or


[11/17/19 - 09:27 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Pulls Back in Front 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 (11/16/19):

ABC (6.425 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) pulled back in front on Saturday with its presentation of "Saturday Night College Football" (6.425 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1).

CBS (3.003 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) then was the silver draw with repeats of "Bull" (2.699 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "48 Hours" (2.736 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) followed by a new "48 Hours" (3.573 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

Next up was NBC (2.247 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and its mix of "The Voice" (1.869 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.541 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "SNL Vintage" (2.332 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, FOX (1.301 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) closed out the night with its "CFB on FOX" (1.301 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) coverage.

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

· The Nov. 16 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host and musical guest Harry Styles, has averaged a 3.9 rating in "live plus same day" household results from 44 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Note that current metered-market results are not compatible with data issued before Oct. 5 due to changes in Nielsen methodology.

· "Saturday Night Live" outrated two of the four prior originals in metered-market households, making this the third highest "SNL" household rating since Nielsen changed its methodology starting with Oct. 12 results.

· Versus primetime programming on the Big 4 networks Saturday night, "SNL" is the #2 show of the night in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, behind only ABC's Oklahoma-Baylor college football.


Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (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).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[06/12/26 - 01:11 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Is No. 1 Across Late-Night with Best Numbers Since Season Premiere Week
Rising week to week in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" matched a season best in the key Adult demo of premiere week, while drawing its largest overall audience since its season premiere week eight months ago.

[06/12/26 - 12:31 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Record Viewership with FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Match
6,309,000 viewers watched Mexico top South Africa 2-0 across FOX, FOX One and Tubi.

[06/12/26 - 08:15 AM]
"Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board and Posts Increases Both Week to Week and Year to Year in All Key Target Demos
"Nightline" posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, delivering its strongest numbers in both key Adult demos in nearly 2 1/2 years.

[06/11/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN's Presentation of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Draws Largest Audience Since 2017
Game 4, which saw the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Las Vegas to even the series at 2-2, averaged 5.3 million viewers on ABC and drew the largest Game 4 audience since 2017.

[06/11/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC Dominates Full Season Competitive Multiplatform Rankers
"High Potential" and "Dancing with the Stars" rank in the Top 5 among Total Viewers while the network excels among Adults 18-49 with four of the Top 5 shows.

[06/10/26 - 01:49 PM]
23.8M Viewers! ABC and ESPN Deliver Largest NBA Finals Game 3 Audience Since 1998
Through three games, the 2026 NBA Finals is ABC and ESPN's second most-watched ever, averaging 19.1M viewers.

[06/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of June 1
"Off Campus," "Spider-Noir," "The Boys," "Clarkson's Farm," and "Citadel" led all original series worldwide.

[06/10/26 - 09:08 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers 2nd-Largest Final Round Audience for U.S. Women's Open Since 2014
Coverage averaged 1.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock.

[06/09/26 - 03:59 PM]
Belmont Stakes Audience Peaks at 4.7 Million Viewers Across FOX & FS1
The combined telecast on FOX and FS1 averaged 3,730,000 viewers.

[06/09/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN's Presentation of 2026 Stanley Cup Final Off to Best Start Through Three Games Since 2015
Game 3 averaged 5 million viewers on ABC helping lead the Stanley Cup to its best start in over a decade.

[06/09/26 - 03:34 PM]
FOX UFL Scores Strong Finish
1,066,000 viewers watched FOX UFL as the Louisville Kings defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks Sunday and advanced to the United Bowl.

[06/09/26 - 02:50 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 2 Since 2018 with Average Audience of 16.43M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 19.42 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.

[06/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 1 - "Office Romance" Sneaks to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Michael Jackson: The Verdict" has grabbed viewers' attention, landing at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.8 million views.

[06/09/26 - 10:29 AM]
May Continues ESPN Studio Shows' Year-Long Viewership Success
Combined, all ESPN studio shows were up 27 percent in viewership over May of 2025 and up 11% year-over-year (YOY) among younger viewers in the Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[06/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NCAA DI Women's College World Series on Record
The WCWS Finals, featuring Texas and Texas Tech, averaged 2.2 million viewers as the Longhorns claimed their second-straight national championship in the two-game series.