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





  [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
[10/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
Brewers Triumph on FS1 Delivers Most-Watched LCS Game 3 Telecast Since 2016
On FS1, Game 3 averaged 6,460,000 viewers.

[10/16/26 - 11:45 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scores with Show's "Super Bowl Night"
In fact, among Adults 18-49, "Dancing with the Stars" grew for the fourth telecast in a row, hitting a season high and posting the show's best non-finale episode in over nine years.

[10/16/26 - 10:42 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late Night
"20/20: Born to Kill" ranked as Friday's No.1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/15/26 - 02:55 PM]
Super Bowl Season Success: Bills-Rams Thriller Propels "Monday Night Football" to Best Five-Week Start of ESPN Era
The matchup featuring the NFL's two most recent MVPs averaged 19.8 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, NFL Network and ESPN Deportes.

[10/15/26 - 02:46 PM]
NLCS Game 2 on FOX/FS1: Most-Watched LCS Game 2 on Any Network Since 2016
On FOX/FS1, the game averaged 6,921,000 viewers.

[10/15/26 - 02:35 PM]
NHL on Frozen Frenzy on ESPN Delivers Double-Digit Increases
The tripleheader averaged 600,000 viewers, up 31% from a year ago.

[10/15/26 - 10:29 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Playoffs Ever!
Across eight games, ESPN networks averaged 1.4 million viewers, up 23% compared to coverage through the semifinals last year.

[10/15/26 - 08:00 AM]
CBS Wins Its Premiere Week with Eight of the Top 10 Broadcast Shows and Delivers +9% Year-Over-Year Growth
Weekly viewership averaged 4.43 million viewers, growing +9% from its 2025 premiere week (4.08m viewers).

[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%.