or


[09/21/15 - 08:28 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC, NFL Holds Off FOX, Emmys
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 (9/20/15):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to NFL coverage, Fast Nationals for FOX from 7-8p and NBC for the night are approximate.]

NBC (7:30-11P) (21.121 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 7.7, #1) was still the network to beat on Sunday with its mix of "Football Night in America #1" (8.727 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.8, #7), "Football Night in America #2" (13.212 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 4.6, #5), "Football Night in America #3" (19.844 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 7.0, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (22.958 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.5, #1).

The silver then went to FOX (12.577 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) and its combination of "NFL Overrun" (22.455 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 8.0, #2), "The OT" (15.920 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 5.6, #4) and "The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards" (10.373 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 3.2, #6).

Next up was CBS (5.633 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its quartet of "60 Minutes" (8.754 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9), "Big Brother 17" (6.767 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #8), "Madam Secretary" (3.589 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11) and "CSI: Cyber" (3.422 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.690 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #10), "Once Upon a Time" (1.845 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13), another "Once Upon a Time" (1.562 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) and yet another "Once Upon a Time" (1.536 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) on ABC (2.158 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Football Night in America #1
+1.45% - Football Night in America #3
-7.61% - Sunday Night Football
-8.00% - Football Night in America #2
-18.18% - Big Brother 17

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+109.09% - Football Night in America #2
+75.00% - Football Night in America #1
+40.00% - Football Night in America #3
+18.06% - Sunday Night Football
-15.79% - The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (vs. The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards (on 8/25/14))
-50.00% - Big Brother 17 (vs. 60 Minutes)


Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/21/14):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to NFL coverage, Fast Nationals for FOX from 7-7:30p and CBS/NBC for the night are approximate; CBS' NFL game ended at 8:04p, with their prime entertainment lineup sliding.]

NBC (14.310 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1) was the demo champ on Sunday with its usual lineup of "Football Night in America #1" (5.264 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7), "Football Night in America #2" (5.970 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.2, #5), "Football Night in America #3" (13.083 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 5.0, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (18.032 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 7.2, #2).

CBS (17.439 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.8, #2) however was the most-watched network thanks to a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (27.347 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.3, #1) followed by "60 Minutes" (18.174 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.6, #4), the premiere of "Madam Secretary" (14.284 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #6) and the return of "The Good Wife" (9.951 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10).

Next up was FOX (2.729 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with repeats of "Bob's Burgers" (2.240 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), "The Simpsons" (2.190 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T13), another "The Simpsons" (3.068 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10), "Family Guy" (2.846 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10), another "Family Guy" (3.062 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and the TBS-bound "American Dad" (2.967 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8).

And finally, ABC (3.064 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) closed out the evening with its all-repeat lineup of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.845 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #15), "Once Upon a Time" (2.672 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #16), "Resurrection" (2.511 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T17) and "Revenge" (2.230 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T17).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 2015]  
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
[10/21/26 - 04:01 PM]
USA Sports' Coverage of Dream-Valkyries Game 2 Is Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 2 Ever on Cable
Monday night's coverage averaged 1.33 million viewers across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network, CNBC and E!).

[10/21/26 - 03:15 PM]
It's Back to School at "Abbott Elementary" as Show Returns with Over 6 Million Total Viewers
The premiere episode scored the show's best streaming performance since Season 4, based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[10/21/26 - 02:31 PM]
Commanders-49ers on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 17.9 Million Viewers
Six weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 23% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19 million viewers.

[10/21/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 12
"Carrie," "Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," and "Sterling Point" led all original series worldwide.

[10/21/26 - 06:39 AM]
NFL Network's London Slate Culminates with 6.4M Viewers for Jaguars-Texans
Season to date, through three games in London, NFL Network is averaging 6.9M viewers, up 15% vs. the network's six-game International Series average last season.

[10/21/26 - 06:30 AM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 1 Ever
Led by Gabby Williams' 26 points, Golden State's 68-64 win over Atlanta peaked at 3.0 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 5:45 - 5:55 p.m. ET.

[10/20/26 - 03:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Its Third Most-Watched Regular-Season Episode Ever from BYU
ESPN networks had 3 of the top 4 games this week, the second most-watched regular season Saturday on record (based on minutes).

[10/20/26 - 03:08 PM]
Ohio State's Win Over Indiana Scores Most-Watched College Football Game of the Week
Viewership peaked at 14,269,000 viewers from 3:30-3:45 PM ET on FOX.

[10/20/26 - 12:54 PM]
"Lioness" Roars to Record-Breaking Season Three
Viewership climbed every week of the eight-episode season, culminating in a series-record finale, which drew 9.7 million viewers in its first seven days, the largest audience for any episode in the show's history.

[10/20/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 12 - Get the Ransom Ready: "Animals" Takes the No. 1 Spot for a Second Week
"Below" stayed at the top of the English TV list with 21.2 million views - the highest viewership in a single week for a Canadian original title.

[10/19/26 - 10:19 AM]
2026 NLCS on FOX & FS1 Pulls in Best Average Viewership for an LCS on Any Network Since 2015
On FS1, Game 4 averaged 6,135,000 viewers.

[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.