or


[05/19/16 - 08:43 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "Empire" Rises with Its Season Finale
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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/18/16):

FOX (7.735 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) was the demo champ once again on Wednesday with a new "Rosewood" (4.692 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8) and the season finale of "Empire" (10.778 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.0, #1).

CBS (8.655 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #2) then claimed the silver with the finale to "Survivor: Kaoh Rong" (9.566 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) alongside the "Survivor: Kaoh Rong Reunion" (6.835 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6).

Next up was ABC (5.394 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with the season finales of "The Middle" (6.668 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #5), "The Goldbergs" (6.322 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #4), "Modern Family" (6.789 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T2) and "Black-ish" (5.090 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6) plus a new "Nashville" (3.748 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11).

Meanwhile, NBC (5.450 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up originals from "Heartbeat" (3.844 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.626 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #10) and "Chicago PD" (6.882 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T8).

And finally, new episodes of "Arrow" (2.152 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) and "Supernatural" (1.917 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13) on The CW (2.035 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+27.27% - Rosewood
+11.11% - Empire
0.00% - Survivor: Kaoh Rong
0.00% - Modern Family
0.00% - The Goldbergs
0.00% - The Middle
0.00% - Chicago PD
0.00% - Arrow
0.00% - Heartbeat
0.00% - Supernatural
-6.25% - Black-ish
-11.11% - Nashville
-14.29% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):

+233.33% - Empire (vs. MasterChef)
+166.67% - Arrow (vs. Supernatural (Repeat))
+50.00% - The Goldbergs (vs. 500 Questions)
+33.33% - The Middle (vs. 500 Questions)
+16.67% - Rosewood (vs. MasterChef)
0.00% - Chicago PD
0.00% - Supernatural
-4.55% - Survivor: Kaoh Rong
-4.55% - Modern Family
-6.25% - Black-ish
-11.76% - Survivor: Kaoh Rong Reunion
-14.29% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-20.00% - Nashville (vs. Celebrity Wife Swap)
-36.36% - Heartbeat (vs. The Mysteries of Laura)

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," 2.5/6; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.6/4; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 0.3/1; 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 0.4/2 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" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/20/15):

CBS (8.987 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) was the network to beat on the final night of May sweeps with the season finale of "Survivor: Worlds Apart" (9.406 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) followed by the "Survivor: Worlds Apart Reunion" (6.890 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3).

ABC (4.871 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then fell to second place despite the premiere of "500 Questions" (5.031 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), the season finales of "Modern Family" (7.114 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T1) and "Black-ish" (5.392 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4) plus the return of "Celebrity Wife Swap" (3.329 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10).

Next up was NBC (7.227 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with the season finales of "The Mysteries of Laura" (7.256 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (7.235 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5) and "Chicago PD" (7.192 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T5).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.335 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) served up the season premiere of "MasterChef" (3.335 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

And finally, a repeat "Supernatural" (1.074 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and the season finale of "Supernatural" (1.782 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11) on The CW (1.428 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the former delivered a 0.3 rating while the latter posted a 0.6 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+10.00% - The Mysteries of Laura
0.00% - Survivor: Worlds Apart
-6.67% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-12.50% - Chicago PD
-12.50% - Supernatural
-18.52% - Modern Family
-23.81% - Black-ish

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+40.00% - Supernatural (vs. The 100)
+23.08% - Black-ish (vs. Mixology)
+11.11% - Celebrity Wife Swap (vs. Motive)
0.00% - The Mysteries of Laura (vs. Revolution)
-12.00% - Survivor: Worlds Apart
-12.50% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-12.50% - Chicago PD
-15.00% - Survivor: Worlds Apart Reunion
-38.46% - 500 Questions (vs. The Middle/The Middle)
-38.89% - Modern Family
-53.85% - MasterChef (vs. American Idol)

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," 2.0/5; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 9.3/24; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/3 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.8/4; "Late Show," 2.8/14; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/2 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 0.8/2 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" (1.0/3 in metered-market households) trailed CBS's "Late Late Show with James Corden" (2.6/10, delayed by a "Late Show" overrun). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) trailed "Late Late Show" (0.8/6 delayed by a "Late Show" overrun).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 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





  [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
[11/06/26 - 10:56 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late-Night
"20/20: Justice for Faith" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 25-54 (437,000) and Adults 18-49 (341,000) on October 30.

[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.

[11/04/26 - 03:37 PM]
Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers, Becomes Most-Watched ESPN-Only "Monday Night Football" Game Since 2019
Bears-Seahawks is also "Monday Night Football's" third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).

[11/04/26 - 12:31 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Hits Season High with Host Inde Navarrette and Musical Guest Gracie Abrams
It was also the top Peacock performance of the season and best since March 14, 2026, with host and musical guest Harry Styles.

[11/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 26
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Helluva Boss" led all original series worldwide.

[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).

[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.

[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.

[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.

[10/31/26 - 10:48 AM]
USA Sports Delivers 1.5 Million Viewers for Valkyries-Dream Game 6 Thursday Matinee
USA Sports' Game 6 coverage delivered the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game on cable on record.

[10/30/26 - 08:57 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: Help Dale Find Dee" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/29/26 - 03:25 PM]
Champions at Last: 14.2 Million Viewers Projected for FOX Sports' Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers World Series Clinch
13,476,000 viewers tuned in for World Series Game 4 presented by Capital One across FOX and FOX Deportes.

[10/29/26 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Thursday Returns Strong with "9-1-1" and "9-1-1: Nashville" Rising Over Previous Season Averages
The Season 10 debut of "9-1-1" (8 p.m.) earned 8.14 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, based on Nielsen's competitive multiplatform measurement.

[10/28/26 - 03:31 PM]
Cowboys-Eagles on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 18.8M Viewers
Seven weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 26% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19M viewers.

[10/28/26 - 11:30 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Hits All-Time Series High
This season to date, "The Drew Barrymore Show" averaged 1.90 million total viewers, up +36% year over year.