or


[09/20/18 - 08:14 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "Got Talent" Finale Puts NBC on Top
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 (9/19/18):

NBC (10.193 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) was of course the network to beat on Wednesday with the two-hour season finale of "America's Got Talent" (12.590 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.0, #1) followed by a sneak preview of "I Feel Bad" (6.586 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #3) and a second "I Feel Bad" (4.211 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5).

FOX (3.561 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then was the silver draw with its own two-hour finale to "MasterChef" (3.561 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4).

Next up was CBS (3.698 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) with a new "Big Brother 20" (5.450 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) followed by repeats of "SEAL Team" (2.557 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Criminal Minds" (3.086 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.357 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up its repeat lineup of "The Goldbergs" (3.089 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #6), "American Housewife" (2.318 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8), "Modern Family" (2.280 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7), another "Modern Family" (2.249 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Shark Tank" (2.103 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8).

And finally, a new "Burden of Truth" (0.712 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) and a repeat "Supergirl" (0.433 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) on The CW (0.572 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - America's Got Talent
0.00% - Big Brother 20
-9.09% - MasterChef
-50.00% - Burden of Truth

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-9.09% - MasterChef
-29.41% - I Feel Bad - 10:00 (vs. The Good Place)
-31.03% - America's Got Talent
-33.33% - I Feel Bad - 10:30 (vs. The Good Place)
-33.33% - Big Brother 20
-50.00% - Burden of Truth (vs. Arrow (Repeat))

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," 1.9/6; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.5/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.6/4; "Late Show," 0.3/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.1/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.2/5. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/3 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/20/17):

NBC (12.169 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1) was the top draw on a night of summer finales with "America's Got Talent" (15.357 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1) followed by the return of "The Good Place" (7.089 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) and a second "The Good Place" (4.499 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4).

By comparison, "The Good Place" premiered on 9/19/16 after "The Voice" (9.036 million viewers; adults 18-49: 2.6) with a second episode (7.079 million viewers; adults 18-49: 2.0) following.

Second place then went to CBS (5.506 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) with its finales to "Big Brother 19" (6.660 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) and "Salvation" (3.199 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8).

Next up was FOX (3.910 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with its summer capper to "MasterChef" (3.910 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.496 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) opted for repeats of "The Goldbergs" (2.889 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6), "Speechless" (2.404 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8), "Modern Family" (2.633 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T6), "American Housewife" (2.226 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T8) and "Designated Survivor" (2.412 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #11).

And finally, The CW (0.778 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) likewise rounded out the night with second runs of "Arrow" (0.788 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12) and "Supernatural" (0.768 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+45.00% - America's Got Talent
+20.00% - Salvation
+16.67% - Big Brother 19
-15.38% - MasterChef

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+87.10% - America's Got Talent (vs. Blindspot/Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
+6.25% - The Good Place - 10:00 (vs. Chicago PD)
-5.83% - Big Brother 19 (vs. Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X/Big Brother 18)
-25.00% - The Good Place - 10:30 (vs. Chicago PD)
-64.52% - MasterChef (vs. Lethal Weapon/Empire)
-70.00% - Salvation (vs. Big Brother 18)

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," 1.9/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.3/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.6/4; "Late Show," 0.4/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.1/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.0/4. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.4/3 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

· 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 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
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[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.