or


[03/22/20 - 09:27 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC, "Dateline" Top Charts
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (3/21/20):

NBC (3.549 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) claimed top honors on Saturday with its telecasts of "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.885 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.881 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1).

Second place went to ABC (2.715 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) with encores of "Shark Tank" (2.959 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "American Idol" (2.593 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was CBS (2.789 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) and its lineup of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.112 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "SWAT" (2.671 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "48 Hours" (2.585 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

And finally, repeats of "LEGO Masters" (0.981 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) and "9-1-1" (1.171 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) closed out the night on FOX (1.076 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4).

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

· A March 21 encore edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host JJ Watt and musical guest Luke Combs, has averaged a 2.9 rating in "live plus same day" household results from 44 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 0.9 rating in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Last night's "Saturday Night Live" is tied as the #2 highest-rated "SNL" encore in metered-market households among the 11 aired in this timeslot since Nielsen revised its metered-market methodology on Oct. 5, 2019, trailing over that span only the Jan. 11 rebroadcast (3.1 in metered-market households with host and musical guest Harry Styles). The Feb. 15 "SNL" encore (with host Eddie Murphy and musical guest Lizzo) also scored a 2.9 in metered-market households.

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

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


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/23/19):

CBS (5.327 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1) once again got a boost on Saturday from its primetime coverage of the "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament" (6.150 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) followed by "48 Hours" (3.682 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2).

ABC (2.342 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) then was the silver draw with encores of "American Idol" (2.122 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5) and "20/20 Saturday" (2.781 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Next up was NBC (1.953 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with the "World Figure Skating Championships" (1.830 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T6) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.198 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

And finally, second runs of "MasterChef Junior" (0.936 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T6) and "9-1-1" (1.146 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T6) on FOX (1.041 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) rounded out the evening.

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

· A March 23 encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host and musical guest Halsey, has averaged a 2.6 rating, 7 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 0.8/5 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The March 23 "Saturday Night Live" rebroadcast ranks #2 for the night on the Big 4 networks in 18-49 in the local people meters, behind only CBS' NCAA Tournament basketball coverage in the LPMs.

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
[06/10/26 - 09:08 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers 2nd-Largest Final Round Audience for U.S. Women's Open Since 2014
Coverage averaged 1.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock.

[06/09/26 - 03:59 PM]
Belmont Stakes Audience Peaks at 4.7 Million Viewers Across FOX & FS1
The combined telecast on FOX and FS1 averaged 3,730,000 viewers.

[06/09/26 - 03:34 PM]
FOX UFL Scores Strong Finish
1,066,000 viewers watched FOX UFL as the Louisville Kings defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks Sunday and advanced to the United Bowl.

[06/09/26 - 02:50 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 2 Since 2018 with Average Audience of 16.43M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 19.42 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.

[06/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 1 - "Office Romance" Sneaks to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Michael Jackson: The Verdict" has grabbed viewers' attention, landing at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.8 million views.

[06/09/26 - 10:29 AM]
May Continues ESPN Studio Shows' Year-Long Viewership Success
Combined, all ESPN studio shows were up 27 percent in viewership over May of 2025 and up 11% year-over-year (YOY) among younger viewers in the Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[06/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NCAA DI Women's College World Series on Record
The WCWS Finals, featuring Texas and Texas Tech, averaged 2.2 million viewers as the Longhorns claimed their second-straight national championship in the two-game series.

[06/08/26 - 09:03 AM]
ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched WCWS Finals on Record; Game 2 Delivers Most-Watched College Softball Game Ever
Game 2 averaged 2.5 million viewers across ESPN/ESPNU, delivering the most-watched college softball game on record.

[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.