or


[09/27/20 - 08:17 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: College Football Lifts ABC to Top Honors
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 (9/26/20):

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

ABC (2.629 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with another installment of "Saturday Night Football" (2.629 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

Second place went to NBC (2.166 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) with its coverage of the "Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas at Tampa Bay" (2.166 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2).

Next up was CBS (2.242 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) and its lineup of "Bull" (2.053 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3), "SWAT" (1.790 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) and "48 Hours" (2.882 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3).

And finally, FOX (1.318 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night with its regular season finale of "MLB on FOX" (1.318 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.2, #6).

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

TBA


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/28/19):

ABC (5.544 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) continued its reign on Saturday with its weekly installment of "Saturday Night College Football" (5.544 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

The silver then went to NBC (2.509 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) with its mix of "The Voice" (2.156 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.151 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) and "SNL Vintage" (2.220 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3).

Next up was FOX (1.952 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) and a special edition of "MLB on FOX" (1.952 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

And finally, CBS (2.593 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) closed out the night with encores of "Bob (Hearts) Abishola" (2.343 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "Carol's Second Act" (2.166 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "All Rise" (2.235 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) plus a new "48 Hours" (3.288 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

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

· The 45th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Woody Harrelson and featuring musical guest Billie Eilish, has averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.6/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The Sept. 28 edition maintains 100% of the show's season finale rating in the metered markets (4.1 vs. 4.1 on May 18), while growing +7% in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.6 vs. 1.5), to top three of the show's final four telecasts of last season.

· Versus all primetime entertainment programming so far on the Big 4 networks during Premiere Week, "Saturday Night Live" is tied for #6 in adults 18-49 in the local people meters, ranking behind only "The Masked Singer" (3.1), "This Is Us" (2.2), "9-1-1" (1.9), Monday's "The Voice" (1.7) and "Grey's Anatomy" (1.7).

· The year-ago season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" averaged a 4.8 in metered-market households and a 2.3 in 18-49.

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
[04/24/26 - 08:59 AM]
NBA Playoffs Return to NBC Sports Delivers Big Viewership Gains Over First Three Nights
NBC Sports' first six NBA Playoff games averaged 4.9 million viewers, up 38% vs. comparable coverage last year and the most-watched for the first Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights of the playoffs since 1994.

[04/23/26 - 03:13 PM]
"Euphoria" Season 3 Premiere Surpasses 20M Global Viewers, Up 68% vs. Season 2
Episode 2 matched the premiere with approximately 8.5 million U.S. viewers in its first three days.

[04/23/26 - 02:50 PM]
Goal! ESPN Airs Two Most-Viewed First Round Game 2's on Cable Ever, Continuing Successful Start to 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Monday's Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup (Game 2, 7 p.m. ET) delivered 1.6 million viewers and Tuesday's Boston Bruins-Buffalo Sabres matchup (Game 2, 7:30 p.m.) delivered 1.2 million viewers, setting the new Game 2 record.

[04/23/26 - 12:19 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched Match in LOVB Volleyball History to Cap Inaugural Season of Record Viewership on USA Network
The first Finals match on Thursday, April 16, which Salt Lake won 3-2 in a closely-contested fifth set, averaged 163,000 viewers, ranking as the most-watched LOVB game of all-time.

[04/22/26 - 01:00 PM]
ESPN Opens NBA Playoffs with Most-Watched Playoff Game of Opening Weekend
Saturday's Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup on ABC averaged 5.2 million viewers, peaking at 6.4 million viewers during the 11 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[04/22/26 - 11:07 AM]
NBC Sports' Manchester City-Arsenal Is Most-Watched Premier League Match in U.S. History
Coverage averaged 2.6 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and NBC Sports Digital platforms this past Sunday.

[04/22/26 - 09:32 AM]
Record Setter! ESPN Opens 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Three Most-Watched First Round Games on Cable Ever, Excluding Game 7's
The Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET) drew 2.1 million viewers, becoming the most-viewed First Round Playoff game ever on cable (excluding game 7's).

[04/22/26 - 08:51 AM]
"High Potential" Shoots to Six-Week High with Season Two Finale
On linear over seven days, the show earned 8.71 million Total Viewers and a 0.61 rating among Adults 18-49, also marking a six-week high in both measures and standing as the No. 1 show of the night.

[04/21/26 - 02:35 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Scores Double-Digit Year-Over-Year Growth
2,094,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX Saturday for a two-game slate highlighted by Atlanta's 3-1 victory over Philadelphia in most of the country.

[04/21/26 - 10:51 AM]
A New High! NHL on ESPN Networks Score Most-Viewed Regular Season of the Current Rights Deal
Individually, the NHL on ESPN averaged 602K viewers (38 games) and the NHL on ABC averaged 1.1 million viewers (16 games), both new highs in ESPN's current rights era.

[04/20/26 - 02:36 PM]
"The Pitt" Delivers Its Biggest Episode Yet, With the Season 2 Finale Reaching a Series-High 9.7 Million U.S. Viewers in Its First Weekend
The season is now averaging 15.4 million viewers, up 50% vs. Season 1, becoming the sixth current HBO Max series to surpass 15 million U.S. viewers.

[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.