or


[01/22/16 - 08:55 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "American Idol" Tops Viewers, Demos for FOX
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 (1/21/16):

FOX (9.281 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with a new "American Idol" (8.909 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) followed by a second hour of "American Idol" (9.654 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #1).

CBS (8.000 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then claimed the silver with a repeat of "The Big Bang Theory" (11.024 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #2) followed by new episodes of "Life in Pieces" (8.806 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.0, #4), "Mom" (8.510 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #5), "Angel from Hell" (7.015 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7) and "Elementary" (6.322 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10).

Next up was NBC (6.006 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with the finale to "Heroes Reborn" (3.790 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11) alongside originals from "The Blacklist" (7.295 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #6) and "Shades of Blue" (6.934 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T7).

Meanwhile, The CW (2.560 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) got a boost with the debut of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" (3.141 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9) and the season premiere of "The 100" (1.979 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13).

And finally, new episodes of "Beyond the Tank" (4.318 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T11), "My Diet Is Better Than Yours" (2.342 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) and another "My Diet Is Better Than Yours" (2.189 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) on ABC (2.949 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - My Diet Is Better Than Yours - 9:00
+10.00% - American Idol - 8:00
+8.70% - American Idol - 9:00
+7.69% - Angel from Hell
+7.69% - Shades of Blue
0.00% - Life in Pieces
0.00% - Mom
0.00% - The Blacklist
0.00% - Elementary
0.00% - Beyond the Tank
0.00% - Heroes Reborn
0.00% - My Diet Is Better Than Yours - 10:00

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+114.29% - The Blacklist (vs. Bad Judge/A to Z)
+75.00% - The 100 (vs. Reign)
+71.43% - DC's Legends of Tomorrow (vs. The Vampire Diaries)
+25.00% - American Idol - 9:00 (vs. Backstrom)
+25.00% - Beyond the Tank (vs. The Taste)
+20.00% - My Diet Is Better Than Yours - 10:00 (vs. How to Get Away with Murder (Repeat))
+7.69% - Shades of Blue (vs. Parenthood)
-12.50% - My Diet Is Better Than Yours - 9:00 (vs. The Taste)
-16.67% - Heroes Reborn (vs. The Biggest Loser)
-18.52% - American Idol - 8:00
-20.00% - Life in Pieces (vs. Mom)
-26.09% - Mom (vs. Two and a Half Men)
-26.32% - Angel from Hell (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
-26.67% - Elementary

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 3.0/8; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.1/5; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.0/5; "Late Show," 0.5/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show" (1.0/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/22/15):

FOX (9.256 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) claimed the top demo spot on Thursday with a new "American Idol" (10.535 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) followed by the premiere of "Backstrom" (7.978 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.0, #5).

CBS (9.512 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) then took home the silver with a repeat "The Big Bang Theory" (11.626 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #3) followed by new episodes of "Mom" (11.162 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) and "Two and a Half Men" (9.556 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.3, #4), another "The Big Bang Theory" (8.259 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.9, #6) repeat and a new "Elementary" (8.236 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7).

Next up was NBC (3.886 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its mix of "The Biggest Loser" (4.636 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #9), the departing "Bad Judge" (3.039 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10) and "A to Z" (2.142 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13) plus the penultimate week of "Parenthood" (4.433 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #8).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.778 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up the season finale of "The Taste" (3.026 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T10) alongside a repeat "How to Get Away with Murder" (2.283 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14).

And finally, the return of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.654 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) and "Reign" (1.254 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) closed out the evening on The CW (1.454 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 1.1 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Reign" a 0.6 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - A to Z
+17.39% - American Idol
+15.38% - Elementary
+14.29% - Bad Judge
+9.52% - Two and a Half Men
+9.09% - The Biggest Loser
+8.33% - Parenthood
+4.17% - Mom
-11.11% - The Taste
-12.50% - The Vampire Diaries (vs. 12/11/14)
-20.00% - Reign (vs. 12/11/14)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+31.58% - Mom (vs. The Millers (Repeat))
+25.00% - Elementary (vs. Elementary (Repeat))
+17.65% - Backstrom (vs. Rake)
+14.29% - Bad Judge (vs. The Michael J. Fox Show)
+4.35% - The Biggest Loser (vs. Community/Parks & Recreation)
0.00% - Parenthood
-4.17% - Two and a Half Men (vs. The Big Bang Theory (Repeat))
-14.29% - A to Z (vs. Sean Saves the World)
-18.18% - American Idol
-27.27% - The Taste
-36.36% - The Vampire Diaries
-42.86% - Reign

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

·In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 3.1/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.0/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/4.

·In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.2/6; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2.

·From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.1/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

·From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show" (1.0/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

·At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 with an encore in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

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
[10/23/26 - 03:54 PM]
ESPN's NBA Opening Wednesday Delivered Its Second-Largest Audience Ever
The Minnesota Timberwolves' victory over the Miami Heat averaged 2.52 million viewers, up 16% from last year's comparable game.

[10/23/26 - 03:25 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 3 Since 1999, Best Ever on Cable
1.71 million viewers on average tuned into Wednesday night's Game 3 coverage across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock.

[10/23/26 - 08:30 AM]
Record College Football Viewership Propels ESPN to Second Best Start Since 2011 with "College GameDay" on Track for Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks are averaging 2.2 million viewers across 120 games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU - the second-best start for ESPN since 2011.

[10/22/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: The Suitcase Murders" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/22/26 - 04:00 PM]
CBS Dominates Its Premiere Week in Seven-Day Multiplatform Viewership, Up +14% from Last Year, with Six Series Topping 10 Million Viewers
Among its broadcast competition, CBS claimed eight of the top 10 series.

[10/22/26 - 02:50 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most-Watched NBA Tip-Off Primetime Game Ever with 76ers-Knicks
Viewership peaked at 9.1 million - an NBA Tip-Off record - from 9:45-10:00 pm ET as the 76ers clinched the victory.

[10/22/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Waltzes to Season High During Heartfelt "Dedication Night" with 7.36 Million Total Viewers
The October 20 episode hit a season high with the show's best non-finale episode in six years.

[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.