or


[12/06/19 - 08:12 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Wins Big with "Thursday Night Football"
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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/5/19):

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

FOX (13.638 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.7, #1) got another boost on Thursday with its presentations of "Thursday Night Football Pre-Game" (11.582 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.9, #2) and "Thursday Night Football" (14.049 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.9, #1).

ABC (4.124 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then was a distant second with its annual telecast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (4.954 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) followed by the original movie "Same Time, Next Christmas" (3.709 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7).

Next up was CBS (5.263 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) and its mix of "Young Sheldon" (8.390 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3), "The Unicorn" (5.832 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5), "Mom" (5.981 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T5), "Carol's Second Act" (4.685 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and "Evil" (3.346 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.651 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up "A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special" (3.125 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T7) and a new "Making It" (1.702 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11).

And finally, The CW (0.962 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) rounded out the night with new episodes from "Supernatural" (1.066 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12) and "Legacies" (0.857 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Supernatural (vs. 11/21/19)
+50.00% - Legacies (vs. 11/21/19)
+44.44% - Thursday Night Football (vs. 11/21/19)
+31.82% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game (vs. 11/21/19)
+14.29% - The Unicorn (vs. 11/21/19)
+10.00% - Young Sheldon (vs. 11/21/19)
0.00% - Mom (vs. 11/21/19)
0.00% - Carol's Second Act (vs. 11/21/19)
0.00% - Evil (vs. 11/21/19)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+70.59% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
+69.57% - Thursday Night Football
0.00% - Making It (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeat))
-14.29% - Same Time, Next Christmas (vs. The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition)
-25.00% - Legacies
-25.00% - Carol's Second Act (vs. Murphy Brown)
-28.57% - Evil (vs. SWAT)
-33.33% - Mom
-40.00% - Supernatural
-47.62% - Young Sheldon (vs. The Big Bang Theory)
-50.00% - The Unicorn (vs. Young Sheldon)


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/6/18):

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

FOX (7.762 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) snagged the demo crown last night thanks to its "Thursday Night Football Pre-Game" (6.381 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3) and "Thursday Night Football" (8.038 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1).

CBS (7.969 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then took home the silver with originals from "The Big Bang Theory" (12.334 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2), "Young Sheldon" (10.866 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4), "Mom" (7.981 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T5), "Murphy Brown" (5.993 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8) and "SWAT" (5.319 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

Next up was ABC (4.192 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) with a rebroadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (5.237 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T5) and the return of "The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition" (3.669 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.597 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up new episodes from "Superstore" (3.422 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #7), "The Good Place" (2.565 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T8), "Will & Grace" (2.842 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T10) and "I Feel Bad" (1.831 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) plus a repeat "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2.462 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14).

And finally, new episodes of "Supernatural" (1.537 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #13) and "Legacies" (1.203 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) on The CW (1.370 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Legacies
+25.00% - Supernatural
+16.67% - Will & Grace
+9.09% - Mom
0.00% - Superstore (vs. 11/15/18)
0.00% - Murphy Brown
0.00% - The Good Place (vs. 11/15/18)
0.00% - SWAT
0.00% - I Feel Bad
-8.70% - The Big Bang Theory (vs. 11/15/18)
-11.11% - Young Sheldon (vs. 11/15/18)
-46.88% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
-52.08% - Thursday Night Football

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+170.59% - Thursday Night Football (vs. Gotham/The Orville)
+112.50% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game (vs. Gotham)
0.00% - Legacies (vs. Arrow)
0.00% - Supernatural
-12.50% - The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition
-14.29% - Mom
-22.22% - SWAT
-25.00% - The Big Bang Theory
-27.27% - Murphy Brown (vs. Life in Pieces)
-27.27% - Young Sheldon
-52.63% - Superstore (vs. Thursday Night Football Pre-Game)
-72.41% - The Good Place (vs. Thursday Night Football)
-75.86% - Will & Grace (vs. Thursday Night Football)
-86.21% - I Feel Bad (vs. Thursday Night Football)

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

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.6/4; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.8/8; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.6/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.5/3; "Late Show," 0.4/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.1/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.3/5. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/3 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[05/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Strong Month of Sports Propels ESPN Studio Shows to Record Viewership for April
The entire lineup of ESPN studio shows was up 21% overall in viewership over April of 2025 and up 10% year-over-year (YOY) in the coveted Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).

[05/05/26 - 03:36 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched First Round Game 7 in NBA History for Saturday Night's 76ers-Celtics
Saturday night's matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[05/05/26 - 02:33 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Ever
Game 7 of the Montreal/Tampa Bay series on Sunday, May 3 averaged 2.3 million viewers, the most-watched First Round game on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/05/26 - 02:24 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Flexes Double-Digit Season-to-Date Viewership Increase
2,130,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX on Saturday, May 2, for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cardinals' 3-2 Victory over the Dodgers in most of the country.

[05/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 27 - The Hunt Continues as "Apex" Takes No. 1 for a Second Week
Plus: Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but "Man on Fire" served it up hot, reaching No. 1 on the English TV list with 11 million views.

[05/03/26 - 02:40 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers the Most-Watched Kentucky Derby on Record, Averaging 19.6 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Historic "Run for the Roses"
Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade, and made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.

[05/01/26 - 01:33 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Jumps Back from Spring Break with Fifth Straight Week of Growth Among Both Total Viewers and Households
Dominating the New York market, "Live with Kelly and Mark" towers over its closest competition this season by double and triple digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.

[05/01/26 - 08:05 AM]
NBC Sports' NBA Playoff Viewership on NBC & Peacock Up 58% vs. Comparable Coverage Last Year Through First 13 Games
This is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting the NBA Playoffs.

[04/30/26 - 02:17 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
ABC News' "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers (931,000) for the week of April 20.

[04/29/26 - 04:01 PM]
"American Idol" Scores 5.3 Million Total Viewers with Biggest Audience in Over 2 Months During Taylor Swift Night
Monday's episode was the No. 1 entertainment program on the night among Total Viewers (5.34 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.42 rating).

[04/29/26 - 02:41 PM]
Record Breaker! ESPN Airs Most-Viewed First Round Game 5 Ever on Cable, Extending Milestone Run of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday averaged 2 million viewers, up 190% vs. ESPN's First Round Game 5 average last year.

[04/28/26 - 03:41 PM]
TNT Sports Continues Viewership Surge for 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Minnesota's Game 4 victory over Dallas on Saturday averaged 1.9 million viewers on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.

[04/28/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 20 - Charlize Theron Climbs to No. 1 with "Apex" in This Week's Top 10
Another warning to be careful who you trust, the psychological thriller series "Unchosen" debuted at No. 1 on the English TV list with 10.4 million views.

[04/27/26 - 01:49 PM]
Food Network's "Tournament of Champions VII" Delivers Impressive Ratings in Key Demos
On average the seventh season garnered 1.00 P25-54 / 1.26 W25-54 L3 ratings and remains on track to be Food Network's highest-rated series among P25-54 for the sixth year in a row.