or


[07/03/20 - 08:11 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: Repeats Put ABC, CBS on Top
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 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (7/2/20):

CBS (3.200 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) pulled in front on Thursday with repeats of "Young Sheldon" (4.217 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1), "The Unicorn" (2.948 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Mom" (3.394 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3), another "Mom" (3.385 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "NCIS: Los Angeles" (2.627 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

ABC (2.697 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its own repeat mix of "Holey Moley" (3.128 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1), "Don't" (2.312 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "To Tell the Truth" (2.652 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

Next up was NBC (2.183 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with the de facto finale of "Council of Dads" (2.808 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) plus a new "Blindspot" (1.876 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and a repeat "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.863 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12).

Meanwhile, FOX (0.984 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) opted for repeats of "Celebrity Watch Party" (1.245 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Labor of Love" (0.722 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T12).

And finally, The CW (0.494 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with the penultimate weeks of "Burden of Truth" (0.530 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T14) and "In the Dark" (0.458 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Council of Dads
0.00% - Blindspot
0.00% - Burden of Truth
0.00% - In the Dark

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Burden of Truth (vs. iZombie (Repeat))
0.00% - In the Dark (vs. The Top 10 Greatest Animal Movies of All Time (Repeat))
-55.56% - Council of Dads (vs. Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular)
-66.67% - Blindspot (vs. Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular)


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/4/19):

NBC (5.365 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) was the holiday victor on Thursday thanks to its annual "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" (5.889 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) followed by an encore of the "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular" (4.316 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2).

CBS (2.935 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "The Big Bang Theory" (3.175 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3), "Young Sheldon" (3.038 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), another "The Big Bang Theory" (2.977 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "Mom" (2.536 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and a new "Elementary" (2.942 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Next up was ABC (1.732 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) with encores of "Holey Moley" (2.105 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3), "Family Food Fight" (1.375 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Reef Break" (1.717 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.381 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T2) likewise opted for repeats of "MasterChef" (1.322 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and "Spin the Wheel" (1.440 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, The CW (0.450 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with second runs of "iZombie" (0.465 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) and "The Top 10 Greatest Animal Movies of All Time" (0.436 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
-25.00% - Elementary

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-25.00% - Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (vs. 7/4/18)
-40.00% - Elementary (vs. SWAT (Repeat))

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

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.4/4 with an encore telecast; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.6/5 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.2/2 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.3/2 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline," averaged a 0.9/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 0.9/3 in metered-market households with an encore; CBS's "Late Late Show," 0.8/3 with an encore. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore; "Late Late Show," 0.1/1 with an encore.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.5/2 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.

[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.

[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.

[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.

[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.

[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.

[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.

[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.

[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.

[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.

[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.

[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).

[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.