or


[12/15/19 - 08:44 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: Holiday Classics Put CBS in Front
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/14/19):

CBS (2.719 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) was the top draw on Saturday with its holiday mix of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (3.058 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1), "Frosty the Snowman" (3.057 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1), "Frosty Returns" (2.307 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "48 Hours" (2.417 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Second place then went to NBC (2.047 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) and its lineup of "How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming" (1.347 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12), "DreamWorks Trolls Holiday" (1.443 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.492 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "SNL Vintage" (2.255 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Next up was FOX (1.657 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) with repeats of "The Masked Singer" (1.517 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and another "The Masked Singer" (1.797 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, ABC (1.488 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) closed out the night with encores of "The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!" (1.385 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "20/20 Saturday" (1.696 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

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

· The Dec. 14 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Scarlett Johansson and musical guest Niall Horan, has averaged a 4.0 rating in "live plus same day" household results from 44 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Note that current metered-market results are not compatible with data issued before Oct. 5 due to changes in Nielsen methodology.

· Versus primetime programming on the Big 4 networks last night, "SNL" is easily the #1 show of the night in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters,

· In fact, "Saturday Night Live" doubled the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 in both measures (4.0 vs. 2.0 for CBS' encore of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in households, 1.7 vs. 0.8 each for "Rudolph" and CBS' rebroadcast of "Frosty the Snowman" in 18-49).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/15/18):

FOX (2.153 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) snagged the demo crown on Saturday with its presentation of "UFC on FOX" (2.153 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

CBS (3.708 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) then was the most-watched broadcaster with its mix of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.011 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7), "48 Hours" (3.613 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and a new "48 Hours" (4.499 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

Next up was NBC (3.014 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with its lineup of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.327 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), another "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.021 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.696 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

And finally, a rebroadcast of "The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition" (1.844 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) and a new "The Alec Baldwin Show" (0.983 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) rounded out the night on ABC (1.557 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

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

· The Dec. 15 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Matt Damon and musical guests Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus, averaged a 4.8 rating, 12 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 2.0/10 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 4.8 rating in metered-market households is "SNL's" high since the show's Sept. 29 season premiere (also a 4.8, with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West) and equals the show's best since Jan. 27 (4.9 with host Will Ferrell and musical guest Christ Stapleton).

· The Dec. 15 "Saturday Night Live" easily ranks as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in both metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime shows on those nets in both categories. The 2.0 rating in 18-49 in the local people meters nearly triples the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 (0.7 for the 10 p.m. "SNL Vintage" encore).

· Versus what "Saturday Night Live" averaged with originals for the month of December last year, the Dec. 15 telecast is up +7% in metered-market households (4.8 vs. 4.5) and up +5% in 18-49 in the local people meters (2.0 vs. 1.9 for December 2017 originals).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [july 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
[07/09/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
"Nightline" saw gains on the same week last year in Total Viewers (+3% - 663,000 vs. 644,000) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 96,000 vs. 92,000).

[07/08/25 - 06:05 PM]
ESPN Formula 1 Coverage Enjoying Record-Breaking Season of Viewership
11 of 12 races held so far this season have had year-over-year viewership growth and seven of the 12 have set event viewership records.

[07/08/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 30: "Squid Game" Season 3 Leads Top 10 Globally, Climbs to No. 3 on Most Popular
Plus: "The Waterfront" maintained its Top 10 empire as the No. 1 English show in its third week with 5.6 million views.

[07/08/25 - 06:30 AM]
New AMC/AMC+ Epic Adventure Drama "Nautilus" Surfaces with 2.6 Million Premiere Night Viewers on Linear TV
The highly anticipated series premiered on Sunday, June 29 on AMC and AMC+, with new episodes premiering weekly on Sundays until the thrilling two-episode season finale on August 17.

[07/03/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC News Same-Day Primetime Special "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" Is No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Versus the competition in the time period, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" outperformed NBC by +40% in Adults 18-49 (212,000 vs. 151,000) and +22% in Adults 25-54.

[07/02/25 - 06:44 PM]
Tyler Perry's "Divorced Sistas" Quickly Rises to Become BET+'s Most Watched Original Series in Platform History
Just halfway through the eight-episode season, existing subscribers and new fans of the show have boosted the drama series to the most-watched series premiere on BET+ in just three weeks.

[07/02/25 - 02:38 PM]
Hallmark Channel Earns #1 Most-Watched Network on Weekends Throughout June with "Passport to Love" Programming Event
"Passport to Love" helped elevate Hallmark Channel to be the #1 most-watched network on weekends throughout the month of June.

[07/01/25 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Week of June 23: "Squid Game" Season 3 Takes Over with Record-Breaking Global Debut at No. 1
"The Waterfront" was a Top 10 hit once more as the No. 1 series on the English TV list (11.6 million views).

[07/01/25 - 10:26 AM]
ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Notes After Austrian Grand Prix
ESPN's live telecast on Sunday, June 29, averaged 1.1 million viewers, a two percent gain over last year's race and the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television.

[07/01/25 - 09:16 AM]
ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" Featuring the Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers Averaged 2 Million Viewers - Up 66% from Last Year's Comparable Game
The audience peaked with 2,304,000 viewers in the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[06/27/25 - 02:29 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Gears Up for Summer Rising Week to Week in All Key Measures
Wednesday, June 11, was the most-viewed day of the week among Total Viewers (2.164 million).

[06/27/25 - 10:31 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night in Adults 18-49 for Third Week in a Row
Winning three of five nights in Kimmel's final week before summer guest hosts, Thursday, June 19, was the show's strongest night among Adults 18-49 (0.35 rating).

[06/25/25 - 11:55 AM]
Prime Video Finishes Groundbreaking First Season of Exclusive NASCAR Coverage
According to Nielsen, NASCAR on Prime posted a season average of 2.16 million viewers (AMA P2+) across five events, and attracted droves of younger viewers to its live coverage.

[06/25/25 - 07:58 AM]
ABC News Primetime Special "Karen Read: The Verdict - A Special Edition of 20/20" Ranks #1 Across All of Broadcast and Cable in Adults 18-49
Plus: "Karen Read: The Verdict" placed No. 1 based on views among all titles on Hulu on Thursday (6/19), Friday (6/20) and Saturday (6/21).

[06/24/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week, and Claims Top Spot in Total Viewers for the 5th Straight Week
On Monday (6/16/25), "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.112 million) in 5 months.