or


[05/08/16 - 09:03 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with NBA Playoffs
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/7/16):

ABC (4.191 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (3.810 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Portland" (4.267 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

NBC (3.000 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then snagged the silver with its primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.437 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (2.127 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Next up was CBS (3.505 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with repeats of "Scorpion" (2.605 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Criminal Minds" (3.003 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) alongside a new "48 Hours" (4.909 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally on FOX (0.996 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4), encores of "Houdini & Doyle" (1.168 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "American Grit" (0.825 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) closed out the night.

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

· The May 7 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Brie Larson and musical guest Alicia Keys, averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.9/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Excluding the April 23 tribute telecast to Prince, last night's "Saturday Night Live" scored the show's highest metered-market household rating since Feb. 13 (4.4 with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Kanye West) and equaled its highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters, again excluding the April 23 tribute to Prince, since that Feb. 13 edition (2.3).

· "Saturday Night Live" rose +11% versus the show's May 2015 average for originals in metered-market households (4.1 vs 3.7 for May 2015) and was up +6% versus the May 2015 average in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.9 vs. 1.8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +50% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.87 to 2.80) and +2.171 million persons in total viewers (6.193 million to 8.364 million).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/9/15):

ABC (3.974 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday thanks to its "NBA Countdown" (3.096 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) and coverage of "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Memphis" (4.150 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

CBS (4.227 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.576 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "Criminal Minds" (3.658 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) plus a new "48 Hours" (5.448 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was NBC (2.098 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) with encores of "The Voice" (1.951 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.394 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4).

And finally, FOX (1.335 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) closed out the evening with second runs of "Hell's Kitchen" (1.002 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Bones" (1.668 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7).

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

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Reese Witherspoon and musical guest Florence + the Machine (3.7 rating, 10 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets, 2.0/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters) matched the show's highest 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters since Jan. 31 (2.1/10 with host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D'Angelo and The Vanguard), equaling over that span the April 4 telecast (with host Michael Keaton and musical guest Carly Rae Jepsen, 2.0/9) and the March 7 edition (2.0/10 with host Chris Hemsworth and musical guest Zac Brown Band). In metered-market households, it's the top "SNL" since April 11 (3.8/10 with host Taraji P. Henson and musical guest Mumford & Sons).

· This week's "SNL" is the #1 non-sports telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and adults 18-49 in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime entertainment programs on those networks in both measures.

· Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is virtually matching the year-ago telecast in metered-market households (3.7/10 vss. 3.8/10 on May 10, 2014) and is up +11% in 18-49 in the Local People Meters (2.0/9 vs. 1.8/8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals this season growing by an average of +43% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" in national adult 18-49 rating (from a 1.91 rating to a 2.74).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[05/26/26 - 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.

[05/19/26 - 02:01 PM]
Netflix Viewership Peaks with Nearly 17 Million Global Viewers for MVP MMA's Rousey vs. Carano, Averaging 12.4 Million Viewers Across the Triple Main Event
In the US, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million viewers during Rousey vs. Carano.

[05/19/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 11 - "The Roast of Kevin Hart" Heats Up to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
True crime audiences also streamed the second season of "Worst Ex Ever," which rose to the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.1 million views.

[05/19/26 - 07:07 AM]
TNT Sports Posts Its Most-Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Ever
Thursday's Game 5 of the Montreal/Buffalo series averaged 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched, Second Round, Game 5 on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/18/26 - 04:03 PM]
"The Rookie" Season 8 Finale Surges to Over 9 Million Total Viewers
Setting new records with its exceptional momentum this season, "The Rookie" finale earned an all-time streaming high for the series based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.

[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.