or


[03/06/21 - 10:11 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, FOX Claim Demo Honors
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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/5/21):

ABC (3.795 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and FOX (2.166 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared the demo crown on Friday as the former offered up new episodes of "Shark Tank" (4.465 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) and "20/20" (3.460 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) while the latter served up a new installment of "WWE SmackDown" (2.166 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was CBS (5.251 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with originals from "MacGyver" (4.360 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5), "Magnum P.I." (5.378 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) and "Blue Bloods" (6.016 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.785 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) aired new episodes of "The Blacklist" (3.147 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) and "Dateline NBC" (2.605 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5).

And finally, The CW (0.741 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.748 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.790 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.712 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Dateline NBC
+20.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Shark Tank
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. 2/19/21)
0.00% - The Blacklist
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway?
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us
-20.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. 2/12/21)
-20.00% - MacGyver (vs. 2/19/21)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Repeats))
-12.50% - Shark Tank
-14.29% - WWE SmackDown
-14.29% - 20/20
-16.67% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0)
-33.33% - Dateline NBC
-33.33% - Blue Bloods
-33.33% - MacGyver
-40.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector)
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/6/20):

ABC (4.354 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) shared in the demo honors with new episodes from "Shark Tank" (4.372 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) and "20/20" (4.345 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

FOX (2.453 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) likewise led the adults 18-49 race with "WWE SmackDown" (2.453 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

Next up was CBS (6.618 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) and its trio of "MacGyver" (5.646 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4), "Hawaii Five-0" (6.905 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) and "Blue Bloods" (7.304 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.743 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up new episodes of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (3.709 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #8) and "Dateline NBC" (3.760 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4).

And finally, The CW (0.711 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) opted for repeats of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.843 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.543 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.614 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) to round out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector
+20.00% - Dateline NBC
+16.67% - 20/20
+14.29% - Shark Tank
0.00% - MacGyver
-12.50% - WWE SmackDown
-14.29% - Blue Bloods (vs. 2/14/20)
-14.29% - Hawaii Five-0

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Shark Tank (vs. Fresh Off the Boat/Speechless)
+16.67% - 20/20
+16.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+9.09% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-33.33% - Blue Bloods
-33.33% - Hawaii Five-0
-50.00% - MacGyver (vs. CBS News Special: The Gayle King Interview with R. Kelly)

Source: Nielsen Media Research, ShowBuzzDaily.com





  [july 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
[07/16/26 - 01:09 PM]
Messi Shines, FOX Sports is Golden with Record-Breaking England-Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal
15.063 million viewers watched Lionel Messi and Argentina knock out England in the semifinal Wednesday afternoon on FOX.

[07/16/26 - 12:03 PM]
Paramount+ Reaches Nearly 16M Viewers for UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2, Peaking with Record-Breaking 8M Streams in U.S. and Latin America
The main event concluded in 69 seconds as Max Holloway secured a first-round TKO against Conor McGregor, whose return from a five-year layoff ended after he suffered an early knee injury.

[07/16/26 - 11:00 AM]
ESPN Delivers Strongest First Half Viewership Performance Since 2012 Across Television Networks
Fans consumed a combined 288 billion minutes of sports content across ESPN and ESPN on ABC during Nielsen's first half 2026 calendar period.

[07/15/26 - 01:01 PM]
"The Five Star Weekend" Is the #1 Original Scripted Launch in Peacock's History
Off to a five star start.

[07/15/26 - 12:50 PM]
FOX Sports Secures Most-Watched FIFA Men's World Cup Semifinals Telecast in English-Language U.S. History
11.462 million viewers watched Spain knock out France in the semifinal Tuesday afternoon on FOX.

[07/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of July 6
"Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," "Clarkson's Farm," and "The Boys" led all original series worldwide.

[07/15/26 - 08:28 AM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Game of 2026 Season with Fever-Aces on "Sunday Night Basketball"
The July 12 game averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.64 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in primetime.

[07/14/26 - 05:18 PM]
ESPN Delivers Its Second Most-Watched Wimbledon Coverage
Saturday's Wimbledon Ladies Championship, a three-set victory for No. 9 Linda Noskova over No. 10 Karolina Muchova, averaged 1.9 million viewers, an increase of 48% compared to last year and ranking as ESPN's most-viewed women's championship ever.

[07/14/26 - 03:38 PM]
FOX Sports Continues to Smash Records - 15.644 Million Average Viewers for FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarterfinals - Best in English-Language U.S. History
21.796 million viewers watched Norway-England Saturday on FOX.

[07/14/26 - 02:03 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Largest Final Round Audience for American Century Championship Celebrity Tournament Since 2004
The final round audience averaged 1.5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[07/14/26 - 01:21 PM]
9.5 Billion Social Views and Counting: FOX Sports Driving Record-Breaking Social Viewership Around FIFA World Cup 2026
3.3 billion total minutes have been consumed of FIFA World Cup 2026 content across FOX Sports social channels.

[07/14/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of July 6 - Enola Holmes Cracks the Case, Holding No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"I Will Find You" topped the English TV list for a fourth week in a row, earning 11.5 million views.

[07/14/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Big Brother" Delivers Most-Watched Premiere Since 2021
On social media, the premiere was the most-engaged and most-viewed premiere since 2020.

[07/13/26 - 01:10 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Top Two Most-Watched FIFA Men's World Cup Quarterfinals Telecasts in English-Language U.S. History
19.481 million viewers watched Norway-England; while 15.967 million viewers tuned into Argentina-Switzerland.

[07/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Delivers Its Highest-Rated Second Quarter Among Persons 18-49 in Nine Years
Jon Stewart's Monday night episodes led the charge with the highest ratings for the franchise.