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





  [october 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
[10/14/26 - 04:10 PM]
Nebraska Volleyball Serves Up a Big Saturday on FOX
Nebraska's 3-0 win averaged 945,000 viewers on FOX.

[10/14/26 - 03:50 PM]
Indiana's Win Over Nebraska Scores 6,734,000 Viewers on FOX
"Big Noon Saturday" peaked at 9,623,000 viewers.

[10/14/26 - 03:04 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Record Pace as ESPN College Football Delivers Historic Week 6 Audiences
ABC scored its most-watched college football tripleheader of the season with 8.5 million viewers, led by Georgia-Alabama (12.2 million) and Oklahoma-Texas (9.8 million) - both record-setting rivalry audiences.

[10/14/26 - 02:50 PM]
26,697,000 Viewers for "America's Game of the Week" Highlight FOX NFL's Week 5
Said coverage was the most watched telecast of the week on any network.

[10/14/26 - 02:44 PM]
FOX Scores Most-Watched LCS Game 1 on Any Network Since 2005
10,719,000 viewers tuned in Sunday night for NLCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes.

[10/14/26 - 11:31 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 5
"Carrie," "Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," and "Sterling Point" led all original series worldwide.

[10/14/26 - 07:29 AM]
ESPN Delivers Sixth Straight Year of Television Viewership Growth, Up 10% in Fiscal Year 2026
ESPN and ESPN on ABC each posted 11% year-over-year growth in total viewership, while ESPN2 increased 3%.

[10/12/26 - 03:33 PM]
ESPN's "Saban" Delivered Its Most-Watched Original Debut Since 2022
The premiere averaged 529,000 viewers on ESPN on Thursday, October 8, making it the most-watched original debut on ESPN since 2022 and third most-watched ESPN original debut of all time.

[10/08/26 - 03:32 PM]
CBS All-"NCIS" Tuesday Premieres +39% Higher Than Last Year
"NCIS," the series premiere of "NCIS: New York," and "NCIS: Origins" were the night's top three most-watched scripted broadcast programs.

[10/08/26 - 02:26 PM]
ABC News Wins in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20: Home Alone" ranked as the Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 on Friday, October 2.

[10/08/26 - 11:25 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Leads Late Night with Live Shows from Brooklyn Academy of Music
The series topped late-night for the second week in a row this season, scoring 2.66 million Total Viewers and a 0.27 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/07/26 - 02:01 PM]
UPtv Is the Fastest Growing Cable Network in 2026
Fueling UPtv's impressive growth are hit series "Hudson & Rex," UP Faith & Family original series "Blue Skies," which just wrapped its impressive cable debut, and acquired fan-favorite series "The Rookie."

[10/07/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 28
"Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," "Sterling Point," and "El Juicio" led all original series worldwide.

[10/07/26 - 10:08 AM]
ESPN Studio Shows Continue Record Run with Strong September Audiences
Across ESPN's studio programming, average September viewership increased 7% year over year, continuing the strong audience trends seen throughout 2026.

[10/06/26 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Season-High Viewership from Iowa City
Plus: ABC won the Saturday noon and primetime windows in Week 5.