or


[12/16/20 - 08:30 AM]
Tuesday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Demos; NBC Leads Total Viewers
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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/15/20):

ABC (4.129 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) was back on top in demos thanks to a new "The Bachelorette" (4.261 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) and the fall finale of "Big Sky" (3.865 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4).

NBC (6.629 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) was a close second with "The Voice: Cutdown of Live Performances" (5.687 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) followed by the two-hour "The Voice" (7.100 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) finale.

Next up was CBS (2.791 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) and its special "Play On: Celebrating the Power of Music to Make Change" (2.175 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) alongside repeats of "NCIS" (3.000 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "FBI" (3.198 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.024 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) offered up "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" (1.185 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8) and "Next" (0.862 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9).

And finally, rounding out the night were "Swamp Thing" (0.704 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and "Tell Me a Story" (0.372 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) on The CW (0.538 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - The Voice
+20.00% - Big Sky
0.00% - Cosmos: Possible Worlds (vs. 12/1/20)
0.00% - Swamp Thing
0.00% - Tell Me a Story
-9.09% - The Bachelorette
-50.00% - Next (vs. 12/1/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+71.43% - Big Sky (vs. The Conners/Bless This Mess (Repeats))
+7.53% - The Bachelorette (vs. Various (Repeats))
0.00% - Tell Me a Story (vs. Arrow (Repeat))
-30.77% - The Voice
-50.00% - Swamp Thing (vs. Dogs of the Year)
-70.00% - Play On: Celebrating the Power of Music to Make Change (vs. NCIS)
-71.43% - Cosmos: Possible Worlds (vs. The Resident)
-85.71% - Next (vs. Empire)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/17/19):

NBC (7.989 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) was the demo victor on Tuesday with its "The Voice Recap" (6.684 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3) followed by the season finale of "The Voice" (8.641 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1).

CBS (8.832 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then was the silver draw with its 2019 finales of "NCIS" (11.038 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T3), "FBI" (8.413 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T6) and "NCIS: New Orleans" (7.046 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #5).

Next up was ABC (3.088 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and its repeat lineup of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (4.618 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2), "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" (3.235 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T6), "Shrek The Halls" (2.640 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8), "The Conners" (1.880 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11) and "Bless This Mess" (1.535 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.191 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) offered up the fall finales of "The Resident" (3.815 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8) and "Empire" (2.566 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T8).

And finally, the special "Dogs of the Year" (0.951 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13) and a repeat of "Arrow" (0.388 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #14) on The CW (0.669 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - NCIS: New Orleans (vs. 11/26/19)
+8.33% - The Voice
0.00% - Empire (vs. 12/3/19)
-9.09% - NCIS (vs. 11/26/19)
-11.11% - FBI (vs. 11/26/19)
-12.50% - The Resident (vs. 12/3/19)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - Empire (vs. The Gifted (Repeat))
+80.00% - NCIS: New Orleans (vs. NCIS: New Orleans (Repeat))
+75.00% - The Resident (vs. Lethal Weapon (Repeat))
+66.67% - NCIS (vs. NCIS (Repeat))
+33.33% - FBI (vs. FBI (Repeat))
-23.53% - The Voice
-33.33% - Dogs of the Year (vs. Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2018)

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
[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 02:56 PM]
Giants-Rams Becomes ESPN's Most-Watched Week 2 "Monday Night Football" Game Ever with 19.4 Million Viewers
Through the first two weeks, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 21.4 million viewers, up 29% compared to the first two weeks of the 2025 season.

[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.

[09/22/26 - 02:34 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Scores Regular Season High 27,212,000 Viewers in Week 2
Said coverage was up +8% vs. last year's full season average of 25,269,000 viewers.

[09/22/26 - 02:17 PM]
Colts-Chiefs Overtime Thriller Is Most Watched Week 2 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2015, Averaging 24.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Colts-Chiefs peaked at 27.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[09/22/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 14 - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" Holds No. 1 for a Second Week
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.

[09/22/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Dateline" Is the #1 Friday Newsmagazine in Both Key Demos for Second Consecutive Broadcast Season
The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season.

[09/21/26 - 07:02 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 "Two-Night Premiere: Night 2" Swings to 6.44 Million Total Viewers as the Ladies Take Their Turn in the Ballroom
"Dancing with the Stars" ranked as TV's No. 1 show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on both Tuesday and Wednesday across all entertainment programming.

[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.