or


[01/07/21 - 08:21 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Tops Capitol Hill News Coverage
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 (1/6/21):

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

NBC (5.422 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the top draw on a news-driven Wednesday with its full night of "NBC News Special" (5.422 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1).

ABC (4.210 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) claimed the silver with its own night of "ABC News Special: Storming Capitol Hill: Democracy Under Fire" (4.210 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

FOX (2.913 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) then offered up the official premieres of "The Masked Dancer" (2.790 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) and "Name That Tune" (3.036 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2).

Next up was CBS (2.509 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) with repeats of "Young Sheldon" (3.662 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) and "The Neighborhood" (2.874 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #6) followed by its "CBS News Special" (2.129 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #7).

And finally, repeats of "Riverdale" (0.311 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8) and "Nancy Drew" (0.261 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8) on The CW (0.286 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-41.67% - The Masked Dancer (vs. 12/27/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - The Masked Dancer (vs. Flirty Dancing)
+133.33% - Name That Tune (vs. Almost Family)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/8/20):

ABC (7.483 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) got another boost on Wednesday thanks to night two of "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time" (14.824 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) followed by the return of "Modern Family" (6.399 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2), "Single Parents" (3.400 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6) and "Stumptown" (2.727 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.5, #10).

NBC (7.449 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) took home the silver with its mainstays "Chicago Med" (7.409 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3), "Chicago Fire" (7.910 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T3) and "Chicago PD" (7.028 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5).

Next up was CBS (4.517 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) with the season premieres of "Undercover Boss" (4.233 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) and "Criminal Minds" (4.843 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7) alongside a second "Criminal Minds" (4.475 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.217 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) served up fresh installments of "Flirty Dancing" (1.420 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11) and "Almost Family" (1.014 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T11).

And finally, The CW (0.417 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with repeats of "Riverdale" (0.414 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) and "Nancy Drew" (0.420 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - Modern Family (vs. 12/11/19)
+50.00% - Single Parents (vs. 12/11/19)
0.00% - Stumptown (vs. 12/11/19)
0.00% - Almost Family
-8.33% - Chicago Fire (vs. 11/20/19)
-8.33% - Chicago Med (vs. 11/20/19)
-9.09% - Chicago PD (vs. 11/20/19)
-25.00% - Flirty Dancing

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+76.92% - Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time (vs. The Goldbergs/Schooled)
+15.38% - Modern Family
+12.50% - Single Parents
0.00% - Chicago PD
-12.50% - Criminal Minds - 9:00 (vs. SEAL Team)
-12.50% - Criminal Minds - 10:00
-15.38% - Chicago Fire
-15.38% - Chicago Med
-16.67% - Stumptown (vs. Match Game)
-26.32% - Undercover Boss (vs. The Big Bang Theory/Young Sheldon (Repeats))
-72.73% - Flirty Dancing (vs. Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back)
-86.96% - Almost Family (vs. The Masked Singer)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2021]  
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.