or


[01/18/16 - 09:13 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NFL Playoffs Give Big Boost to CBS
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 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/17/16):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS (7-8p) and approximate.]

CBS (20.077 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) got a huge boost on Sunday with a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (40.607 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.0, #1) followed by new episodes of "60 Minutes" (20.272 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.7, #2), "Madam Secretary" (11.340 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) and "The Good Wife" (8.091 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7).

NBC (7.219 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then was a distant second place with its mix of "Dateline NBC" (5.562 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "Dateline NBC" (5.879 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10) and the "Democratic Presidential Primary Debate" (8.718 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Next up was FOX (2.793 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and its combination of a "The Simpsons" (1.965 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12) repeat alongside the return of "Bob's Burgers" (2.276 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and originals from "The Simpsons" (4.000 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life" (2.546 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Family Guy" (3.399 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6) and "Bordertown" (2.569 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8).

And finally, new episodes of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.744 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "Galavant" (2.509 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T15), another "Galavant" (2.123 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T15) and repeats of "Quantico" (1.339 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.3, #18) and another "Quantico" (1.592 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.4, #17) on ABC (2.498 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
487.50% - 60 Minutes
100.00% - Madam Secretary
30.00% - The Good Wife
0.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. 11/15/15)
0.00% - America's Funniest Home Videos
0.00% - Galavant - 8:00
0.00% - Galavant - 8:30
-20.00% - Family Guy
-25.00% - Bordertown
-57.14% - Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life
-73.13% - The Simpsons

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+90.00% - Democratic Presidential Primary Debate (vs. Bridesmaids (Repeat))
+50.00% - The Simpsons (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
+45.45% - Family Guy (vs. Family Guy (Repeat))
+33.33% - Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life (vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Repeat))
+20.00% - Bordertown (vs. Bob's Burgers (Repeat))
+14.29% - Dateline NBC - 7:00
+10.00% - Dateline NBC - 8:00 (vs. Bridesmaids (Repeat))
0.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
-11.11% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-33.33% - Galavant - 8:00
-33.33% - Galavant - 8:30
-61.79% - 60 Minutes (vs. AFC Championship)
-69.77% - The Good Wife (vs. AFC Championship Post-Game/Scorpion)
-83.74% - Madam Secretary (vs. AFC Championship)


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/18/15):

CBS (31.579 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.3, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its coverage of "AFC Championship" (37.323 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.3, #1), the "AFC Championship Post-Game" (17.987 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.6, #2) and a special "Scorpion" (10.712 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3).

FOX (2.866 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "NFL Overrun/Mulaney" (4.344 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) followed by repeats of "The Simpsons" (2.616 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7), another "The Simpsons" (3.093 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2.267 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Family Guy" (2.511 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #6) and "Bob's Burgers" (2.365 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7).

Next up was NBC (3.550 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and its duo of "Dateline NBC" (4.231 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15) and the feature "Bridesmaids" (3.323 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7).

And finally, ABC (3.847 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) closed out the evening with "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.788 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Galavant" (3.418 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), another "Galavant" (3.333 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Resurrection" (3.215 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15) and "Revenge" (4.009 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - Revenge
-12.50% - Resurrection
-18.18% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-25.00% - Galavant - 8:30
-30.77% - Galavant - 8:00

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - Revenge (vs. Betrayal)
+12.50% - America's Funniest Home Videos
0.00% - Galavant - 8:30 (vs. The Bachelor Love Stories)
0.00% - Galavant - 8:00 (vs. The Bachelor Love Stories)
-46.15% - Resurrection (vs. Revenge)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2016]  
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
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.

[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.

[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.

[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.