or


[09/11/20 - 08:22 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: NFL Returns on Top for NBC
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 13 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/10/20):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

NBC (16.406 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.2, #1) was of course the top draw on Thursday thanks to "NFL Kickoff 2020 / Sunday Night Football Pre-Kick" (14.007 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.1, #2) and the annual Thursday launch of "Sunday Night Football" (16.886 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.4, #1).

CBS (2.492 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) claimed a distant second with its mix of "Big Brother 22" (3.918 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), "Love Island" (1.684 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and a repeat "Bull" (1.875 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

Next up was ABC (2.112 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) with the season finale of "Holey Moley" (2.899 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) followed by "Holey Moley II: The Sequel: The Special: Unhinged, Part One" (1.709 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Shark Attack: The Paige Winter Story with Robin Roberts" (1.727 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.140 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T3) served up repeats of "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back" (1.161 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "Last Man Standing" (1.031 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and another "Last Man Standing" (1.206 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10).

And finally, The CW (0.752 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with "Mysteries Decoded" (0.821 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.682 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T12).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Big Brother 22
0.00% - Love Island
-20.00% - Holey Moley

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - Big Brother 22 (vs. Young Sheldon (Repeats))
-16.92% - Sunday Night Football (vs. 9/5/19)
-18.00% - NFL Kickoff 2020 / Sunday Night Football Pre-Kick (vs. 9/5/19)
-63.64% - Love Island (vs. Big Brother 21)
-78.95% - Holey Moley (vs. ABC News Democratic Candidates Debate)
-84.21% - Shark Attack: The Paige Winter Story with Robin Roberts (vs. ABC News Democratic Candidates Debate)
-84.21% - Holey Moley II: The Sequel: The Special: Unhinged, Part One (vs. ABC News Democratic Candidates Debate)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/12/19):

ABC (11.220 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1) got a boost on Thursday thanks to its primetime coverage of the "ABC News Democratic Candidates Debate" (11.220 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.9, #1).

CBS (3.867 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then had to settle for second with its mix of "Young Sheldon" (4.501 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3), another "Young Sheldon" (4.219 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3), "Big Brother 21" (4.578 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) and "FBI" (2.663 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

Next up was FOX (2.028 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and a special edition of "MLB on FOX" (2.028 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5).

Meanwhile, NBC (1.656 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) opted for repeats of "Superstore" (2.042 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), another "Superstore" (1.587 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), "The Good Place" (1.392 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T9), another "The Good Place" (1.164 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.877 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

And finally, new episodes of "The Outpost" (0.725 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) and "Two Sentence Horror Stories" (0.593 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) plus a repeat "Two Sentence Horror Stories" (0.471 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) on The CW (0.628 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - The Outpost
+10.00% - Big Brother 21
0.00% - Two Sentence Horror Stories

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - The Outpost (vs. Supernatural (Repeat))
0.00% - Two Sentence Horror Stories (vs. The Originals (Repeat))
-35.29% - Big Brother 21

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," 1.2/4; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.4/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/6.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.3/2; "Late Show," 0.3/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline," averaged a 1.3/5 in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 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," 1.0/4. 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 0.5/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.1/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.

[11/04/26 - 03:37 PM]
Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers, Becomes Most-Watched ESPN-Only "Monday Night Football" Game Since 2019
Bears-Seahawks is also "Monday Night Football's" third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).

[11/04/26 - 12:31 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Hits Season High with Host Inde Navarrette and Musical Guest Gracie Abrams
It was also the top Peacock performance of the season and best since March 14, 2026, with host and musical guest Harry Styles.

[11/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 26
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Helluva Boss" led all original series worldwide.

[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).

[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.

[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.

[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.

[10/31/26 - 10:48 AM]
USA Sports Delivers 1.5 Million Viewers for Valkyries-Dream Game 6 Thursday Matinee
USA Sports' Game 6 coverage delivered the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game on cable on record.

[10/30/26 - 08:57 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: Help Dale Find Dee" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/29/26 - 03:25 PM]
Champions at Last: 14.2 Million Viewers Projected for FOX Sports' Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers World Series Clinch
13,476,000 viewers tuned in for World Series Game 4 presented by Capital One across FOX and FOX Deportes.

[10/29/26 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Thursday Returns Strong with "9-1-1" and "9-1-1: Nashville" Rising Over Previous Season Averages
The Season 10 debut of "9-1-1" (8 p.m.) earned 8.14 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, based on Nielsen's competitive multiplatform measurement.

[10/28/26 - 03:31 PM]
Cowboys-Eagles on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 18.8M Viewers
Seven weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 26% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19M viewers.

[10/28/26 - 11:30 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Hits All-Time Series High
This season to date, "The Drew Barrymore Show" averaged 1.90 million total viewers, up +36% year over year.

[10/28/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 19
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Off Campus" led all original series worldwide.