or


[11/18/18 - 08:25 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Wins Demo Race with College Football
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 eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (11/17/18):

ABC (3.088 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the demo champ on a low key Saturday with its coverage of "Saturday Night College Football" (3.088 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1).

FOX (2.596 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was the number two draw with its own "CFB on FOX" (2.596 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) coverage.

Next up was NBC (3.257 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) and its mix of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.254 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), another "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.691 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.827 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

And finally, CBS (3.120 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) closed out the night with repeats of "Bull" (2.659 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "48 Hours" (2.605 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) plus a new "48 Hours" (4.096 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2).

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

· The Nov. 17 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Steve Carell and musical guest Ella Mai, averaged a 4.4 rating, 11 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Both the 4.4 rating in households and the 1.7 in 18-49 equal "SNL's" highs since the show's Sept. 29 season premiere (4.8/11 in households, 2.3/12 in 18-49 in the local people meters with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West).

· The Nov. 17 edition, which aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and counted unduplicated viewers from 11:30 encores in western markets, scored as the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, outrating every Saturday primetime program on those nets in both measures.

· Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of November last year, the Nov. 3 telecast maintained 100% in metered-market households (4.4 vs. 4.4).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/18/17):

ABC (3.388 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) edged out the demo competition on Saturday with "Saturday Night College Football" (3.388 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1).

NBC (2.446 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was the silver draw with its mix of "Will & Grace" (1.930 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "Superstore" (2.080 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.622 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.712 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

Next up was CBS (3.754 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with a repeat "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.459 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "48 Hours" (3.303 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and a second "48 Hours" (4.502 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2).

And finally, FOX (1.389 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) rounded out the night with "CFB on FOX" (1.389 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

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

· The Nov. 18 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Chance The Rapper and featuring musical guest Eminem, has averaged a 4.3 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.0/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· It's the #1 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime programs on those nets in both measures.

· The 2.0 in 18-49 in the local people meters is the top "SNL" rating since Oct. 14 (2.2 with host Kumail Nanjiani and musical guest P!nk).

· The Nov. 11 "SNL" aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and was replayed at 11:30 in western markets. Note that these numbers under-report last night's "SNL" results because they don't include viewership from the show's 11:30 replays in the Western U.S.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[09/30/26 - 01:00 PM]
Historic "Big Brother" Season Hits 14.8 Billion Minutes Viewed, Up +9% from Last Year
The summer staple also saw year-over-year audience growth, averaging 5.1 million viewers in seven-day multiplatform viewing, up +8% from last summer, while ranking as the summer's most social program across all television programs (excluding sports).

[09/30/26 - 12:50 PM]
ABC's Tuesday Night Kicks Off Strong as "Dancing with the Stars" and Sophomore Drama "R.J. Decker" Each Score 10 Million Total Audience
Sophomore drama "R.J. Decker" earned a total cross-platform audience of 9.61 million, based on viewing over seven days across Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and linear encores.

[09/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 21
"Neagley," "Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "El Juicio" led all original series worldwide.

[09/29/26 - 03:28 PM]
FOX Sports Hits Home Run with Best MLB on FOX Regular Season Since '21 - No. 1 Among All Networks
Regular season coverage on FOX averaged 2.35 million viewers, up +15% vs. '25.

[09/29/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX NFL Delivers Most-Watched Early Window of the Day on Any Network in Week 3
17,898,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX's 1:00 PM ET window.

[09/29/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 21 - "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" Takes the No. 1 Spot for a Second Week
"Unabomber" premiered in the top spot on the English film list, gathering 16.4 million views.

[09/29/26 - 12:00 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Viewership Records and Milestones in Inaugural Season of WNBA Coverage Ahead of WNBA Finals on USA Network This October
USA Sports averaged 525,000 viewers across its 48 regular-season games - the most national games of any broadcaster - up 25% vs. 2025 WNBA cable average viewership.

[09/29/26 - 09:50 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Finishes 2025-2026 Season with Largest Overall Audience in Eight Years and Strongest Adults 18-49 in Four Years
In the final week of the 2025-2026 season, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ranked No. 1 in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[09/28/26 - 02:45 PM]
The "VMAs" Scores 8.4 Million Viewers, Up +51% from Last Year, and Hits 11-Year Viewership High
The telecast peaked with over 15 million viewers across CBS and MTV in the opening act, which featured Madonna's first "VMAs" performance in 23 years, including a show-opening medley with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX.

[09/25/26 - 10:51 AM]
Cartman, Kenny, Stan, Kyle and "South America's" Season 29 Premiere Delivers 4.2 Million Multiplatform U.S. Viewers Across Comedy Central and Paramount+
The season premiere on Comedy Central outperformed last season's premiere by double digits on persons 18-49 rating and share and was the #1 non-sports cable telecast for the week with persons 18-49.

[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 02:56 PM]
Giants-Rams Becomes ESPN's Most-Watched Week 2 "Monday Night Football" Game Ever with 19.4 Million Viewers
Through the first two weeks, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 21.4 million viewers, up 29% compared to the first two weeks of the 2025 season.

[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.