or


[05/18/20 - 08:28 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with "American Idol" Finale
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 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/17/20):

ABC (5.695 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its mix of "AFV@Home" (4.618 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), the season finale of "American Idol" (7.265 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) and the special "Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert" (3.632 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

FOX (2.339 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was the silver draw with its lineup of "NASCAR Overrun" (5.839 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1), a repeat "Bob's Burgers" (2.277 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and the season finales of "The Simpsons" (1.890 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Duncanville" (1.208 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10), "Bob's Burgers" (1.326 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) and "Family Guy" (1.491 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

Next up was CBS (5.102 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and its mix of "60 Minutes" (9.688 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), the feature "Mission: Impossible" (3.903 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10) and a repeat "Man with a Plan" (1.928 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.028 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up "Little Big Shots" (2.143 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12), "Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina" (1.949 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12) and "The Wall" (2.071 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12).

And finally, closing out the night were the season finales of "Batwoman" (0.752 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16) and "Supergirl" (0.627 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16) on The CW (0.689 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Supergirl
+33.33% - Duncanville
+25.00% - Bob's Burgers
+20.00% - The Simpsons
0.00% - American Idol
0.00% - 60 Minutes
0.00% - Family Guy
0.00% - Little Big Shots (vs. 5/3/20)
0.00% - Batwoman
-40.00% - The Wall (vs. 5/3/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - The Simpsons (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
+25.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
+25.00% - Family Guy (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
0.00% - Supergirl (vs. Charmed)
0.00% - Duncanville (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
0.00% - AFV@Home (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos)
-12.50% - 60 Minutes
-23.08% - American Idol
-33.33% - Batwoman (vs. Supergirl)
-40.00% - Little Big Shots (vs. Ellen's Game of Games (Repeat))
-40.00% - The Wall (vs. Good Girls)
-57.14% - Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina (vs. Dateline NBC)
-61.54% - Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert (vs. American Idol)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/19/19):

ABC (7.183 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) was the top demo draw on Sunday thanks to the season finales of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.608 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "American Idol" (7.708 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1).

NBC (3.425 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was the number two network with its mix of a repeat "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.624 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (4.304 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "Good Girls" (2.466 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was CBS (5.025 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with its finale lineup of "60 Minutes" (8.207 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2), "The Red Line" (3.658 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), another "The Red Line" (3.105 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and "NCIS: Los Angeles" (5.130 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.117 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) opted for repeats of "The Simpsons" (0.839 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), "Family Guy" (0.869 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and the feature "Hotel Transylvania 2" (1.249 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8).

And finally, The CW (0.827 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night with the season finales of "Supergirl" (1.054 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and "Charmed" (0.600 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2/10/19)
+25.00% - Good Girls
+18.18% - American Idol
+14.29% - 60 Minutes
0.00% - The Red Line - 9:00
0.00% - Supergirl
0.00% - Charmed
-16.67% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-25.00% - The Red Line - 8:00
-30.00% - America's Funniest Home Videos

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+21.50% - American Idol (vs. American Idol/Deception)
0.00% - 60 Minutes
-16.67% - NCIS: Los Angeles (vs. Madam Secretary)
-22.22% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-62.50% - The Red Line - 9:00 (vs. NCIS: Los Angeles)
-62.50% - The Red Line - 8:00 (vs. NCIS: Los Angeles)
-66.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2018 Billboard Music Awards)
-76.19% - Good Girls (vs. 2018 Billboard Music Awards)

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.