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





  [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
[10/08/26 - 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.

[10/06/26 - 02:50 PM]
FOX NFL Scores 19,149,000 Viewers in Week 4 Singleheader
Coverage was up +7% over last year's comparable delivery.

[10/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 28 - "East of Eden" Triumphs to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" claimed the No. 2 spot on the list with 5.7 million views, with a total of 32.3 million cumulative views in the three weeks since its debut.

[10/06/26 - 10:15 AM]
CBS Media Ventures Claims 8 of the Top 10 Most-Watched First-Run Syndicated Strips This Season
"The Drew Barrymore Show" delivered its highest season premiere ever in total viewers, up 21% versus last season's premiere.

[10/02/26 - 04:16 PM]
USA Sports' Fever-Aces Game 3 Coverage on USA Network and CNBC Averages 2.25 Million Viewers; Second-Best First Round Game on Record
Viewership of Fever-Aces on USA Network and CNBC peaked at 2.7 million viewers in the 11:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[10/02/26 - 02:49 PM]
Yankees Sweep of Red Sox on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched First Two Games of MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2004
The audience for Wednesday's night's Game 2 peaked at 9.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.

[10/01/26 - 02:39 PM]
NHL on ESPN Opens Season with Year-Over-Year Viewership Growth
The Panthers-Hurricanes matchup averaged 859,000 viewers, up 16% from a year ago.

[10/01/26 - 02:18 PM]
Tuesday's Red Sox-Yankees on NBC & Peacock Is Most-Watched Game 1 Among MLB Wild Card or Division Series Since 2006
Coverage averaged 7.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[10/01/26 - 08:35 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Kicks Off Season 39 with Best Premiere Week in Three Years
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 189 consecutive weeks (more than three years) across all key measures.