or


[11/28/20 - 08:32 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Leads the Night for NBC
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 (11/27/20):

NBC (3.246 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) was the top overall draw on Friday with its mix of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (3.736 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Illumination Presents Minions Holiday Special" (3.229 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) and a repeat "Dateline NBC" (3.127 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

FOX (1.987 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (1.987 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

Next up was ABC (2.463 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) and its duo of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (2.787 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) and "20/20" (2.301 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

Meanwhile, CBS (2.487 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up its lineup of "Frosty the Snowman" (3.021 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3), "Frosty Returns" (2.267 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "CBS Sunday Morning: The Pet Project" (2.134 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (2.683 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9).

And finally, The CW (0.919 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with the Thursday-bound "World's Funniest Animals" (1.022 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12), a repeat "World's Funniest Animals" (1.017 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (0.818 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - World's Funniest Animals
-16.67% - WWE SmackDown
-20.00% - 20/20

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+40.00% - Illumination Presents Minions Holiday Special (vs. The National Dog Show Presented by Purina (Repeat))
-25.00% - CBS Sunday Morning: The Pet Project (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-28.57% - WWE SmackDown
-33.33% - 20/20
-50.00% - World's Funniest Animals (vs. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/29/19):

FOX (2.336 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) won the demo race on Friday with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.336 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

CBS (3.839 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) then was the most-watched network with its mix of "Frosty the Snowman" (4.043 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (3.453 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3), "Hawaii Five-0" (3.405 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Blue Bloods" (4.365 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8).

Next up was ABC (3.336 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with originals from "American Housewife" (2.873 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.080 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "20/20" (3.766 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.175 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) offered up highlights from "The National Dog Show Presented by Purina" (3.305 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) plus a new "Dateline NBC" (2.916 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

And finally, a repeat of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" (0.941 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) and the new special "Penn & Teller: Merry Fool Us" (0.834 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) on The CW (0.887 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat
-12.50% - WWE SmackDown
-16.67% - American Housewife

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+9.09% - 20/20 (vs. Child Support (Repeat)/20/20)
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - American Housewife (vs. Child Support)
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Merry Fool Us (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-20.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Child Support)
-22.22% - WWE SmackDown (vs. CFB on FOX)

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

TBA

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
[04/16/26 - 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.

[04/09/26 - 02:16 PM]
Women Drive the Housemaid to Record-Numbers as Starz's Best-Performing Pay 1 Film Ever
It debuted on April 1 on the Starz app, all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms as part of Starz's multi-year theatrical film agreement with Lionsgate.