or


[07/13/20 - 04:11 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "WWE SmackDown" Tops Demos for FOX
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 (7/10/20):

FOX (1.905 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) led the demo race on Friday thanks to "WWE SmackDown" (1.905 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1).

CBS (3.659 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) was the most-watched broadcaster thanks to repeats of "MacGyver" (3.533 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6), "Magnum P.I." (3.753 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.692 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Next up was ABC (2.944 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with repeats of "Shark Tank" (2.896 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "20/20" (2.968 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

NBC (2.796 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) likewise offered up second runs of "The Wall" (2.602 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "Dateline NBC" (2.893 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, The CW (0.608 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with a new "Masters of Illusion" (0.738 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) alongside repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (0.562 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and "Masters of Illusion: Impossible Escapes" (0.566 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Masters of Illusion (vs. 6/26/20)
+25.00% - WWE SmackDown

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Masters of Illusion (vs. The Outpost (Repeat))
+66.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (7/12/19):

NBC (2.850 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) claimed the demo honors on Friday thanks to an encore of "American Ninja Warrior" (2.593 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) a new "Dateline NBC" (3.365 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1).

ABC (2.560 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) then was a close second with a new "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (2.301 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) and a repeat "20/20" (2.689 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

Next up was CBS (2.873 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) with an original "Love Island" (2.096 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) alongside repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (2.752 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "Blue Bloods" (3.771 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.492 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) offered up second runs of "First Responders Live" (1.736 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "MasterChef" (1.248 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5).

And finally, The CW (0.465 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) likewise opted for repeats of "The Outpost" (0.543 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10), "The Big Stage" (0.399 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and another "The Big Stage" (0.375 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
+20.00% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (vs. Quantico)
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Love Island (vs. Whistleblower)

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 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
[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.

[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.

[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" debuted at the top of the English film list, gathering 19.3 million views for its lakeside destination wedding.

[09/14/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN Aces Its Most-Viewed US Open Women's Semifinals Action Ever, Averaging 2.2M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 2.6M avg. viewers (9:45-10 p.m. ET) during Coco Gauff's three-set showdown against Elena Rybakina.

[09/14/26 - 11:57 AM]
NFL Gameday in Melbourne on Netflix Scores With an Average 18.5 Million US Viewers for First-Ever NFL Regular Season Game in Australia
Globally, the historic matchup averaged 21.7 million viewers, with fans from over 200 countries and territories tuning in to the first-ever NFL regular season game played in Australia.

[09/14/26 - 09:50 AM]
NFL Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock Featuring Patriots-Seahawks Tops 25 Million Viewers for Fourth Consecutive Year
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.

[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.

[09/09/26 - 03:52 PM]
"College GameDay" Wins Week 1 With Top-Three Regular Season Show on Record
Coverage of Clemson/LSU was the top Saturday game of Week 1.

[09/09/26 - 03:30 PM]
ESPN's US Open Coverage Is Most-Viewed Since 2022 Through Third Round
The full-tournament average so far is up 5% over 2025 and the most viewed since 2022, the year of Serena Williams' final match before her return this year.

[09/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 31
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "The Grand Tour," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.

[09/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of August 31 - "The Whisper Man" Tracks Down No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"Death of the Pastor's Wife" held the top spot of the English TV list with 13.9 million views.