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





  [april 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
[04/21/26 - 02:35 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Scores Double-Digit Year-Over-Year Growth
2,094,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX Saturday for a two-game slate highlighted by Atlanta's 3-1 victory over Philadelphia in most of the country.

[04/21/26 - 10:51 AM]
A New High! NHL on ESPN Networks Score Most-Viewed Regular Season of the Current Rights Deal
Individually, the NHL on ESPN averaged 602K viewers (38 games) and the NHL on ABC averaged 1.1 million viewers (16 games), both new highs in ESPN's current rights era.

[04/20/26 - 02:36 PM]
"The Pitt" Delivers Its Biggest Episode Yet, With the Season 2 Finale Reaching a Series-High 9.7 Million U.S. Viewers in Its First Weekend
The season is now averaging 15.4 million viewers, up 50% vs. Season 1, becoming the sixth current HBO Max series to surpass 15 million U.S. viewers.

[04/17/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 on Sunday Morning and Friday Night
For the third week in a row, "20/20" built on its year-ago telecast in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[04/16/26 - 10:36 AM]
"American Idol" Rocks to a 5-Week High
Among Adults 18-49, "American Idol" grew over the prior week, delivering its best performance in 7 weeks.

[04/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
HBO Originals "Euphoria" and "DTF St. Louis" Viewership Performance
"Euphoria" made its much-anticipated season 3 return to amass 8.5 million U.S. viewers in its first three days of availability.

[04/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ESPN Delivers Second Most-Watched WNBA Draft Ever
Said coverage averaged 1.50 million viewers, up 20% year-over-year.

[04/15/26 - 12:49 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched NHL on TNT Regular Season
All in, NHL coverage across TNT Sports' networks reached 20.4 million viewers this season, up 37% vs. last season.

[04/15/26 - 11:38 AM]
ESPN's Most-Watched NBA Regular Season in Seven Years
Through 80 telecasts, the 2025-26 NBA regular season on ABC & ESPN averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 11 percent from last season (1.7M viewers).

[04/15/26 - 09:30 AM]
CBS Series Deliver Strong Results vs. Broadcast and Streaming Originals in Live Plus 28-Day Multiplatform Viewership
CBS series make up six of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition - more than any broadcast competitor, according to Nielsen.

[04/15/26 - 06:32 AM]
Unscripted Prank Comedy Series "Foul Play with Anthony Davis" Scores Strong Premiere Performance with Triple Digit Gains for TBS on Monday, April 6
Following the NCAA Championship Game, the premiere reached a combined 2 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV.

[04/14/26 - 03:45 PM]
With Nearly 10 Million Viewers, ABC News' Special Live Coverage of Artemis II's Return, Anchored by David Muir, Is #1 Across the Board
Said coverage more than doubled NBC and CBS and eclipsed the combined viewership of CNN, Fox News and MS NOW.

[04/14/26 - 03:05 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Most-Watched Baseball Telecast of the Week
2,131,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX's Saturday baseball coverage for a two-game slate highlighted by Boston's 7-1 victory over St. Louis in most of the country.

[04/14/26 - 01:48 PM]
NBA's Return to NBC Sports Is a Viewership Triumph
The combined viewership for NBC Sports' NBA coverage for games on NBC/Peacock on Sunday and Tuesday nights - plus five Monday games - averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.8 million viewers, up 109% vs. comparable coverage last season.

[04/14/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 6 - "Thrash" Shows Its Teeth, Swimming to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The the docuseries "Trust Me: The False Prophet" premiered at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.8 million views.