or


[08/06/20 - 08:27 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "Big Brother" Returns on Top for CBS
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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/5/20):

CBS (3.673 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) pulled in front on Wednesday thanks to a new "Tough as Nails" (3.692 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and the two-hour launch of "Big Brother 22" (3.663 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1).

FOX (1.538 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) was the silver draw among adults 18-49 with repeats of "MasterChef" (1.558 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and a second "MasterChef" (1.517 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was NBC (3.136 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) and its trio of "Chicago Med" (2.970 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Chicago Fire" (3.023 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Chicago PD" (3.415 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, ABC (1.855 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) offered up a new "United We Fall" (3.292 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) followed by repeats of "The Goldbergs" (2.046 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "The Conners" (1.772 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "American Housewife" (1.492 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) plus a new "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" (1.263 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, The CW (0.612 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with a new "The 100" (0.505 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) and the debut of "Coroner" (0.719 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
0.00% - Tough as Nails
0.00% - United We Fall
-50.00% - The 100 (vs. 7/15/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Big Brother 22 (vs. Big Brother 21/SWAT (Repeat))
0.00% - Tough as Nails (vs. Love Island)
0.00% - Coroner (vs. Hypnotize Me)
-16.67% - United We Fall (vs. Press Your Luck)
-40.00% - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (vs. Match Game)
-50.00% - The 100 (vs. Bulletproof)


Here are the highlights of the 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/7/19):

FOX (3.601 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.2, #1) pulled into the top spot on Wednesday thanks to a new "MasterChef" (3.358 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and the launch of "BH90210" (3.843 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

CBS (2.972 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then took home the silver with the season finale of "Love Island" (2.628 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7), a new "Big Brother 21" (3.932 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) and a repeat "SWAT" (2.357 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

Next up was NBC (2.960 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with repeats of "Ellen's Game of Games" (3.372 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4), another "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.921 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) and a new "The InBetween" (2.587 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.121 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) served up the season finale of "Press Your Luck" (3.576 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5) alongside originals from "Card Sharks" (2.891 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7) and "Match Game" (2.897 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

And finally, the premieres of "Bulletproof" (0.803 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #12) and "Hypnotize Me" (0.564 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #13) rounded out the evening on The CW (0.684 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - MasterChef
+10.00% - Big Brother 21
0.00% - Match Game
0.00% - Card Sharks
0.00% - Love Island
0.00% - The InBetween
-14.29% - Press Your Luck

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+175.00% - Big Brother 21 (vs. SEAL Team (Repeat))
+100.00% - Bulletproof (vs. Burden of Truth)
+66.67% - BH90210 (vs. Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back)
0.00% - The InBetween (vs. Reverie)
0.00% - Hypnotize Me (vs. Supergirl (Repeat))
-10.00% - MasterChef
-33.33% - Press Your Luck (vs. CMA Fest 2018)
-44.44% - Match Game (vs. CMA Fest 2018)
-44.44% - Card Sharks (vs. CMA Fest 2018)
-66.67% - Love Island (vs. Big Brother 20)

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," 1.3/4; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.0/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/4.

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

· 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; CBS's "Late Late Show," 0.8/3. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.2/2 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2.

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.5/2 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.1/1 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [february 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
[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board Versus CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted across-the-board gains week to week: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 9-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[01/30/26 - 06:20 AM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" was also up year to year in Total Viewers for the week of January 19.

[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.

[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.

[01/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 19 - "The Rip" Is Right on the Money at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Audiences kept the suspense going as they streamed the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.2 million views.

[01/26/26 - 04:13 PM]
BET's "Tyler Perry's Sistas" Milestone Season 10 Premiere Garners 1 Million Viewers
The Season 10 premiere delivered a notable lift for BET, posting its strongest performance in nearly six months and improving by double digits versus the prior season launch.

[01/26/26 - 01:23 PM]
UFC Delivers Historic Night in Paramount+ Debut
UFC 324 on Saturday, January 24 delivered nearly five million streaming views and over seven million households, the platform's largest exclusive live event to date.

[01/23/26 - 12:44 PM]
"20/20" Improves on the Previous Week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Hitting an 8-Week High in the Key Adult News Demo
"20/20" ranked No. 1 in its two-hour time period in Adults 25-54.

[01/23/26 - 12:28 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" posted double-digit increases week to week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[01/23/26 - 10:31 AM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Closes Out Historic Season with 2.6 Million Viewers Highlighting Hurricanes and Hoosiers
The six postseason GameDay shows delivered 2.4 million average viewers, up 30 percent year-over-year.

[01/23/26 - 07:37 AM]
Historic Back-to-Back Stretch: ESPN Delivers Its No. 1 and No. 8 Most-Watched Events Ever on Consecutive Days
Across Sunday and Monday, fans consumed 18.7 billion total minutes across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2 - a 28% increase from last season's Divisional Round game and Championship Monday on the same networks.

[01/22/26 - 03:39 PM]
Special Premiere of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Is the Season's Most-Watched Comedy Episode
The series drew 5.8 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo in its special premiere that aired Sunday, January 18.

[01/22/26 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN's MegaCast of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Delivers 30.1 Million Viewers - The Most-Viewed College Football Game in 11 Years
The game scored 30.1 million viewers, the most-watched college football game since the inaugural CFP National Championship (33.9 million viewers, Oregon/Ohio State, 2014-15) and the second most-watched National Championship of the CFP era.

[01/22/26 - 12:48 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Score with Stellar Midseason Premieres
"Shifting Gears" and "Abbott Elementary" are among top scripted shows of the week in adults 18-49.

[01/22/26 - 07:58 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NFL Divisional Playoff Game on Record as Rams-Bears Thriller Averages 45.4 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Rams-Bears - which increased in every quarter hour from 8:15 p.m. ET until the game-winning score - peaked in the game's closing minutes, with an average of 52.6 million viewers from 9:45-10 pm ET.