or


[08/14/20 - 08:11 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Holds Off Competition in Viewers, 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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/13/20):

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

ABC (2.961 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) held off the competition on Thursday with its mix of "Holey Moley" (3.349 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2), the season finale of "Don't" (2.490 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) and "To Tell the Truth" (3.044 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

CBS (2.806 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) was a close second thanks to a new "Big Brother 22" (4.060 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) alongside repeats of "Young Sheldon" (2.582 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5), "The Unicorn" (1.961 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Bull" (2.087 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

Next up was FOX (1.668 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with its latest installment of "MLB on FOX" (1.668 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.070 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) served up its "NBC News Special: Coronavirus & The Classroom" (2.607 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5) alongside repeats of "Ellen's Game of Games" (1.708 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.896 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, the season finale of "Killer Camp" (0.480 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) and a repeat "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.515 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) rounded out the night on The CW (0.497 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Holey Moley
0.00% - To Tell the Truth
0.00% - Don't
0.00% - MLB on FOX
0.00% - Killer Camp

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - To Tell the Truth (vs. Reef Break)
+66.67% - Don't (vs. Family Food Fight)
+66.67% - Big Brother 22 (vs. The Big Bang Theory/Young Sheldon (Repeats))
+20.00% - Holey Moley
-42.86% - MLB on FOX (vs. MasterChef/Spin the Wheel)
-50.00% - Killer Camp (vs. The Outpost)
-50.00% - NBC News Special: Coronavirus & The Classroom (vs. The Wall (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/15/19):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Some high rated local pre-season NFL games (across all networks) are included here but will be excluded from Officials.]

NBC (3.736 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the top adults 18-49 draw on another NFL-fueled Thursday with its lineup of "The Wall" (4.159 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2), "Ellen's Game of Games" (3.901 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.149 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

CBS (3.865 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then was a close second with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (4.150 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Young Sheldon" (3.990 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Big Brother 21" (4.401 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) and the series finale of "Elementary" (3.123 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #10).

Sharing the silver was FOX (3.021 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with originals from "MasterChef" (3.450 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and "Spin the Wheel" (2.593 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.312 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up a new "Holey Moley" (2.877 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #9), the season finale of "Family Food Fight" (1.982 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11) and a new "Reef Break" (2.078 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11).

And finally, The CW (0.804 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening with "The Outpost" (0.898 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "Two Sentence Horror Stories" (0.708 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and another "Two Sentence Horror Stories" (0.713 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - The Outpost
-15.38% - Big Brother 21
-33.33% - MasterChef
-33.33% - Elementary
-33.33% - Two Sentence Horror Stories - 9:00
-33.33% - Two Sentence Horror Stories - 9:30
-40.00% - Spin the Wheel
-54.55% - Holey Moley
-57.14% - Reef Break
-66.67% - Family Food Fight

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+166.67% - MasterChef (vs. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series)
+100.00% - Spin the Wheel (vs. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series)
0.00% - The Outpost (vs. Supernatural (Repeat))
0.00% - Two Sentence Horror Stories - 9:00 (vs. Black Lightning (Repeat))
0.00% - Two Sentence Horror Stories - 9:30 (vs. Black Lightning (Repeat))
-37.50% - Holey Moley (vs. 20/20: Aretha: Soul, Song, R E S P E C T)
-38.89% - Big Brother 21
-42.86% - Elementary (vs. SWAT (Repeat))
-50.00% - Reef Break (vs. Take Two)
-62.50% - Family Food Fight (vs. Match Game)

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

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.6/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.1/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.3/3; "Late Show," 0.4/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.3/2.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline," averaged a 0.9/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.0/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.0/4. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.2/2 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.1/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [august 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
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.

[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.

[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.

[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.