or


[05/25/18 - 08:24 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Demos with "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" Special
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 (5/24/18):

ABC (4.916 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) got a boost on Thursday thanks to its two-hour special "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" (5.562 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2) followed by a new "What Would You Do?" (3.624 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4).

CBS (4.855 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then was the number two draw with its repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.709 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1), "Young Sheldon" (6.175 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T2), "Mom" (5.089 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4), "Life in Pieces" (3.932 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #8) and "SWAT" (3.613 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10).

Next up was NBC (2.982 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) and its specials "Celebrity Ninja Warrior for Red Nose Day" (3.646 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4), "Hollywood Game Night" (3.245 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T4) and "The Red Nose Day Special" (2.055 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.921 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up its special "Terrence Howard's Fright Club" (1.540 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T10) and the season finale of "Showtime at the Apollo" (2.302 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #9).

And finally, repeats of "Supernatural" (0.838 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) and "Black Lightning" (0.555 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #14) on The CW (0.696 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - What Would You Do?
0.00% - Showtime at the Apollo

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - The Last Days of Michael Jackson (vs. Various (Repeats))
+45.45% - What Would You Do? (vs. Various (Repeats))
-11.11% - Hollywood Game Night (vs. Running Wild with Bear Grylls)
-27.27% - Celebrity Ninja Warrior for Red Nose Day
-28.57% - The Red Nose Day Special
-45.45% - Showtime at the Apollo (vs. Love Connection)
-58.33% - Terrence Howard's Fright Club (vs. Beat Shazam)

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

TBA


Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/25/17):

FOX (3.468 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) pulled into the top demo spot on Thursday with the premieres of "Beat Shazam" (3.566 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) and "Love Connection" (3.370 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2).

NBC (3.636 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then claimed the silver with its specials "American Ninja Warrior: Celebrity Ninja Warrior" (4.244 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2), "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" (3.948 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4) and "Red Nose Day" (2.716 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6).

Next up was CBS (4.239 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) and its lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.370 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), "Superior Donuts" (4.458 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), "Mom" (4.001 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), "Life in Pieces" (3.441 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8) and a new "The Amazing Race" (3.583 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.422 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) opted for repeats of "The Goldbergs" (2.634 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), "American Housewife" (2.267 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15), "Modern Family" (2.453 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), another "Modern Family" (2.672 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6), "Black-ish" (2.434 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8) and "Speechless" (2.073 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T15).

And finally, The CW (0.728 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the evening with repeats of "Supernatural" (0.780 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17) and another "Supernatural" (0.677 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T17).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Running Wild with Bear Grylls (vs. 5/22/17)
-14.29% - The Amazing Race

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+120.00% - Love Connection (vs. American Grit)
+57.14% - American Ninja Warrior: Celebrity Ninja Warrior (vs. STRONG)
+50.00% - Running Wild with Bear Grylls (vs. Red Nose Day)
+50.00% - Beat Shazam (vs. Bones)
+16.67% - Red Nose Day
-14.29% - The Amazing Race (vs. Code Black (Repeat))

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 2018]  
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
[07/11/25 - 12:45 PM]
ABC Concludes September to May Season with Top Five Shows Among Adults 18-49 Including "High Potential," "Abbott Elementary," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "9-1-1"
Continuing to lead among broadcast series, ABC's "High Potential" stood as the No. 1 new drama among Total Viewers (16.41 million) and No. 1 new show among Adults 18-49 (3.85 rating).

[07/11/25 - 11:28 AM]
"Big Brother: Summer of Mystery" Premiere Up +10% from Last Summer
Last night, season 27 premiered to nearly 3 million viewers.

[07/09/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
"Nightline" saw gains on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+3% - 663,000 vs. 644,000) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 96,000 vs. 92,000).

[07/08/25 - 06:05 PM]
ESPN Formula 1 Coverage Enjoying Record-Breaking Season of Viewership
11 of 12 races held so far this season have had year-over-year viewership growth and seven of the 12 have set event viewership records.

[07/08/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 30: "Squid Game" Season 3 Leads Top 10 Globally, Climbs to No. 3 on Most Popular
Plus: "The Waterfront" maintained its Top 10 empire as the No. 1 English show in its third week with 5.6 million views.

[07/08/25 - 06:30 AM]
New AMC/AMC+ Epic Adventure Drama "Nautilus" Surfaces with 2.6 Million Premiere Night Viewers on Linear TV
The highly anticipated series premiered on Sunday, June 29 on AMC and AMC+, with new episodes premiering weekly on Sundays until the thrilling two-episode season finale on August 17.

[07/03/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC News Same-Day Primetime Special "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" Is No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Versus the competition in the time period, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" outperformed NBC by +40% in Adults 18-49 (212,000 vs. 151,000) and +22% in Adults 25-54.

[07/02/25 - 06:44 PM]
Tyler Perry's "Divorced Sistas" Quickly Rises to Become BET+'s Most Watched Original Series in Platform History
Just halfway through the eight-episode season, existing subscribers and new fans of the show have boosted the drama series to the most-watched series premiere on BET+ in just three weeks.

[07/02/25 - 02:38 PM]
Hallmark Channel Earns #1 Most-Watched Network on Weekends Throughout June with "Passport to Love" Programming Event
"Passport to Love" helped elevate Hallmark Channel to be the #1 most-watched network on weekends throughout the month of June.

[07/01/25 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Week of June 23: "Squid Game" Season 3 Takes Over with Record-Breaking Global Debut at No. 1
"The Waterfront" was a Top 10 hit once more as the No. 1 series on the English TV list (11.6 million views).

[07/01/25 - 10:26 AM]
ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Notes After Austrian Grand Prix
ESPN's live telecast on Sunday, June 29, averaged 1.1 million viewers, a two percent gain over last year's race and the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television.

[07/01/25 - 09:16 AM]
ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" Featuring the Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers Averaged 2 Million Viewers - Up 66% from Last Year's Comparable Game
The audience peaked with 2,304,000 viewers in the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[06/27/25 - 02:29 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Gears Up for Summer Rising Week to Week in All Key Measures
Wednesday, June 11, was the most-viewed day of the week among Total Viewers (2.164 million).

[06/27/25 - 10:31 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night in Adults 18-49 for Third Week in a Row
Winning three of five nights in Kimmel's final week before summer guest hosts, Thursday, June 19, was the show's strongest night among Adults 18-49 (0.35 rating).

[06/25/25 - 11:55 AM]
Prime Video Finishes Groundbreaking First Season of Exclusive NASCAR Coverage
According to Nielsen, NASCAR on Prime posted a season average of 2.16 million viewers (AMA P2+) across five events, and attracted droves of younger viewers to its live coverage.