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
[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.

[05/19/26 - 02:01 PM]
Netflix Viewership Peaks with Nearly 17 Million Global Viewers for MVP MMA's Rousey vs. Carano, Averaging 12.4 Million Viewers Across the Triple Main Event
In the US, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million viewers during Rousey vs. Carano.

[05/19/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 11 - "The Roast of Kevin Hart" Heats Up to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
True crime audiences also streamed the second season of "Worst Ex Ever," which rose to the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.1 million views.

[05/19/26 - 07:07 AM]
TNT Sports Posts Its Most-Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Ever
Thursday's Game 5 of the Montreal/Buffalo series averaged 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched, Second Round, Game 5 on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/18/26 - 04:03 PM]
"The Rookie" Season 8 Finale Surges to Over 9 Million Total Viewers
Setting new records with its exceptional momentum this season, "The Rookie" finale earned an all-time streaming high for the series based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.

[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.

[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.

[05/13/26 - 07:56 AM]
ESPN Networks Delivered Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Ever with Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever on May 9
ESPN today announced that the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever matchup on May 9 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game across ESPN networks ever.

[05/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 4 - The Critters of "Swapped" Soar to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The pursuit of justice is action-packed in "Man on Fire," which set the English TV list ablaze at No. 1 with 12.6 million views.

[05/08/26 - 09:18 AM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched MLB Regular Season Start Since 2015
The Yankees/Mariners season opener on March 31 delivered 562,000 viewers and peaked at 735,000, making it the most watched opener on TBS since 2012.

[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).