or


[01/22/21 - 09:26 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC's Game Shows Hold Off Competition
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 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/21/21):

ABC (4.352 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) was still the network to beat on Thursday with its trio of "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" (6.093 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1), "The Chase" (4.307 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "The Hustler" (2.656 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8).

A close second was FOX (2.483 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) with its mix of "Hell's Kitchen" (2.470 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), "Call Me Kat" (2.452 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Last Man Standing" (2.541 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11).

Next up was CBS (4.009 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with the return of "Young Sheldon" (7.149 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1), "B Positive" (5.035 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Mom" (4.916 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and "The Unicorn" (3.454 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) plus "Star Trek: Discovery" (1.748 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.084 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) offered up its lineup of "Mr. Mayor" (3.091 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8), "Superstore" (2.155 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.633 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and "Dateline NBC" (2.996 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15).

And finally, The CW (1.574 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) closed out the night with the premiere of "Walker" (2.431 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T11) alongside the return of "Legacies" (0.717 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Star Trek: Discovery
+20.00% - B Positive
+20.00% - Mom
+14.29% - Young Sheldon
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen
0.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
0.00% - Mr. Mayor
0.00% - Call Me Kat
0.00% - The Unicorn
-12.50% - The Chase
-16.67% - The Hustler
-20.00% - Last Man Standing
-20.00% - Superstore
-25.00% - Dateline NBC
-27.27% - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Walker (vs. Supernatural)
+50.00% - B Positive (vs. The Unicorn (Repeat))
+50.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Will & Grace/Perfect Harmony)
+20.00% - Mom (vs. Young Sheldon (Repeat))
+14.29% - Young Sheldon (vs. Young Sheldon (Repeat))
0.00% - Call Me Kat (vs. Deputy)
0.00% - Legacies
-6.67% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. Last Man Standing/Outmatched)
-20.00% - The Unicorn (vs. Mom (Repeat))
-20.00% - Last Man Standing (vs. Deputy)
-25.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-28.57% - Mr. Mayor (vs. Superstore)
-33.33% - Star Trek: Discovery (vs. The Gayle King Grammy Special)
-33.33% - Superstore (vs. The Good Place)
-33.33% - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (vs. Station 19)
-37.50% - The Hustler (vs. A Million Little Things)
-50.00% - The Chase (vs. Grey's Anatomy)


Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/23/20):

ABC (5.943 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) pulled into the top spot on Thursday with the return of "Station 19" (6.981 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2), "Grey's Anatomy" (6.648 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) and "A Million Little Things" (4.200 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3).

The silver went to FOX (3.508 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) with a new "Last Man Standing" (4.445 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T3), the premiere of "Outmatched" (3.233 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5) and a new "Deputy" (3.178 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9).

Next up was CBS (3.788 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with repeats of "Young Sheldon" (5.584 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5), "The Unicorn" (3.800 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13), another "Young Sheldon" (4.116 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) and "Mom" (3.973 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) plus "The Gayle King Grammy Special" (2.627 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.225 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) served up originals from "Superstore" (2.733 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T5), "The Good Place" (2.106 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) and "Will & Grace" (2.302 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) alongside the season finale of "Perfect Harmony" (1.420 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T15) and a repeat "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2.394 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13).

And finally, fresh installments of "Supernatural" (1.015 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17) and "Legacies" (0.718 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17) closed out the night on The CW (0.867 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Will & Grace
+20.00% - The Good Place
+16.67% - Superstore
+7.69% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. 11/21/19)
0.00% - Last Man Standing
0.00% - A Million Little Things (vs. 11/21/19)
0.00% - Perfect Harmony
0.00% - Legacies
-16.67% - Deputy
-33.33% - Supernatural

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Last Man Standing (vs. Gotham)
+33.33% - A Million Little Things (vs. How to Get Away with Murder)
+27.27% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. A Million Little Things)
+16.67% - Outmatched
-25.00% - Station 19 (vs. Grey's Anatomy)
-28.57% - Deputy (vs. The Orville)
-33.33% - Legacies
-41.67% - Superstore (vs. The Titan Games)
-50.00% - Will & Grace (vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
-50.00% - The Good Place (vs. The Titan Games)
-50.00% - Supernatural
-50.00% - The Gayle King Grammy Special (vs. SWAT (Repeat))
-62.50% - Perfect Harmony (vs. The Good Place)

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
[01/13/26 - 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.

[01/06/26 - 03:00 PM]
Record-Setting Season as "Sunday Night Football" on NBC and Peacock Averages 23.5 Million Viewers & Paces as Primetime's #1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
"Sunday Night Football" averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 23.5 million viewers for the 2025 season.

[01/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 29 - "Stranger Things 5" Concludes Right Side Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series "Run Away," centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her.