or


[02/18/16 - 08:51 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Shares Demo Crown with ABC, 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 (2/17/16):

CBS (7.184 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) was the most-watched network on Wednesday thanks to the 90-minute launch of "Survivor: Kaoh Rong" (8.353 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3) followed by a repeat "The Big Bang Theory" (5.246 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10) and a new "Code Black" (6.399 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T10).

FOX (6.111 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) then shared in the demo honors with originals from "American Idol" (8.180 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) and "Hell's Kitchen" (4.042 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9).

ABC (5.513 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T1) likewise split the adults 18-49 crown with its lineup of "The Middle" (7.216 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "The Goldbergs" (6.297 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T3), "Modern Family" (7.396 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1), "Black-ish" (5.777 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #6) and "American Crime" (3.196 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T14).

Meanwhile, NBC (7.144 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4) offered up new episodes of "The Mysteries of Laura" (6.291 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.678 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7) and "Chicago PD" (7.462 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T7).

And finally, new episodes of "Arrow" (2.455 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #13) and "Supernatural" (2.003 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T14) on The CW (2.229 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+5.56% - The Middle
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen
0.00% - Arrow
0.00% - Supernatural
-4.76% - American Idol
-5.00% - The Goldbergs
-5.26% - Black-ish
-7.69% - Modern Family
-7.69% - Code Black
-11.11% - American Crime
-15.79% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-16.67% - The Mysteries of Laura
-20.00% - Chicago PD

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.86% - Survivor: Kaoh Rong (vs. The Mentalist)
+33.33% - Supernatural (vs. The 100)
0.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-5.88% - Chicago PD
-7.69% - Code Black (vs. Stalker)
-9.09% - The Mysteries of Laura
-13.64% - The Middle
-13.64% - The Goldbergs
-18.18% - Arrow
-18.18% - Black-ish
-20.00% - Modern Family
-25.93% - American Idol
-38.46% - American Crime (vs. Nashville)
-74.51% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. Empire)

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; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.1/5; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.1/6; "Late Show," 0.5/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 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 (2/18/15):

FOX (11.693 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday with a new "American Idol" (10.451 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.7, #3) and another series high from "Empire" (12.936 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.1, #1).

ABC (6.527 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) then took home the silver with its mix of "The Middle" (7.660 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4), "The Goldbergs" (6.829 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4), "Modern Family" (8.778 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2), "Black-ish" (6.475 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) and "Nashville" (4.712 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10).

Next up was NBC (6.373 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with fresh installments from "The Mysteries of Laura" (5.751 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (6.366 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.6, #8) and "Chicago PD" (7.002 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #7).

Meanwhile, CBS (9.157 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) served up a new "The Mentalist" (9.766 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10), the series finale of "The Mentalist" (10.536 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9) and a new "Stalker" (7.170 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10).

And finally, originals from "Arrow" (2.814 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T13) and "The 100" (1.546 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #15) closed out the evening on The CW (2.180 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the former delivered a 0.6 rating while the latter posted a 0.4 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+21.43% - Chicago PD
+14.29% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
+10.00% - Arrow
+8.51% - Empire
+4.76% - The Middle
0.00% - American Idol
0.00% - Black-ish
0.00% - The Mysteries of Laura
0.00% - The 100
-4.35% - The Goldbergs
-7.14% - Stalker
-7.14% - Nashville
-9.09% - Modern Family
-13.33% - The Mentalist

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+266.67% - Arrow (vs. Arrow (Repeat))
+214.29% - The Goldbergs (vs. Suburgatory)
+200.00% - The 100 (vs. The Tomorrow People (Repeat))
+160.00% - Nashville (vs. Nashville (Repeat))
+150.00% - Modern Family (vs. Modern Family (Repeat))
+144.44% - Black-ish (vs. Super Fun Night)
+120.00% - The Middle (vs. The Middle (Repeat))
+96.15% - Empire (vs. American Idol)
+44.44% - The Mentalist - 8:00 (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
+3.85% - American Idol
-35.00% - Stalker (vs. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
-41.67% - The Mentalist - 9:00 (vs. Criminal Minds)
-66.00% - Chicago PD (vs. 2014 Olympic Winter Games)
-68.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. 2014 Olympic Winter Games)
-78.00% - The Mysteries of Laura (vs. 2014 Olympic Winter Games)

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," 2.9/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.9/5.

·In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.3/6; "Late Show," 0.4/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

·From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.3/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 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" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.7/5 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

·At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [february 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
[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 02:56 PM]
Giants-Rams Becomes ESPN's Most-Watched Week 2 "Monday Night Football" Game Ever with 19.4 Million Viewers
Through the first two weeks, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 21.4 million viewers, up 29% compared to the first two weeks of the 2025 season.

[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.

[09/22/26 - 02:34 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Scores Regular Season High 27,212,000 Viewers in Week 2
Said coverage was up +8% vs. last year's full season average of 25,269,000 viewers.

[09/22/26 - 02:17 PM]
Colts-Chiefs Overtime Thriller Is Most Watched Week 2 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2015, Averaging 24.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Colts-Chiefs peaked at 27.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[09/22/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 14 - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" Holds No. 1 for a Second Week
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.

[09/22/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Dateline" Is the #1 Friday Newsmagazine in Both Key Demos for Second Consecutive Broadcast Season
The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season.

[09/21/26 - 07:02 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 "Two-Night Premiere: Night 2" Swings to 6.44 Million Total Viewers as the Ladies Take Their Turn in the Ballroom
"Dancing with the Stars" ranked as TV's No. 1 show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on both Tuesday and Wednesday across all entertainment programming.

[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.