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[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





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