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
[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.

[09/22/26 - 02:34 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Scores Regular Season High 27,212,000 Viewers in Week 2
Said coverage was up +8% vs. last year's full season average of 25,269,000 viewers.

[09/22/26 - 02:17 PM]
Colts-Chiefs Overtime Thriller Is Most Watched Week 2 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2015, Averaging 24.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Colts-Chiefs peaked at 27.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[09/22/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 14 - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" Holds No. 1 for a Second Week
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.

[09/22/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Dateline" Is the #1 Friday Newsmagazine in Both Key Demos for Second Consecutive Broadcast Season
The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season.

[09/21/26 - 07:02 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 "Two-Night Premiere: Night 2" Swings to 6.44 Million Total Viewers as the Ladies Take Their Turn in the Ballroom
"Dancing with the Stars" ranked as TV's No. 1 show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on both Tuesday and Wednesday across all entertainment programming.

[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[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.