or


[05/18/20 - 08:28 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with "American Idol" Finale
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 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/17/20):

ABC (5.695 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its mix of "AFV@Home" (4.618 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), the season finale of "American Idol" (7.265 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) and the special "Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert" (3.632 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

FOX (2.339 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was the silver draw with its lineup of "NASCAR Overrun" (5.839 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1), a repeat "Bob's Burgers" (2.277 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and the season finales of "The Simpsons" (1.890 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Duncanville" (1.208 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10), "Bob's Burgers" (1.326 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) and "Family Guy" (1.491 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

Next up was CBS (5.102 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and its mix of "60 Minutes" (9.688 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), the feature "Mission: Impossible" (3.903 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10) and a repeat "Man with a Plan" (1.928 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.028 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up "Little Big Shots" (2.143 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12), "Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina" (1.949 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12) and "The Wall" (2.071 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T12).

And finally, closing out the night were the season finales of "Batwoman" (0.752 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16) and "Supergirl" (0.627 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T16) on The CW (0.689 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Supergirl
+33.33% - Duncanville
+25.00% - Bob's Burgers
+20.00% - The Simpsons
0.00% - American Idol
0.00% - 60 Minutes
0.00% - Family Guy
0.00% - Little Big Shots (vs. 5/3/20)
0.00% - Batwoman
-40.00% - The Wall (vs. 5/3/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - The Simpsons (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
+25.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
+25.00% - Family Guy (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
0.00% - Supergirl (vs. Charmed)
0.00% - Duncanville (vs. Hotel Transylvania 2 (Repeat))
0.00% - AFV@Home (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos)
-12.50% - 60 Minutes
-23.08% - American Idol
-33.33% - Batwoman (vs. Supergirl)
-40.00% - Little Big Shots (vs. Ellen's Game of Games (Repeat))
-40.00% - The Wall (vs. Good Girls)
-57.14% - Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina (vs. Dateline NBC)
-61.54% - Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert (vs. American Idol)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/19/19):

ABC (7.183 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) was the top demo draw on Sunday thanks to the season finales of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.608 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "American Idol" (7.708 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #1).

NBC (3.425 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then was the number two network with its mix of a repeat "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.624 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (4.304 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "Good Girls" (2.466 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was CBS (5.025 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with its finale lineup of "60 Minutes" (8.207 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2), "The Red Line" (3.658 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), another "The Red Line" (3.105 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and "NCIS: Los Angeles" (5.130 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.117 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) opted for repeats of "The Simpsons" (0.839 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), "Family Guy" (0.869 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and the feature "Hotel Transylvania 2" (1.249 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #8).

And finally, The CW (0.827 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night with the season finales of "Supergirl" (1.054 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9) and "Charmed" (0.600 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+133.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2/10/19)
+25.00% - Good Girls
+18.18% - American Idol
+14.29% - 60 Minutes
0.00% - The Red Line - 9:00
0.00% - Supergirl
0.00% - Charmed
-16.67% - NCIS: Los Angeles
-25.00% - The Red Line - 8:00
-30.00% - America's Funniest Home Videos

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+21.50% - American Idol (vs. American Idol/Deception)
0.00% - 60 Minutes
-16.67% - NCIS: Los Angeles (vs. Madam Secretary)
-22.22% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-62.50% - The Red Line - 9:00 (vs. NCIS: Los Angeles)
-62.50% - The Red Line - 8:00 (vs. NCIS: Los Angeles)
-66.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2018 Billboard Music Awards)
-76.19% - Good Girls (vs. 2018 Billboard Music Awards)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[11/20/25 - 11:31 AM]
"Landman" Season 2 Premiere Delivers Record Breaking 9.2 Million Global Streaming Views in Its First Two Days on Paramount+
Views increased by +262% from the first season premiere, making it the most watched premiere for any original series for Paramount+.

[11/20/25 - 08:22 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Performance Among Total Viewers and Households in Five Months
Friday's "Live's Halloween Show: "It's Trending!" posted its top telecast in Total Viewers (2.554 million) and Households (1.62 million) in over six months.

[11/18/25 - 03:40 PM]
"College GameDay" Scores Best Week 12 Show Ever in Steel City Stop; ABC & ESPN Deliver Top Four Most-Watched Games of Week 12
ABC is registering 6.9 million viewers per game, on pace for the most-watched season on record for the network.

[11/18/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX NFL Off to Its Best Start to the Season Since 2016
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2016, averaging 19,038,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average (18,239,000).

[11/18/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 10 - "The Beast in Me" Plays Mind Games at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Those wishing to escape into fantasy opted for "The Witcher" Season 4, placing the series at No. 2 on the list with 3.6 million views in its third week in the Top 10.

[11/14/25 - 10:30 AM]
"High Potential" Season 2 Premiere Scores Over 21 Million Total Viewers Across 35 Days
Season to date, the powerhouse drama continues to dominate, ranking as the No. 1 original broadcast series for the second season in a row among Adults 18-49 (2.42 rating), based on Nielsen cross-platform rankings.

[11/14/25 - 09:35 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Rises Week to Week with 6.67 Million Total Viewers as Show Heads to Semi-Finals
This marks the show's best performance for its last episode before the semi-finals among Total Viewers in six years and among Adults 18-49 in eight years.

[11/14/25 - 09:31 AM]
"Wicked: One Wonderful Night" Shines for NBC
Across all platforms, the special drew 3.6 million viewers, which was up 64% from last year's "Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked" special.

[11/12/25 - 08:27 AM]
ABC Scores Top Game of the Week for the 10th Straight Week; "College GameDay" Posts Week 11 Growth and Record Season Rolls On
LSU-Alabama (7.5 million viewers) was the most-watched game of the week, followed by Texas A&M-Missouri (4.9 million) and BYU-Texas Tech (4.0 million) among the top five.

[11/11/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 3 - "Frankenstein" Comes to Life at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
For more monsters, viewers turned to Season 4 of "The Witcher," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 7.4 million views.

[11/06/25 - 02:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54
"Nightline" was up on the previous week by double digits in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[11/05/25 - 09:39 AM]
"College GameDay" and ESPN College Football on ABC Win Week 10
Georgia-Florida led the week with 7.8 million viewers, marking the largest audience on record for this rivalry in a full national window.

[11/05/25 - 08:00 AM]
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Concludes First Full Year on The Cw Network with Most-Watched Season in Four Years
The championship race, which saw Jesse Love emerge as the season winner, drew 1,015,000 total viewers and peaked at 1,191,000 total viewers from 9:30-9:45pm ET.

[11/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
FOX Scores 7.19 Million Viewers for Penn State-Ohio State
Plus, Texas Tech's win over K-State earned 3,131,000 viewers on FOX - up +42% over last year's average of Big 12 games on the network.

[11/04/25 - 03:38 PM]
FOX Sports Wraps Unforgettable Postseason as Epic World Series Game 7 Delivers 27.3 Million Viewers
On FOX, the 11-inning Fall Classic conclusion peaked at 33,064,000 viewers from 11:45 PM-12:00 AM ET.