or


[12/02/18 - 10:12 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: Big Ten Championship Puts FOX 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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/1/18):

FOX (8.266 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) rocketed to the top spot on Saturday with its Big Ten Championship coverage on "CFB on FOX" (8.266 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1).

The silver then went to ABC (4.368 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) and its ACC Championship presentation on "Saturday Night College Football" (4.368 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3).

Next up was CBS (3.427 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) with repeats of "The Neighborhood" (5.510 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2), "Happy Together" (2.902 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) and "SWAT" (2.530 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) plus a new "48 Hours" (3.547 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

And finally, NBC (3.299 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night with "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.268 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7), another "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.978 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.652 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

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

· The Dec. 1 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Claire Foy and musical guest Anderson .Paak, averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.5/8 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The Dec. 1 "Saturday Night Live" is the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime shows on those nets except Fox's Northwestern-Ohio State Big 10 Championship college football coverage.


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/2/17):

FOX (11.577 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) surged into the top spot last night with its "CFB on FOX" (11.577 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) coverage.

ABC (5.546 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2) then got bumped to second with its finale to "Saturday Night College Football" (5.546 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #2).

Next up was CBS (3.241 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with repeats of "Kevin Can Wait" (3.486 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3), "Man with a Plan" (2.838 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) and "NCIS: New Orleans" (3.248 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) plus a new "48 Hours" (3.313 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

And finally, NBC (2.731 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the night with its lineup of "Will & Grace" (1.894 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #10), "Superstore" (2.029 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.281 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.951 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

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

· The Dec. 2 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Saoirse Ronan and featuring musical guest U2, 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 1.7/8 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· It's the #2 telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, behind only Fox's high-rated coverage of the Ohio State-Wisconsin Big 10 championship college-football game in both categories.

· "Saturday Night Live" equaled the household rating of its prior two original telecasts (4.3 each on Nov. 11 and 18).

· Among "SNL's" seventh original telecasts of each season, this is the second-highest-rated in five years in metered-market households (since Nov. 10, 2012, 5.0 with host Anne Hathaway and musical guest Rihanna), trailing over that span only last season's Nov. 19, 2016 edition (4.7 with host Kristen Wiig and musical guest The xx).

· The Dec. 2 "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





  [december 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
[05/21/26 - 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.

[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.