or


[12/14/19 - 08:45 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX, "WWE SmackDown" Top Demo Race
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 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/13/19):

FOX (2.339 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) remained the adults 18-49 champ on Friday with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.339 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

CBS (5.958 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was a close second with the fall finales of "Hawaii Five-0" (6.453 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Magnum P.I." (6.120 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (5.302 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was NBC (3.622 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) and its fall finale of "The Blacklist" (3.844 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (3.511 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.777 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) served up its 2019 closers to "American Housewife" (3.408 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.393 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9) alongside a two-hour "20/20" (2.716 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

And finally, The CW (0.901 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening with a broadcast of "The 88th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade" (0.901 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - American Housewife (vs. 11/29/19)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0
0.00% - Magnum P.I.
0.00% - The Blacklist
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. 11/29/19)
-16.67% - 20/20 (vs. 11/29/19)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Midnight, Texas)
+25.00% - 20/20 (vs. Child Support/20/20)
+20.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! (Repeat))
0.00% - American Housewife (vs. Fresh Off the Boat)
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. I Love Lucy Christmas Special (Repeat))
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Speechless)
0.00% - The 88th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade
-12.50% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
-37.50% - Dateline NBC


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/14/18):

FOX (3.734 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) took home the adults 18-49 crown for the 12th consecutive Friday with its mix of "Last Man Standing" (5.470 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1), "The Cool Kids" (4.176 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2) and "Hell's Kitchen" (2.645 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4).

NBC (3.867 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then was a close second with a new "Midnight, Texas" (2.432 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10) alongside a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (4.585 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T2).

Next up was CBS (5.464 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with its lineup of "I Love Lucy Christmas Special" (5.863 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color!" (5.299 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) and a repeat "Blue Bloods" (5.233 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.507 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up the fall finales of "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.991 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and "Speechless" (2.162 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10), the season finale of "Child Support" (1.932 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #12) and a new "20/20" (3.013 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

And finally, The CW (1.021 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night with its telecast of "The 87th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade" (1.021 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat
0.00% - Midnight, Texas
-9.09% - Last Man Standing
-11.11% - The Cool Kids
-20.00% - Speechless
-22.22% - Hell's Kitchen
-28.57% - 20/20
-40.00% - Child Support (vs. 11/30/18)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. The Exorcist)
+25.00% - Last Man Standing (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
+20.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Once Upon a Time)
0.00% - The Cool Kids (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
0.00% - 20/20
-11.11% - Dateline NBC
-20.00% - Speechless (vs. Once Upon a Time)
-33.33% - The 87th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade
-40.00% - Child Support (vs. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD)
-42.86% - Midnight, Texas (vs. Blindspot)

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," 1.8/5; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.6/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.5/3; "Late Show," 0.3/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.1/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 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 with an encore; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.2/4 with an encore. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore; "Late Late Show," 0.1/1 with an encore.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.1/1 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [december 2025]  
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
[12/23/25 - 03:11 PM]
College Football Playoff First Round Presented by Allstate Averages 9.9 Million Viewers Across Four Games on ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports
Alabama vs. Oklahoma delivered 14.9 million viewers on Friday.

[12/23/25 - 03:03 PM]
FOX NFL Exclusive Week 16 Doubleheader Delivers 21.3 Million for Packers-Bears and 15.4 Million for Eagles-Commanders
Plus: 15,460,000 viewers watched FOX Sports' exclusive Week 16 Saturday presentation of the Eagles victory over the Commanders and divisional clinch of the NFC East.

[12/23/25 - 12:16 PM]
"Stranger Things" by the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shaped Culture
In just four weeks, Season 5 Vol. 1 has already reached 102.6M views globally and all five seasons still remain in the Top 10 this week.

[12/23/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 15 - "The Great Flood" Rises to No. 1; "Wake Up Dead Man" Stays on Top for a Second Week
Plus: "Emily in Paris" returned with its fifth season, taking the No. 2 spot on the list with 13.5 million views.

[12/23/25 - 10:01 AM]
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua's Epic Six-Round Battle
The event reached Netflix's Top 10 in 91 countries and ranked #1 in 45 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina.

[12/19/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC Celebrates Record-Breaking 2025 with Top Six Shows Among Adults 18-49 and TV's No. 1 Show, "High Potential"
"High Potential" stands as the No. 1 series for the year in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with the network also owning the Top Six shows in the key Adult demo.

[12/17/25 - 01:30 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks #1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" also posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[12/17/25 - 06:42 AM]
Cricket Celebration Bowl Delivered Double-Digit Increases on ABC
Coverage averaged 2.3 million viewers with a peak of 3.0 million.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
FOX NFL Week 15 Scores 19.4 Million Viewers for "America's Game of the Week"
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is averaging 20,055,000 viewers; up +8% over last year's average (18,630,000) and its best since 2015.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
"CBS News Presents: A Town Hall with Erika Kirk" Boosts CBS' Time Period Performance in Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49
The special delivered 1.9 million viewers with 265,000 in the adults 25-54 demographic on Saturday, December 13.

[12/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 8 - "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" Cracks the Case at No. 1 in the Top 10
New comedy series "Man vs. Baby" took No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.1 million views, with the Rowan Atkinson vehicle eliciting laughs over the bumbling Trevor Bingley trying to earn money house-sitting for millionaires while a lost baby keeps him on his toes.

[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/12/25 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched Jimmy V Women's Classic Ever; Men's Classic Most-Watched in Five Years
The former averaged 1.0 million viewers, peaking with 1.3 million.

[12/11/25 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos
The series also saw gains on the same week last year in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[12/10/25 - 02:59 PM]
FOX NFL Scores Massive Week 14 Viewership
28 million viewers watched FOX Sports' Week 14 "America's Game of the Week," featuring the Green Bay Packers divisional win over the Chicago Bears.