or


[09/20/20 - 09:23 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Stays in Front with "Saturday Night Football"
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 seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/19/20):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

ABC (3.418 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) held onto the top spot on Saturday with its telecast of "Saturday Night Football" (3.418 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1).

NBC (1.654 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) was the silver draw with its primetime portion of the "Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas at Tampa Bay" (1.784 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) and "SNL Vintage" (1.395 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3).

Next up was CBS (1.622 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3) and its mix of "Magnum P.I." (1.700 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3), "Love Island: More to Love" (0.865 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.1, #7) and "48 Hours" (2.302 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3).

And finally, FOX (1.147 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3) closed out the night with "MLB on FOX" (1.147 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

TBA


Here are the highlights of the seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/21/19):

CBS (8.906 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) surged to the top spot on Saturday with its special primetime coverage of "College Football: Notre Dame at Georgia" (8.906 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1).

ABC (3.457 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then had to settle for second with its weekly "Saturday Night College Football" (3.457 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2).

Next up was NBC (2.159 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with repeats of "America's Got Talent" (1.778 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T5) and "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.922 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3).

And finally, FOX (0.850 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night with repeats of "The Simpsons" (0.686 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T5), "Bob's Burgers" (0.575 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T5) and "The Masked Singer: Super Sneak Peek" (1.068 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· A Sept. 21 encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Adam Sandler and musical guest Shawn Mendes, has averaged a 2.4 rating, 7 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 0.7/5 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 2.4 in metered-market households is the show's highest overnight rating since June 22 (2.4 for an encore hosted by Paul Rudd with musical guest DJ Khaled). The last time "SNL" topped last night's 2.4 rating was June 1 (2.5 with host Emma Thompson and musical guest Jonas Brothers).

· The 0.7 in 18-49 is "SNL's" high since June 1 (0.7 with Emma Thompson and Jonas Brothers). The last time an 11:30 "SNL" rebroadcast topped a 0.7 in 18-49 in the local people meters was March 23 (with host and musical guest Halsey, 0.8)

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.