or


[11/28/20 - 08:32 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Leads the Night for NBC
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 (11/27/20):

NBC (3.246 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) was the top overall draw on Friday with its mix of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (3.736 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Illumination Presents Minions Holiday Special" (3.229 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) and a repeat "Dateline NBC" (3.127 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

FOX (1.987 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (1.987 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

Next up was ABC (2.463 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) and its duo of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (2.787 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) and "20/20" (2.301 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

Meanwhile, CBS (2.487 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up its lineup of "Frosty the Snowman" (3.021 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3), "Frosty Returns" (2.267 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "CBS Sunday Morning: The Pet Project" (2.134 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (2.683 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9).

And finally, The CW (0.919 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with the Thursday-bound "World's Funniest Animals" (1.022 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12), a repeat "World's Funniest Animals" (1.017 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (0.818 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - World's Funniest Animals
-16.67% - WWE SmackDown
-20.00% - 20/20

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+40.00% - Illumination Presents Minions Holiday Special (vs. The National Dog Show Presented by Purina (Repeat))
-25.00% - CBS Sunday Morning: The Pet Project (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-28.57% - WWE SmackDown
-33.33% - 20/20
-50.00% - World's Funniest Animals (vs. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (11/29/19):

FOX (2.336 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) won the demo race on Friday with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.336 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

CBS (3.839 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) then was the most-watched network with its mix of "Frosty the Snowman" (4.043 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (3.453 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3), "Hawaii Five-0" (3.405 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Blue Bloods" (4.365 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8).

Next up was ABC (3.336 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with originals from "American Housewife" (2.873 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.080 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "20/20" (3.766 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.175 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) offered up highlights from "The National Dog Show Presented by Purina" (3.305 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) plus a new "Dateline NBC" (2.916 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

And finally, a repeat of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" (0.941 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) and the new special "Penn & Teller: Merry Fool Us" (0.834 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) on The CW (0.887 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat
-12.50% - WWE SmackDown
-16.67% - American Housewife

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+9.09% - 20/20 (vs. Child Support (Repeat)/20/20)
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - American Housewife (vs. Child Support)
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Merry Fool Us (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-20.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Child Support)
-22.22% - WWE SmackDown (vs. CFB on FOX)

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.