or


[08/15/20 - 08:55 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Keeps Demo Crown; CBS Tops Total Viewers
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/14/20):

FOX (1.978 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) led the demo race on Friday thanks to "WWE SmackDown" (1.978 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1).

CBS (3.585 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) was the most-watched broadcaster with the season finale of "The Greatest #AtHome Videos" (3.913 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) alongside repeats of "Magnum P.I." (3.138 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.704 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.709 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with encores of "The Wall" (2.292 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (2.917 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.600 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) also offered up second runs of "Shark Tank" (2.714 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "20/20" (2.543 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, The CW (0.332 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (0.449 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), another "Masters of Illusion" (0.459 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), a new "Being Rueben" (0.214 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.0, #T11) and a second "Being Rueben" (0.206 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.0, #T11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Being Rueben - 9:00
0.00% - Being Rueben - 9:30
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+33.33% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-100.00% - Being Rueben - 9:00 (vs. Hypnotize Me (Repeat))
-100.00% - Being Rueben - 9:30 (vs. Hypnotize Me (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/16/19):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Some high rated local pre-season NFL games (across all networks) are included here but will be excluded from Officials.]

NBC (3.054 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) was the demo champ on a repeat heavy Friday with its duo of "American Ninja Warrior" (3.025 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) and "Dateline NBC" (3.111 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

CBS (3.424 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) then was the most-watched network with its trio of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.265 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Magnum P.I." (3.252 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Blue Bloods" (3.755 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was ABC (2.594 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and its mix of "American Housewife" (2.542 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "Fresh Off the Boat" (1.999 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "What Would You Do?" (2.774 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "20/20" (2.737 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.362 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) served up encores of "BH90210" (1.426 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "MasterChef" (1.297 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (1.316 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "The Big Stage" (1.198 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "Hypnotize Me" (1.104 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) rounded out the night on The CW (1.180 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - What Would You Do?

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-16.67% - What Would You Do?

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
[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 02:56 PM]
Giants-Rams Becomes ESPN's Most-Watched Week 2 "Monday Night Football" Game Ever with 19.4 Million Viewers
Through the first two weeks, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 21.4 million viewers, up 29% compared to the first two weeks of the 2025 season.

[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.

[09/22/26 - 02:34 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Scores Regular Season High 27,212,000 Viewers in Week 2
Said coverage was up +8% vs. last year's full season average of 25,269,000 viewers.

[09/22/26 - 02:17 PM]
Colts-Chiefs Overtime Thriller Is Most Watched Week 2 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2015, Averaging 24.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Colts-Chiefs peaked at 27.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[09/22/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 14 - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" Holds No. 1 for a Second Week
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.

[09/22/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Dateline" Is the #1 Friday Newsmagazine in Both Key Demos for Second Consecutive Broadcast Season
The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season.

[09/21/26 - 07:02 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 "Two-Night Premiere: Night 2" Swings to 6.44 Million Total Viewers as the Ladies Take Their Turn in the Ballroom
"Dancing with the Stars" ranked as TV's No. 1 show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on both Tuesday and Wednesday across all entertainment programming.

[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[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.