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
[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.

[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.

[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" debuted at the top of the English film list, gathering 19.3 million views for its lakeside destination wedding.

[09/14/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN Aces Its Most-Viewed US Open Women's Semifinals Action Ever, Averaging 2.2M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 2.6M avg. viewers (9:45-10 p.m. ET) during Coco Gauff's three-set showdown against Elena Rybakina.

[09/14/26 - 11:57 AM]
NFL Gameday in Melbourne on Netflix Scores With an Average 18.5 Million US Viewers for First-Ever NFL Regular Season Game in Australia
Globally, the historic matchup averaged 21.7 million viewers, with fans from over 200 countries and territories tuning in to the first-ever NFL regular season game played in Australia.

[09/14/26 - 09:50 AM]
NFL Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock Featuring Patriots-Seahawks Tops 25 Million Viewers for Fourth Consecutive Year
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.

[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.