or


[12/13/20 - 01:09 PM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: Holiday Repeats Put CBS in Front
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 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/12/20):

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

CBS (2.601 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) was the most-watched network on Saturday with its mix of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (2.799 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1), "Frosty the Snowman" (2.684 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (2.107 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "48 Hours" (2.609 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Sharing the demo crown was ABC (2.204 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) and its weekly installment of "Saturday Night Football" (2.204 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Next up was NBC (2.163 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with its lineup of "Ellen's Game of Games" (1.956 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "The Wall" (2.326 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "SNL Vintage" (2.208 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

And finally, FOX (0.691 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night with the "2020 MLS Cup Pre-Game" (0.495 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #10) and "2020 MLS Cup" (0.740 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

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

TBA


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/14/19):

CBS (2.719 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) was the top draw on Saturday with its holiday mix of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (3.058 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1), "Frosty the Snowman" (3.057 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (2.307 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "48 Hours" (2.417 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Second place then went to NBC (2.047 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) and its lineup of "How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming" (1.347 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12), "DreamWorks Trolls Holiday" (1.443 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.492 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "SNL Vintage" (2.255 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Next up was FOX (1.657 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) with repeats of "The Masked Singer" (1.517 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and another "The Masked Singer" (1.797 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, ABC (1.488 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) closed out the night with encores of "The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!" (1.385 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "20/20 Saturday" (1.696 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

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

· The Dec. 14 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Scarlett Johansson and musical guest Niall Horan, has averaged a 4.0 rating in "live plus same day" household results from 44 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7 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.

· Versus primetime programming on the Big 4 networks last night, "SNL" is easily the #1 show of the night in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters,

· In fact, "Saturday Night Live" doubled the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 in both measures (4.0 vs. 2.0 for CBS' encore of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in households, 1.7 vs. 0.8 each for "Rudolph" and CBS' rebroadcast of "Frosty the Snowman" in 18-49).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [december 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
[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).

[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[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.