or


[05/18/20 - 07:27 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: "Graduate Together" Tops 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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/16/20):

NBC (2.258 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #1) was the victor on another modest Saturday with its mix of "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020" (2.173 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1), "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.320 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "SNL Vintage" (2.282 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1).

Second place went to CBS (2.575 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #2) with its lineup of "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020" (1.889 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5), "48 Hours" (2.198 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and a new "48 Hours" (3.638 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1).

Next up was ABC (1.295 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3) with its telecast of "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020" (2.247 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) plus "ESPN on ABC: "Kobe's Final Game" Jazz @ Lakers - April 23, 2016" (0.818 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8).

Meanwhile, FOX (0.693 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T3) offered up "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020" (0.669 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) alongside a rebroadcast of "Celebrity Watch Party" (0.717 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8).

And finally, The CW (0.367 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020" (0.367 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11).

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

TBA


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/18/19):

NBC (2.960 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) was the top draw on a low key Saturday with its mix of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.903 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4), a second hour of "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.383 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (2.593 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

FOX (2.369 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) then shared in the demo honors with the return of "FOX Sports Saturday Presents Major League Baseball" (2.369 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

Next up was CBS (2.449 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) with a repeat "God Friended Me" (1.992 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T7) followed by new episodes of "Ransom" (2.272 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T7) and "48 Hours" (3.084 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

And finally, ABC (2.087 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) closed out the night with second runs of "American Idol" (1.906 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T7) and "20/20 Saturday" (2.449 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

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

· The May 18 season finale of "Saturday Night Live," with host Paul Rudd and musical guest DJ Khaled, averaged a 4.0 rating, 10 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.6/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The May 18 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and in 18-49 in the local people meters.

· In metered-market households, "Saturday Night Live" topped the #2 Big 4 telecast of the night, CBS' "48 Hours," by a +48% margin (4.0 vs. 2.7). In 18-49 in the local people meters, "SNL" more than doubled the night's #2 program, Fox's Astros-Red Sox Major League Baseball (1.6 vs. 0.6).

· The year-ago "Saturday Night Live" season finale, with host Tina Fey and musical guest Nicki Minaj earned a 4.5 in metered-market households and a 1.9 in 18-49 in the local people meters on May 19, 2018.

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
[12/08/25 - 11:30 AM]
College Football on The CW Network Sees Double Digit Year-Over-Year Viewership Gains for 2025 Season
ACC football experienced the largest year-over-year growth, up 26% in total audience compared to 2024.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.

[12/04/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores 4.36 Million Viewers on FOX
The 2025 season was "Big Noon Kickoff's" most-watched season in history.

[12/04/25 - 02:41 PM]
18.4M Viewers Tuned in for Ohio State-Michigan on FOX
Ohio State's win over Michigan scored 18,424,000 viewers on FOX.

[12/04/25 - 02:28 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix on ESPN2
The November 30 telecast earned an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience ever to watch the event on U.S. television.

[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.

[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.

[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).

[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.

[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.