or


[08/04/14 - 08:33 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NFL Kicks Off Preseason on Top
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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/3/14):

NBC (6.697 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its presentations of "Wrestlemania 30" (3.901 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) and the "NFL Hall of Fame Game" (7.628 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1).

CBS (6.160 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then claimed a distant second place with its mix of "60 Minutes" (7.798 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7), "Big Brother 16" (6.672 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2), "Unforgettable" (5.765 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7) and "Reckless" (4.403 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T13).

Next up was ABC (3.885 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) and its combination of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.830 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7), "Wipeout" (3.650 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11) and a special two-hour "Rising Star" (3.530 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "American Dad" (1.289 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15), "Bob's Burgers" (1.433 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T13), "The Simpsons" (2.292 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #6), another "The Simpsons" (2.418 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3), "Family Guy" (2.524 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T3) and another "American Dad" (2.113 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7) on FOX (2.012 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T3) closed out the night.


Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/4/13):

NBC (7.962 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) was the top draw on Sunday with its mix of "America's Got Talent" (4.618 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6), "NFL Pre-Season Pre-Game" (9.972 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) and "NFL Pre-Season: Cowboys vs. Dolphins (Hall of Fame Game)" (8.898 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.3, #2).

The silver then went to CBS (6.568 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) with its lineup of "60 Minutes" (8.115 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), "Big Brother 15" (6.779 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3), "Unforgettable" (6.956 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8) and "The Mentalist" (4.423 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15).

Next up was FOX (2.451 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) and its all-repeat lineup of "American Dad" (1.385 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16), "The Simpsons" (1.886 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12), another "The Simpsons" (2.697 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7), "Bob's Burgers" (2.453 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Family Guy" (3.054 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #5) and another "Family Guy" (3.231 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4).

And finally, ABC (3.794 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) closed out the night with a repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.213 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T12) followed by the return of "Secret Millionaire" (5.018 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), a new "Whodunnit?" (3.022 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and a repeat of "Castle" (2.922 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #17).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Big Brother 15
-7.69% - Unforgettable
-9.09% - Whodunnit?

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+140.00% - Unforgettable (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
+50.00% - Secret Millionaire
+42.86% - Whodunnit? (vs. Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition)
+4.76% - Big Brother 15
-67.62% - NFL Pre-Season Pre-Game (vs. 2012 Summer Olympics)
-68.57% - NFL Pre-Season: Cowboys vs. Dolphins (Hall of Fame Game) (vs. 2012 Summer Olympics)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [august 2014]  
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
[12/08/25 - 11:30 AM]
College Football on The CW Network Sees Double Digit Year-Over-Year Viewership Gains for 2025 Season
ACC football experienced the largest year-over-year growth, up 26% in total audience compared to 2024.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.

[12/04/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores 4.36 Million Viewers on FOX
The 2025 season was "Big Noon Kickoff's" most-watched season in history.

[12/04/25 - 02:41 PM]
18.4M Viewers Tuned in for Ohio State-Michigan on FOX
Ohio State's win over Michigan scored 18,424,000 viewers on FOX.

[12/04/25 - 02:28 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix on ESPN2
The November 30 telecast earned an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience ever to watch the event on U.S. television.

[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.

[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.

[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).

[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.

[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.