or


[02/29/16 - 09:13 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Wins Big with "88th Annual Academy Awards"
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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (2/28/16):

ABC (28.088 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.3, #1) was of course the network to beat on Sunday with its primetime coverage of the "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet" (21.965 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.9, #2) and "The 88th Annual Academy Awards" (31.762 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.7, #1).

CBS (4.912 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then was a distant second place with encores of "60 Minutes" (6.495 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5), another "60 Minutes" (5.679 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5) and the feature "Last Vegas" (3.737 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T10).

Next up was NBC (3.311 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) and its duo of "Dateline NBC" (5.611 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) and "Ted" (1.931 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T10).

And finally, FOX (1.691 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) closed out the night with its repeat lineup of "The Simpsons" (1.786 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7), "Bob's Burgers" (1.740 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7), another "The Simpsons" (2.196 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4), "Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life" (1.345 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T12), "Family Guy" (1.688 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Bordertown" (1.391 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T12).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
N/A

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-5.83% - The 88th Annual Academy Awards (on 2/22/15)
-6.79% - Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet (on 2/22/15)


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/1/15):

FOX (4.078 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) pulled into the top demo spot on Sunday with its mix of a "The Simpsons" (2.511 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T14) repeat followed by new episodes of "Bob's Burgers" (2.979 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.4, #9), "The Simpsons" (3.973 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T4), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (3.635 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.8, #T4), the premiere of "The Last Man on Earth" (5.702 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1) and a second "The Last Man on Earth" (5.667 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.3, #T1).

ABC (5.705 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then claimed the silver with fresh installments from "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.379 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10) and "Once Upon a Time" (6.552 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) followed by the launch of "Secrets & Lies" (5.829 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7) and a second hour of "Secrets & Lies" (6.062 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T7).

Next up was CBS (10.362 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) with its lineup of "60 Minutes" (13.310 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6), "Madam Secretary" (11.417 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T10), "The Good Wife" (8.917 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #13) and the debut of "Battle Creek" (7.805 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T14).

And finally, an encore of "The Voice" (5.115 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.2, #12) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (3.851 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #16) closed out the evening on NBC (4.483 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Brooklyn Nine-Nine (vs. 2/15/15)
+100.00% - 60 Minutes
+63.64% - The Simpsons (vs. 2/15/15)
+55.56% - Bob's Burgers (vs. 2/15/15)
+29.41% - Once Upon a Time (vs. 12/14/14)
-7.14% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-15.38% - The Good Wife (vs. 1/11/15)
-23.53% - Madam Secretary (vs. 1/11/15)
-33.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. 1/25/15)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
N/A due to the Oscars a year ago

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
[12/17/25 - 01:30 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks #1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" also posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[12/17/25 - 06:42 AM]
Cricket Celebration Bowl Delivered Double-Digit Increases on ABC
Coverage averaged 2.3 million viewers with a peak of 3.0 million.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
FOX NFL Week 15 Scores 19.4 Million Viewers for "America's Game of the Week"
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is averaging 20,055,000 viewers; up +8% over last year's average (18,630,000) and its best since 2015.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
"CBS News Presents: A Town Hall with Erika Kirk" Boosts CBS' Time Period Performance in Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49
The special delivered 1.9 million viewers with 265,000 in the adults 25-54 demographic on Saturday, December 13.

[12/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 8 - "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" Cracks the Case at No. 1 in the Top 10
New comedy series "Man vs. Baby" took No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.1 million views, with the Rowan Atkinson vehicle eliciting laughs over the bumbling Trevor Bingley trying to earn money house-sitting for millionaires while a lost baby keeps him on his toes.

[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/12/25 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched Jimmy V Women's Classic Ever; Men's Classic Most-Watched in Five Years
The former averaged 1.0 million viewers, peaking with 1.3 million.

[12/11/25 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos
The series also saw gains on the same week last year in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[12/10/25 - 02:59 PM]
FOX NFL Scores Massive Week 14 Viewership
28 million viewers watched FOX Sports' Week 14 "America's Game of the Week," featuring the Green Bay Packers divisional win over the Chicago Bears.

[12/10/25 - 12:08 PM]
NBCU's November to Remember Showcases the Power of Company's Programming
"All Her Fault" became the most-watched original series launch in Peacock history with 46 million hours.

[12/10/25 - 09:54 AM]
ABC Unwraps Holiday Presentations of Fan Favorite Shows
"Dancing with the Holidays" was the top-performing holiday-themed special across the broadcast networks among Adults 18-49 in two years.

[12/09/25 - 04:11 PM]
"College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Conference Championship Episode Ever; ABC/ESPN Score Second Most-Watched Conference Championship Week Since 2014
The SEC Championship delivered 16.9 million viewers on Saturday, December 6.

[12/09/25 - 02:03 PM]
18.3 Million Viewers Tuned in for Big Ten Championship Game on FOX
Indiana's win peaked with 19,993,000 viewers from 11:00-11:15 PM ET.

[12/09/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 1 - "My Secret Santa" Sleigh Rides to No. 1 and "Stranger Things" Slays the Top 10 Again
The extensive four-part docuseries "Sean Combs: The Reckoning" grabbed the No. 2 spot on the TV list with 21.8 million views in its opening weekend.

[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.