or


[01/09/21 - 05:53 PM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Splits Demos with ABC
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/8/21):

CBS (5.712 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) was the top draw on Friday thanks to the return of "MacGyver" (5.062 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Magnum P.I." (5.662 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (6.410 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

ABC (3.874 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its own return of "Shark Tank" (4.440 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) and "20/20" (3.591 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was FOX (2.003 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with its latest installment of "WWE SmackDown" (2.003 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.558 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up encores of "Mr. Mayor" (2.874 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7), another "Mr. Mayor" (2.191 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (2.571 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

And finally, The CW (0.795 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with the season premiere of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.849 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.818 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and the return of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.757 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Shark Tank (vs. 12/11/20)
+50.00% - 20/20 (vs. 12/11/20)
+25.00% - MacGyver (vs. 12/18/20)
+20.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. 12/18/20)
+20.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. 12/18/20)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Shark Tank (vs. American Housewife/Fresh Off the Boat)
0.00% - 20/20
-14.29% - Blue Bloods
-14.29% - Magnum P.I.
-37.50% - MacGyver (vs. Hawaii Five-0)
-37.50% - WWE SmackDown
-42.86% - Dateline NBC
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))
-50.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Repeats))


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/10/20):

FOX (2.502 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was back in front among adults 18-49 with its weekly telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.502 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1).

A close second went to CBS (7.513 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with originals from "Hawaii Five-0" (7.601 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1), "Magnum P.I." (7.065 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "Blue Bloods" (7.874 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

Sharing the silver was NBC (4.176 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with the debut of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (4.388 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) followed by "Dateline NBC" (4.070 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.106 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up repeats of "American Housewife" (3.415 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.294 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9) plus a two-hour "20/20" (3.231 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (1.087 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.738 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.668 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) rounded out the night on The CW (0.895 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Dateline NBC
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Blue Bloods
-11.11% - Hawaii Five-0
-12.50% - Magnum P.I.
-14.29% - 20/20

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. MacGyver)
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-12.50% - Blue Bloods
-20.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
-22.22% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[11/13/26 - 02:55 PM]
NBA on ESPN November 11 Doubleheader Delivered 1.8M Viewers, Up 29 Percent from Last Year
The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks matchup averaged 1.9 million viewers, while the Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets matchup averaged 1.7 million viewers.

[11/13/26 - 09:54 AM]
Star-Studded "Grammy Night" on "Dancing with the Stars" Shoots to Season Highs Ahead of Semi-Finals
In fact, "Dancing with the Stars" stood as the No. 1 program overall on Tuesday among Adults 18-49 (1.59 rating).

[11/13/26 - 08:42 AM]
ABC News Wins Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"Nightline" was up over the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[11/12/26 - 02:30 PM]
NBC Sports' "Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" Highlighted by Celtics-76ers Delivers NBA's Largest Pre-Christmas, Non-NBA Tip-Off Tuesday Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.7 million from 8:45-9:00 p.m. ET during Boston-Philadelphia.

[11/11/26 - 04:44 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Ranks No. 1 in Late Night Every Week This Season
On Tuesday, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" marked the midterm elections with a special airing that garnered 2.38 million Total Viewers and shot to a 0.32 rating among Adults 18-49.

[11/11/26 - 03:22 PM]
Bills-Vikings Draws 21.7M Viewers, ESPN's Most-Watched Week 9 Game Ever
Nine weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 19 million viewers, up 24% from the same point in the 2025 season.

[11/11/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of November 2
"The Terminal List," "Campus Drivers," "Carrie," "Reacher," and "The Greatest" led all original series worldwide.

[11/11/26 - 09:30 AM]
The 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on The CW Network Delivers Strongest Viewership in Five Years
Coverage averaged 1,044,000 total viewers for all 33 races, per Nielsen Panel + Big Data.

[11/11/26 - 08:27 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Reaches Two-Year High with Host Druski and Musical Guest The Strokes
The 5.6 million topped the previous week's telecast of 5.2 million viewers, which at that point was the best of the season.

[11/10/26 - 03:19 PM]
Madrid Finale Culminates NFL Network's Most-Watched International Series Slate
Sunday's Cincinnati Bengals-Atlanta Falcons game from Bernabéu Stadium averaged 6.2 million viewers on NFL Network and NFL+.

[11/10/26 - 03:10 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Records Fifth-Most-Watched Episode of All Time
ESPN networks delivered three of the weekend's top five games, including the top game of the week for the eighth time this season.

[11/10/26 - 03:01 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" Delivers 25.7 Million Viewers for Packers' Dominant Win Over Patriots
Said coverage was the most-watched telecast of the week on any network.

[11/10/26 - 02:51 PM]
Notre Dame Victory Over No. 1 Miami Is Third Most-Watched Primetime Game in 35 Years of Fighting Irish Football on NBC
The audience for the Fighting Irish's 31-24 victory over No. 1 Miami peaked at 12 million viewers in the fourth quarter (11 p.m.-11:10 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame held off the Hurricanes' last-minute touchdown attempt to seal the win.

[11/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 2 - "A Dog's Perfect Christmas" Unwraps the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Taken: Natalee Holloway" premiered in the No. 1 spot of the English TV list, gathering 12.9 million views.

[11/09/26 - 10:58 AM]
76ers-Pistons November 4 Matchup Delivered 2M Viewers on ESPN, Up 47 Percent from Last Year
The audience peaked with 2.6M viewers during the 9:45 p.m. ET quarter hour.