or


[12/17/18 - 08:26 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC, "Sunday Night Football" Take Top Honors
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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/16/18):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

NBC (7:30-11pm) (14.811 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) continued its reign on Sunday with its mix of "Football Night in America #1" (5.987 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #6), "Football Night in America #2" (10.170 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.9, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (13.675 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.1, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (15.967 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.9, #2).

Second place then went to CBS (11.145 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) with its lineup of "NFL Overrun" (25.726 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.3, #1), "60 Minutes" (14.159 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #5), "God Friended Me" (8.419 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (6.843 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9) and a repeat "FBI" (4.592 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

Next up was FOX (4.189 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) and its telecast of "2018 Miss Universe" (4.189 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T7).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.197 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up its annual broadcast of "The Sound of Music" (4.197 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

And finally, The CW (0.625 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night with its special "iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2018" (0.684 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) and "Discontinued" (0.445 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+166.67% - 60 Minutes
+52.63% - Football Night in America #2
+37.50% - God Friended Me
0.00% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-6.67% - Football Night in America #1
-6.82% - Football Night in America #3
-7.55% - Sunday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - God Friended Me (vs. Wisdom of the Crowd)
0.00% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-3.33% - Football Night in America #2
-4.65% - Football Night in America #3
-5.77% - Sunday Night Football
-14.29% - 60 Minutes
-17.65% - Football Night in America #1
-26.67% - 2018 Miss Universe (vs. A Christmas Story Live!)


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/17/17):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

NBC (15.393 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.8, #1) was still the network to beat on Sunday with its usual mix of "Football Night in America #1" (6.238 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6), "Football Night in America #2" (10.018 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 3.0, #4), "Football Night in America #3" (13.977 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 4.3, #3) and "Sunday Night Football" (16.751 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.2, #2).

CBS (11.579 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2) then was the silver draw with its combination of "NFL Overrun" (27.974 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 6.9, #1), "60 Minutes" (15.004 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.8, #5), "Wisdom of the Crowd" (7.331 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #8), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (7.035 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #9) and "Madam Secretary" (5.920 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #11).

Next up was FOX (4.481 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #3) with its presentation of "A Christmas Story Live!" (4.481 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #7).

And finally, ABC (4.538 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) rounded out the night with its annual telecast of "The Sound of Music" (4.538 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.8, #10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+154.55% - 60 Minutes
+76.47% - Football Night in America #2
+57.14% - Wisdom of the Crowd
+26.47% - Football Night in America #3
+21.43% - Football Night in America #1
+12.50% - NCIS: Los Angeles
+6.12% - Sunday Night Football
0.00% - Madam Secretary

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+150.00% - A Christmas Story Live! (vs. Various)
0.00% - 60 Minutes
-18.18% - NCIS: Los Angeles (vs. Madam Secretary)
-18.92% - Football Night in America #2
-19.05% - Football Night in America #1
-21.43% - Wisdom of the Crowd (vs. NCIS: Los Angeles)
-21.82% - Football Night in America #3
-22.22% - Madam Secretary (vs. Elementary)
-25.71% - Sunday Night Football

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
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.