or


[05/12/19 - 09:27 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Edges Competition with NHL Playoffs
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 seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/11/19):

NBC (2.279 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) was the top draw on Saturday with its primetime coverage of the "NHL Playoffs: Blues at Sharks" (2.279 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1).

ABC (2.230 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) then was the number two network with encores of "American Idol" (2.067 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4) and "20/20 Saturday" (2.556 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

Next up was CBS (2.176 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) and its original lineup of "Million Dollar Mile" (1.658 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4), "Ransom" (2.048 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4) and "48 Hours" (2.821 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, FOX (1.207 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) closed out the night with its latest installment of "Premier Boxing Champions Fight Night" (1.207 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T4).

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

· The May 11 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Emma Thompson and musical guest Jonas Brothers, averaged a 4.2 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.5/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The May 11 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters. In metered-market households, "Saturday Night Live" topped the #2 Big 4 telecast of the night, CBS' "48 Hours," by a +75% margin (4.2 vs. 2.4).

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live" performed in line with "SNL" originals for the month of May last year, which averaged a 4.3 in metered-market households.


Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/12/18):

NBC (2.570 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) snagged the demo crown on Saturday thanks to the primetime portion of the "NHL Playoffs: Golden Knights at Jets" (2.596 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.517 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2).

CBS (3.050 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) then was the most-watched draw with its lineup of "Ransom" (2.418 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9), "48 Hours" (3.124 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and another "48 Hours" (3.608 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3).

Next up was ABC (2.156 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with encores of "American Idol" (2.196 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "20/20 Saturday" (2.075 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, FOX (1.027 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) likewise rounded out the night with repeats of "MasterChef Junior" (0.905 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and a second "MasterChef Junior" (1.149 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

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

· The May 12 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Amy Schumer and musical guest Kacey Musgraves, has averaged a 4.3 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.8/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· "Saturday Night Live" ranked as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime programs on those nets.

· In metered-market households, it's the highest-rated "Saturday Night Live" since April 7 (4.6 with host Chadwick Boseman and musical guest Cardi B).

· The May 12 "SNL" aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and was replayed at 11:30 in western markets.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [june 2026]  
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
[06/05/26 - 02:00 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 1 Since 2018 with Average Audience of Nearly 17M Viewers (16.93M)
Game 1 peaked with nearly 20M viewers (19.63M) at 11 p.m. ET.

[06/05/26 - 01:23 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, Friday Evening and in Late-Night
"20/20" stood as Friday's No. 1 program on broadcast and the No. 2 program on all of broadcast and cable in all key target demos on May 29.

[06/04/26 - 03:03 PM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" Soars Over 10 Million Total Multiplatform Viewers Across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu
On its encore telecast on Monday, "The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" averaged 2.704 million Total Viewers and ranked as the night's No. 1 program on broadcast.

[06/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Season 51 Was #1 Among All Broadcast Comedy Series in the 18-49 Demo and #2 Among All Entertainment Series
The most-watched telecast of the season across all platforms was 10.1 million viewers on December 20 with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher.

[06/03/26 - 07:00 AM]
Fans Power UFL on ESPN to Significant Viewership Growth Across 10-Week Regular Season
ABC alone accounted for eight of the top 10 most-watched games.

[06/03/26 - 06:00 AM]
TNT Sports Caps Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with Its Most Watched Conference Final Ever
The record-setting series helped propel TNT Sports' overall coverage of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs to an average of 1.4 million viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, up 50% from 2025 through the Conference Final.

[06/02/26 - 04:06 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched Conference Finals Game Since 2016 with 15.9 Million Viewers for Spurs-Thunder Game 7 on Saturday Night
Across 28 playoff games, NBC Sports' presentation of the 2026 NBA Playoffs averaged 7.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 72% versus comparable coverage last season.

[06/02/26 - 02:36 PM]
ESPN's WCWS Viewership Success Continues
Texas Tech-UCLA averaged 2.0 million viewers, with a peak of 2.6 million.

[06/02/26 - 02:13 PM]
FOX IndyCar Continues Ratings Growth with Strong Detroit Performance
Through eight races, IndyCar on FOX is averaging 2,241,000 viewers, up +12% from 2025 (2,007,000).

[06/02/26 - 02:00 PM]
FOX MLB's "Baseball Night in America" Delivers Most-Watched Baseball Telecast of the Week
2,322,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cubs' 6-1 victory over the Cardinals in most of the country.

[06/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 25 - "The Boroughs" Makes Itself at Home at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nemesis" stole away with the No. 2 spot on the list, commanding 5.9 million views.

[06/01/26 - 11:04 AM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched NCAA Women's College World Series Opening Thursday on Record
Arkansas-Nebraska averaged 1.4 million viewers, with a peak of 1.6 million.

[06/01/26 - 08:27 AM]
ESPN Scores Most-Viewed Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final Since 2015, The Latest Viewership Successes Headed Into the Stanley Cup Final
Across four games on ESPN, the series averaged 2.2 million viewers and was up 44% vs. the Western Conference Final last year (Edmonton vs. Dallas) which went five games on ESPN.

[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.