 - 02:34 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on ESPN Score 19.3 Million Average Viewers; CFP Up YOY Through Two Rounds
The Rose Bowl (Indiana vs. Alabama) topped all coverage with 23.9 million viewers on average.

[01/05/26 - 01:30 PM]
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Delivers Record-Breaking Performance in 2025 Across Linear and Social
In addition, the award-winning franchise landed the #1 spot among cable late-night series on Mondays in 2025 among P18-34 and P18-49.

[01/05/26 - 09:49 AM]
Prime Video Delivers "Thursday Night Football's" Most-Watched Season Ever
The 2025 season averaged 15.33 million viewers throughout its 15-game campaign, marking a +16% increase over the 2024 season and the third-consecutive year of double-digit, year-over-year viewership growth.

[01/02/26 - 03:45 PM]
"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" Rises to Four Year High Reaching 30 Million Total Viewers at Midnight
The telecast averaged 18.8 million total viewers in the 11:30pm-12:30am hour alone.

[01/02/26 - 09:49 AM]
FOX NFL's Week 17 "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top with 28.8 Million Viewers
The Eagles-Bills close finish marked FOX's second most-watched telecast of the regular season.

[12/31/25 - 12:46 PM]
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-Vikings Becoming the Most-Streamed NFL Game in US History
Said coverage averaged 27.5 million viewers in the US, with US viewership peaking at over 30 million viewers.