or


[02/06/21 - 10:02 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Adults 18-49; CBS 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 (2/5/21):

ABC (4.115 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) pulled in front among adults 18-49 on Friday thanks to fresh installments of "Shark Tank" (4.542 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) and "20/20" (3.901 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

FOX (2.126 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was a close second with its latest edition of "WWE SmackDown" (2.126 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was CBS (5.625 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with originals from "MacGyver" (5.025 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Magnum P.I." (5.529 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "Blue Bloods" (6.321 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.937 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up its duo of "The Blacklist" (3.317 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) and "Dateline NBC" (2.747 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7).

And finally, The CW (0.860 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.928 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.864 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.824 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Shark Tank (vs. 1/22/21)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. 1/22/21)
0.00% - MacGyver (vs. 1/22/21)
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us
-16.67% - Magnum P.I. (vs. 1/22/21)
-25.00% - The Blacklist
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. Blue Bloods (Repeat))
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Dynasty)
-25.00% - WWE SmackDown
-25.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector)
-28.57% - MacGyver
-28.57% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0)
-33.33% - Dateline NBC
-36.36% - Shark Tank (vs. ABC News: The Democratic Debate)
-45.45% - 20/20 (vs. ABC News: The Democratic Debate)
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Charmed)


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/7/20):

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

ABC (6.859 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) pulled off a rare victory on Friday with its coverage of "ABC News: The Democratic Debate" (6.859 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1).

FOX (2.547 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) had to settle for second in adults 18-49 with "WWE SmackDown" (2.547 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.968 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with the return of "MacGyver" (5.969 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) followed by a new "Hawaii Five-0" (6.622 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and a repeat "Blue Bloods" (5.314 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.802 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up its duo of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (3.609 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (3.899 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

And finally, fresh installments of "Charmed" (0.596 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8) and "Dynasty" (0.326 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #9) closed out the evening on The CW (0.461 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Dateline NBC
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0
0.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector
0.00% - Charmed
0.00% - Dynasty

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+57.14% - ABC News: The Democratic Debate (vs. Various)
+9.09% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-20.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-22.22% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. Celebrity Big Brother)
-36.36% - MacGyver (vs. Celebrity Big Brother)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [february 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
[11/26/25 - 02:31 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 in Time Period vs. CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted substantial increases week to week across the board.

[11/26/25 - 02:30 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Weeks, ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[11/26/25 - 02:21 PM]
"Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary" Is the Season's Most-Watched Primetime Entertainment Special
The telecast delivered 6.32 million viewers and was the most-watched entertainment program Monday night.

[11/26/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Caps Spectacular Season 34 with 9.24 Million Total Viewers - Drawing Largest Finale Audience in 9 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the show nearly doubled last season's finale episode (+89% - 2.15 rating vs. 1.14 rating), hitting its strongest finale result in 10 years.

[11/25/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Center Stage: Countdown to the CMA Awards - Special Edition of 20/20" Rises Over Last Year's Performance in All Key Measures
"Center Stage" (434,000 and 326,000, respectively) ranked No. 1 in its hour in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[11/25/25 - 03:05 PM]
ESPN Wins Week 13 with Stellar Showings for "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot," "SEC on ABC" and Friday College Football on ESPN
Texas Longhorns defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 52-37 delivered 5.6 million viewers on November 22.

[11/25/25 - 02:57 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Scores 27,816,000 Viewers in Week 12
The Dallas Cowboys win over the Philadelphia Eagles peaked with 28.4 million viewers from 7:30 PM - 7:45 PM ET.

[11/25/25 - 02:03 PM]
CBS Sports' Coverage of the 2025 NWSL Championship Is the First NWSL Match Ever to Surpass 1 Million Viewers!
The Gotham FC victory over Washington Spirit set a NWSL viewership record.

[11/25/25 - 02:00 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on ESPN
ESPN's live telecast on Saturday night, November 22, averaged 1.5 million viewers, the largest audience to watch the event in its three-year history,

[11/25/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 17 - 3 Cheers for "Champagne Problems" at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys continued to keep audiences guessing in their psychological thriller "The Beast in Me," which took the No. 1 spot on the English TV list for a second week with 14.1 million views.

[11/21/25 - 12:00 PM]
CBS Series Top L+7 Multiplatform Competitive Charts
Seven weeks into the 2025/26 broadcast season, "Tracker" is the #1 series, averaging 14.2 million viewers across broadcast and streaming.

[11/20/25 - 04:55 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Jumps to Season Highs with Epic "Prince Night"
The show rose dramatically over its year-ago penultimate episode in Total Viewers, with its best semifinals performance in seven years.

[11/20/25 - 11:31 AM]
"Landman" Season 2 Premiere Delivers Record Breaking 9.2 Million Global Streaming Views in Its First Two Days on Paramount+
Views increased by +262% from the first season premiere, making it the most watched premiere for any original series for Paramount+.

[11/20/25 - 08:22 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Performance Among Total Viewers and Households in Five Months
Friday's "Live's Halloween Show: "It's Trending!" posted its top telecast in Total Viewers (2.554 million) and Households (1.62 million) in over six months.

[11/18/25 - 03:40 PM]
"College GameDay" Scores Best Week 12 Show Ever in Steel City Stop; ABC & ESPN Deliver Top Four Most-Watched Games of Week 12
ABC is registering 6.9 million viewers per game, on pace for the most-watched season on record for the network.