or


[08/01/20 - 08:40 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "WWE SmackDown" Puts FOX on Top in Demos
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (7/31/20):

FOX (1.892 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) held onto the demo crown on Friday with its latest edition of "WWE SmackDown" (1.892 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1).

CBS (3.196 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) was the top draw in total viewers with its mix of "The Greatest #AtHome Videos" (3.276 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and repeats of "Magnum P.I." (3.069 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.243 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.725 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with encores of "The Wall" (2.255 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (2.960 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

ABC (2.521 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) likewise opted for rebroadcasts of "Shark Tank" (2.779 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) and "20/20" (2.393 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

And finally, The CW (0.539 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (0.559 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), another "Masters of Illusion" (0.494 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.545 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.559 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+33.33% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. Love Island)


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/2/19):

NBC (2.835 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) was the network to beat on Friday with its weekly rebroadcast of "American Ninja Warrior" (2.573 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) and a new "Dateline NBC" (3.361 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1).

ABC (1.909 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) then was the silver draw with the penultimate "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (2.152 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) followed by the season finale of "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (1.691 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and a repeat "20/20" (1.884 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was CBS (2.629 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) with a new "Love Island" (1.982 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) alongside repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (2.560 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.344 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.514 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) offered up encores of "First Responders Live" (1.659 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "MasterChef" (1.368 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, new episodes of "Masters of Illusion" (0.823 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #11) and "The Big Stage" (0.653 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) plus a repeat "The Outpost" (0.398 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) rounded out the evening on The CW (0.568 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Dateline NBC
+25.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
0.00% - Love Island
-33.33% - Masters of Illusion
-50.00% - The Big Stage

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - 8:00 (vs. Quantico)
0.00% - Masters of Illusion (vs. Masters of Illusion (Repeat))
0.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - 9:00 (vs. What Would You Do?)
-16.67% - Dateline NBC
-50.00% - Love Island (vs. TKO: Total Knock Out)
-66.67% - The Big Stage (vs. Masters of Illusion (Repeat))

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," 1.5/4 with an encore telecast; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.7/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 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 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.2/1 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.3/2 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 0.9/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 0.9/3 in metered-market households with an encore; CBS's "Late Late Show," 0.8/3 with an encore. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.2/2 in 18-49 with an encore; "Late Late Show," 0.1/1 with an encore.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.5/2 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.1/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [april 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
[04/17/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 on Sunday Morning and Friday Night
For the third week in a row, "20/20" built on its year-ago telecast in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[04/16/26 - 10:36 AM]
"American Idol" Rocks to a 5-Week High
Among Adults 18-49, "American Idol" grew over the prior week, delivering its best performance in 7 weeks.

[04/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
HBO Originals "Euphoria" and "DTF St. Louis" Viewership Performance
"Euphoria" made its much-anticipated season 3 return to amass 8.5 million U.S. viewers in its first three days of availability.

[04/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ESPN Delivers Second Most-Watched WNBA Draft Ever
Said coverage averaged 1.50 million viewers, up 20% year-over-year.

[04/15/26 - 12:49 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched NHL on TNT Regular Season
All in, NHL coverage across TNT Sports' networks reached 20.4 million viewers this season, up 37% vs. last season.

[04/15/26 - 11:38 AM]
ESPN's Most-Watched NBA Regular Season in Seven Years
Through 80 telecasts, the 2025-26 NBA regular season on ABC & ESPN averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 11 percent from last season (1.7M viewers).

[04/15/26 - 09:30 AM]
CBS Series Deliver Strong Results vs. Broadcast and Streaming Originals in Live Plus 28-Day Multiplatform Viewership
CBS series make up six of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition - more than any broadcast competitor, according to Nielsen.

[04/15/26 - 06:32 AM]
Unscripted Prank Comedy Series "Foul Play with Anthony Davis" Scores Strong Premiere Performance with Triple Digit Gains for TBS on Monday, April 6
Following the NCAA Championship Game, the premiere reached a combined 2 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV.

[04/14/26 - 03:45 PM]
With Nearly 10 Million Viewers, ABC News' Special Live Coverage of Artemis II's Return, Anchored by David Muir, Is #1 Across the Board
Said coverage more than doubled NBC and CBS and eclipsed the combined viewership of CNN, Fox News and MS NOW.

[04/14/26 - 03:05 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Most-Watched Baseball Telecast of the Week
2,131,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX's Saturday baseball coverage for a two-game slate highlighted by Boston's 7-1 victory over St. Louis in most of the country.

[04/14/26 - 01:48 PM]
NBA's Return to NBC Sports Is a Viewership Triumph
The combined viewership for NBC Sports' NBA coverage for games on NBC/Peacock on Sunday and Tuesday nights - plus five Monday games - averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.8 million viewers, up 109% vs. comparable coverage last season.

[04/14/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 6 - "Thrash" Shows Its Teeth, Swimming to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The the docuseries "Trust Me: The False Prophet" premiered at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.8 million views.

[04/13/26 - 11:01 AM]
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Delivers Its Highest Rated Quarter Among P18-49 Since 2017 and Most Social Quarter in Franchise History
Jon Stewart's Monday night episodes lead the charge with the highest ratings for the franchise while the News Team including, Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Desi Lydic delivered notable YoY growth.

[04/13/26 - 07:00 AM]
Multiple ESPN Studio Shows Surge to Record First Quarter Viewership
Overall, the shows averaged 485K viewers during Q1, an increase of 14% over the first quarter of 2025.

[04/09/26 - 04:17 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Builds on Momentum from "Countdown to the Oscars" - Scores Big with Show's Post-Oscars Week
"Live with Kelly and Mark" has now delivered four straight weeks of growth among Women 25-54, with the strongest performance in that key demo in 15 weeks.