or


[07/25/20 - 08:32 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, FOX Leads Demos
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (7/24/20):

FOX (1.970 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) was the demo champ on Friday with its latest installment from "WWE SmackDown" (1.970 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1).

CBS (3.389 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) was the most-watched network thanks to its premiere of "The Greatest #AtHome Videos" (3.583 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) followed by repeats of "Magnum P.I." (3.264 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "Blue Bloods" (3.319 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

Next up was NBC (2.665 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with repeats of "The Wall" (2.298 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "Dateline NBC" (2.848 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

ABC (2.624 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) likewise opted for second runs of "Shark Tank" (2.594 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "20/20" (2.639 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, The CW (0.575 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (0.650 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), another "Masters of Illusion" (0.528 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.535 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.586 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+33.33% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. Love Island)


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/26/19):

CBS (2.564 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) was the most-watched network on another modest Friday thanks to a new "Love Island" (2.037 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (2.532 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and "Blue Bloods" (3.122 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

NBC (2.447 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) and ABC (2.208 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) then shared in the demo honors as the former served up "American Ninja Warrior" (2.365 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) and "Dateline NBC" (2.611 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) while the latter opted for "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (2.155 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) and "20/20" (2.235 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1).

Next up was FOX (1.386 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) with repeats of "First Responders Live" (1.552 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "MasterChef" (1.220 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

And finally, new episodes of "Masters of Illusion" (1.189 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "The Big Stage" (0.945 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) plus a repeat "The Outpost" (0.719 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #12) rounded out the night on The CW (0.893 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Masters of Illusion
0.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
0.00% - The Big Stage
-20.00% - Dateline NBC
-40.00% - Love Island

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Masters of Illusion
0.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (vs. Quantico)
0.00% - The Big Stage (vs. Masters of Illusion (Repeat))
-25.00% - Love Island (vs. Whistleblower)
-33.33% - Dateline NBC

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [july 2020]  
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 - 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 - 03:15 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 - 03:34 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.

[06/08/26 - 09:03 AM]
ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched WCWS Finals on Record; Game 2 Delivers Most-Watched College Softball Game Ever
Game 2 averaged 2.5 million viewers across ESPN/ESPNU, delivering the most-watched college softball game on record.

[06/05/26 - 02:00 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 1 Since 2018 with Average Audience of Nearly 17M Viewers (16.93M)
Game 1 peaked with nearly 20M viewers (19.63M) at 11 p.m. ET.

[06/05/26 - 01:23 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, Friday Evening and in Late-Night
"20/20" stood as Friday's No. 1 program on broadcast and the No. 2 program on all of broadcast and cable in all key target demos on May 29.

[06/04/26 - 03:03 PM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" Soars Over 10 Million Total Multiplatform Viewers Across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu
On its encore telecast on Monday, "The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" averaged 2.704 million Total Viewers and ranked as the night's No. 1 program on broadcast.