or


[10/01/20 - 08:20 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Demos with NBA Finals
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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/30/20):

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

ABC (4.781 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) pulled into the top demo spot on Wednesday thanks to "Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night" (4.159 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3), "NBA Countdown" (3.303 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5) and "NBA Finals, Game 1" (5.306 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1).

FOX (5.429 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) had to settle for the silver with its duo of "The Masked Singer" (6.478 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) and "I Can See Your Voice" (4.380 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3).

Next up was CBS (2.748 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) and its mix of "Big Brother 22" (4.211 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), the season finale of "Love Island" (2.018 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #7) and "48 Hours Suspicion" (2.013 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.134 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) opted for repeats of "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.443 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8), another "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.079 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Weakest Link" (1.879 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10).

And finally, the series finale of "The 100" (0.629 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) and a repeat "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.498 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #13) rounded out the night on The CW (0.563 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - The 100
+21.43% - The Masked Singer
0.00% - I Can See Your Voice
-9.09% - Big Brother 22
-16.67% - Love Island
-25.00% - 48 Hours Suspicion

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+37.50% - I Can See Your Voice (vs. Almost Family)
0.00% - The 100 (vs. iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1)
-10.53% - The Masked Singer
-16.67% - Big Brother 22 (vs. Survivor: Island of the Idols)
-28.57% - Love Island (vs. SEAL Team)
-46.15% - NBA Finals, Game 1 (vs. 5/30/19)
-47.62% - Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night (vs. 5/30/19)
-50.00% - 48 Hours Suspicion (vs. SWAT)
-54.55% - NBA Countdown (vs. 5/30/19)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/2/19):

FOX (4.852 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) was still the network to beat among adults 18-49 on Wednesday with week two of "The Masked Singer" (6.753 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) and the premiere of "Almost Family" (2.951 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8).

NBC (7.040 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then was the silver draw with its trio of "Chicago Med" (7.553 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), "Chicago Fire" (7.570 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) and "Chicago PD" (5.996 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5).

Next up was CBS (5.267 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) with a new "Survivor: Island of the Idols" (6.503 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) followed by the season premieres of "SEAL Team" (5.227 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T11) and "SWAT" (4.071 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.803 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3) offered up originals from "The Goldbergs" (4.305 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T5), "Schooled" (3.385 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8), "Modern Family" (4.301 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3), "Single Parents" (2.922 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8) and "Stumptown" (3.954 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T11).

And finally, The CW (0.886 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening with its annual special "iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1" (0.886 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - Single Parents
+10.00% - Modern Family
0.00% - Survivor: Island of the Idols
0.00% - Chicago Fire
0.00% - Chicago Med
0.00% - The Goldbergs
0.00% - Schooled
0.00% - Stumptown
-9.09% - Chicago PD
-24.00% - The Masked Singer

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1 (vs. Burden of Truth/Supergirl (Repeat))
+26.67% - The Masked Singer (vs. Empire)
-12.50% - Stumptown (vs. A Million Little Things)
-12.50% - SEAL Team
-14.29% - SWAT (vs. Criminal Minds)
-15.38% - Chicago Fire (vs. Chicago Med)
-16.67% - Chicago PD
-20.00% - Survivor: Island of the Idols
-21.43% - Modern Family
-23.08% - Chicago Med (vs. Chicago Fire)
-23.08% - The Goldbergs
-27.27% - Single Parents
-27.27% - Schooled (vs. American Housewife)
-33.33% - Almost Family (vs. Star)

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," 1.7/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.4/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/3; "Late Show," 0.4/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline," averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.1/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.0/4. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.2/2 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

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
[01/16/26 - 01:08 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night - Scoring Largest Viewership in Over 7 Months
For the second week in a row, "20/20" posted Total Viewers increases versus the previous week and the corresponding year-ago telecast.

[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[01/13/26 - 03:02 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Semifinals Averaging 14.9 Million Viewers, On Par with 2024-25 Season
The Peach Bowl (Oregon vs. Indiana) drew 18 million viewers on average, while the Fiesta Bowl (Miami vs. Ole Miss) scored 15.8 million viewers.

[01/13/26 - 02:30 PM]
FOX Sports Holds Winning Hand Leading All Networks in Viewership on Wild Card Weekend
41 million viewers watched FOX Sports' presentation of Sunday's NFC Wild Card Round showdown featuring the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

[01/13/26 - 02:26 PM]
31.61 Million Viewers for Packers-Bears Playoff on Prime Video Shatters NFL Streaming Record
According to Amazon first-party viewership data, Packers-Bears attracted the most concurrent viewers and highest single-day global viewership in the history of Prime Video.

[01/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 5 - "People We Meet on Vacation" Takes a Trip to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In addition to a will they, won't they romance, viewers were sucked into the he said, she said intrigue of "His & Hers," putting the thriller series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.9 million views.

[01/12/26 - 10:30 AM]
ESPN Studio Shows' Deliver Records, Multiyear Highs in 2025
ESPN's daily sports studio shows enjoyed remarkable viewership success in 2025, with "Get Up," "First Take" and "The Pat McAfee Show" delivering their most-watched years ever and "SportsCenter" (6 p.m. ET) delivering its most watched year in a decade.

[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
WWE by the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
In 2025, Netflix members watched 525M hours of WWE content.

[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.