or


[12/26/20 - 08:05 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: NBA Christmas Day on ABC Holds Off Competition
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/25/20):

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

ABC (3.483 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the victor on Christmas evening with its primetime portion of "NBA on ABC: NBA Christmas Day: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers" (3.742 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) plus a repeat "Black-ish" (2.188 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3).

A close second was FOX (3.335 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) with its NFL-fueled installment of "WWE SmackDown" (3.335 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2).

Next up was NBC (1.979 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with its telecast of the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2.299 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) special and the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1.915 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) movie.

Meanwhile, CBS (3.256 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up repeats of "MacGyver" (2.921 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "Magnum P.I." (3.288 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.561 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, the finale to "The Christmas Caroler Challenge" (0.453 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #9) on The CW (0.453 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+80.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. 12/11/20)
0.00% - The Christmas Caroler Challenge

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - The Christmas Caroler Challenge (vs. Various)


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/27/19):

FOX (2.438 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) continued its Friday reign thanks to "WWE SmackDown" (2.438 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

CBS (4.675 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) was the most-watched broadcaster with repeats from "Hawaii Five-0" (4.811 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2), "Magnum P.I." (4.432 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (4.781 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was NBC (3.429 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with its duo of "Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love" (3.694 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "Dateline NBC" (2.898 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.138 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up second runs of "American Housewife" (2.341 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "Fresh Off the Boat" (1.726 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "20/20" (2.190 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, The CW (0.452 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with its specials "America Salutes You Presents 'Guitar Legends 3'" (0.594 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and "Popstar's Best of 2019" (0.310 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
-20.00% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+40.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various (Repeats))
0.00% - Popstar's Best of 2019
-33.33% - Dateline NBC
-50.00% - America Salutes You Presents 'Guitar Legends 3' (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))

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
[10/01/26 - 08:35 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Kicks Off Season 39 with Best Premiere Week in Three Years
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 189 consecutive weeks (more than three years) across all key measures.

[09/30/26 - 04:44 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Sails to 7 Million Total Viewers on "Yacht Rock Night"
At 10 p.m., "R.J. Decker" hit a season high in early Live+Same Day Panel Only numbers with 3.20 million Total Viewers.

[09/30/26 - 03:27 PM]
Eagles-Bears on "Monday Night Football" Records 22.6 Million Viewers
Said audience marks the second largest Week 3 crowd in the ESPN era (since 2006).

[09/30/26 - 01:00 PM]
Historic "Big Brother" Season Hits 14.8 Billion Minutes Viewed, Up +9% from Last Year
The summer staple also saw year-over-year audience growth, averaging 5.1 million viewers in seven-day multiplatform viewing, up +8% from last summer, while ranking as the summer's most social program across all television programs (excluding sports).

[09/30/26 - 12:50 PM]
ABC's Tuesday Night Kicks Off Strong as "Dancing with the Stars" and Sophomore Drama "R.J. Decker" Each Score 10 Million Total Audience
Sophomore drama "R.J. Decker" earned a total cross-platform audience of 9.61 million, based on viewing over seven days across Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and linear encores.

[09/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 21
"Neagley," "Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "El Juicio" led all original series worldwide.

[09/29/26 - 03:28 PM]
FOX Sports Hits Home Run with Best MLB on FOX Regular Season Since '21 - No. 1 Among All Networks
Regular season coverage on FOX averaged 2.35 million viewers, up +15% vs. '25.

[09/29/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX NFL Delivers Most-Watched Early Window of the Day on Any Network in Week 3
17,898,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX's 1:00 PM ET window.

[09/29/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 21 - "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" Takes the No. 1 Spot for a Second Week
"Unabomber" premiered in the top spot on the English film list, gathering 16.4 million views.

[09/29/26 - 12:00 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Viewership Records and Milestones in Inaugural Season of WNBA Coverage Ahead of WNBA Finals on USA Network This October
USA Sports averaged 525,000 viewers across its 48 regular-season games - the most national games of any broadcaster - up 25% vs. 2025 WNBA cable average viewership.

[09/29/26 - 09:50 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Finishes 2025-2026 Season with Largest Overall Audience in Eight Years and Strongest Adults 18-49 in Four Years
In the final week of the 2025-2026 season, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ranked No. 1 in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[09/28/26 - 02:45 PM]
The "VMAs" Scores 8.4 Million Viewers, Up +51% from Last Year, and Hits 11-Year Viewership High
The telecast peaked with over 15 million viewers across CBS and MTV in the opening act, which featured Madonna's first "VMAs" performance in 23 years, including a show-opening medley with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX.

[09/25/26 - 10:51 AM]
Cartman, Kenny, Stan, Kyle and "South America's" Season 29 Premiere Delivers 4.2 Million Multiplatform U.S. Viewers Across Comedy Central and Paramount+
The season premiere on Comedy Central outperformed last season's premiere by double digits on persons 18-49 rating and share and was the #1 non-sports cable telecast for the week with persons 18-49.

[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.