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





  [september 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
[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.

[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.

[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" debuted at the top of the English film list, gathering 19.3 million views for its lakeside destination wedding.

[09/14/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN Aces Its Most-Viewed US Open Women's Semifinals Action Ever, Averaging 2.2M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 2.6M avg. viewers (9:45-10 p.m. ET) during Coco Gauff's three-set showdown against Elena Rybakina.

[09/14/26 - 11:57 AM]
NFL Gameday in Melbourne on Netflix Scores With an Average 18.5 Million US Viewers for First-Ever NFL Regular Season Game in Australia
Globally, the historic matchup averaged 21.7 million viewers, with fans from over 200 countries and territories tuning in to the first-ever NFL regular season game played in Australia.

[09/14/26 - 09:50 AM]
NFL Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock Featuring Patriots-Seahawks Tops 25 Million Viewers for Fourth Consecutive Year
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.

[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.

[09/09/26 - 03:52 PM]
"College GameDay" Wins Week 1 With Top-Three Regular Season Show on Record
Coverage of Clemson/LSU was the top Saturday game of Week 1.

[09/09/26 - 03:30 PM]
ESPN's US Open Coverage Is Most-Viewed Since 2022 Through Third Round
The full-tournament average so far is up 5% over 2025 and the most viewed since 2022, the year of Serena Williams' final match before her return this year.