or


[02/17/19 - 08:12 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, NBC Share Top Honors on Modest Night
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 (2/16/19):

ABC (2.796 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) was the most-watched network on a modest Saturday with its mix of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (2.742 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3), another "America's Funniest Home Videos" (2.561 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "20/20 Saturday" (3.084 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2).

NBC (2.634 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) then shared in the demo honors with an encore of "America's Got Talent: The Champions" (2.596 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.710 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1).

Next up was CBS (2.283 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) and a rebroadcast of "The World's Best" (1.906 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) followed by the return of "Ransom" (2.175 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) and a new "48 Hours" (2.766 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, FOX (1.257 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) closed out the evening with its presentation of "Premier Boxing Champions" (1.257 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

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

· The Feb. 16 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Don Cheadle and musical guest Gary Clark Jr., averaged a 4.3 rating, 11 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.6/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The Feb. 16 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, easily topping all primetime shows on those nets.

· "Saturday Night Live" nearly doubled the #2 Big 4 telecast of the night in metered-market households (4.3 vs. 2.2 for ABC's "20/20 Saturday"). In 18-49 in the local people meters, "SNL" more than doubled the #2 show (1.6 vs. 0.7 for the 10 p.m. "SNL Vintage" encore).


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/17/18):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live events, Fast Nationals for NBC are approximate.]

NBC (13.617 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) eclipsed the competition on Saturday with its coverage of the "2018 Winter Olympics" (13.617 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.2, #1) in primetime.

CBS (2.763 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) then was a very distant second with repeats of "MacGyver" (2.371 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4), "NCIS: New Orleans" (2.704 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) and a new "48 Hours" (3.215 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

Next up was ABC (1.686 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) and its repeat lineup of "The Middle" (1.740 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4), another "The Middle" (1.648 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4), "Black-ish" (1.308 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4), another "Black-ish" (1.372 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4) and "20/20 Saturday" (2.023 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, FOX (1.058 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the evening with a "Premier Boxing Champions" (1.058 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) special.

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

Late-night metered market ratings will return following NBC's Olympics coverage.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [february 2019]  
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
[01/23/26 - 12:44 PM]
"20/20" Improves on the Previous Week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Hitting an 8-Week High in the Key Adult News Demo
"20/20" ranked No. 1 in its two-hour time period in Adults 25-54.

[01/23/26 - 12:28 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" posted double-digit increases week to week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[01/23/26 - 10:31 AM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Closes Out Historic Season with 2.6 Million Viewers Highlighting Hurricanes and Hoosiers
The six postseason GameDay shows delivered 2.4 million average viewers, up 30 percent year-over-year.

[01/23/26 - 07:37 AM]
Historic Back-to-Back Stretch: ESPN Delivers Its No. 1 and No. 8 Most-Watched Events Ever on Consecutive Days
Across Sunday and Monday, fans consumed 18.7 billion total minutes across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2 - a 28% increase from last season's Divisional Round game and Championship Monday on the same networks.

[01/22/26 - 03:39 PM]
Special Premiere of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Is the Season's Most-Watched Comedy Episode
The series drew 5.8 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo in its special premiere that aired Sunday, January 18.

[01/22/26 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN's MegaCast of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Delivers 30.1 Million Viewers - The Most-Viewed College Football Game in 11 Years
The game scored 30.1 million viewers, the most-watched college football game since the inaugural CFP National Championship (33.9 million viewers, Oregon/Ohio State, 2014-15) and the second most-watched National Championship of the CFP era.

[01/22/26 - 12:48 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Score with Stellar Midseason Premieres
"Shifting Gears" and "Abbott Elementary" are among top scripted shows of the week in adults 18-49.

[01/22/26 - 07:58 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NFL Divisional Playoff Game on Record as Rams-Bears Thriller Averages 45.4 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Rams-Bears - which increased in every quarter hour from 8:15 p.m. ET until the game-winning score - peaked in the game's closing minutes, with an average of 52.6 million viewers from 9:45-10 pm ET.

[01/21/26 - 10:58 AM]
ABC's Tuesday Dramas Soar with Midseason Premieres
In fact, "High Potential" and "Will Trent" were the top two scripted programs of the week among Total Viewers.

[01/20/26 - 01:01 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the Second Half of 2025
"KPop Demon Hunters" took the world by storm, breaking records as our most-watched title over a six-month period with 482M views.

[01/20/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 12 - "The Rip" Confiscates the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
Mistrust was the theme of the week, as viewers put the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 29.5 million views.

[01/16/26 - 01:08 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night - Scoring Largest Viewership in Over 7 Months
For the second week in a row, "20/20" posted Total Viewers increases versus the previous week and the corresponding year-ago telecast.

[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[01/13/26 - 03:02 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Semifinals Averaging 14.9 Million Viewers, On Par with 2024-25 Season
The Peach Bowl (Oregon vs. Indiana) drew 18 million viewers on average, while the Fiesta Bowl (Miami vs. Ole Miss) scored 15.8 million viewers.

[01/13/26 - 02:30 PM]
FOX Sports Holds Winning Hand Leading All Networks in Viewership on Wild Card Weekend
41 million viewers watched FOX Sports' presentation of Sunday's NFC Wild Card Round showdown featuring the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Philadelphia Eagles.