or


[09/13/20 - 03:30 PM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: "Saturday Night Football" Returns on Top for ABC
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 six ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/12/20):

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

ABC (2.994 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) pulled in front thanks to the return of "Saturday Night Football" (2.994 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

NBC (1.463 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) had to settle for second with its coverage of "NHL Playoffs: Vegas at Dallas" (1.463 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2).

Next up was FOX (1.312 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) and its weekly presentation of "MLB on FOX" (1.312 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3).

And finally, CBS (1.695 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night with its mix of "NCIS: Los Angeles" (1.993 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T4), "Love Island: More to Love" (0.849 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.1, #6) and the season premiere of "48 Hours" (2.242 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T4).

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

TBA


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

ABC (3.439 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) held onto the top spot on Saturday with its coverage of "Saturday Night College Football" (3.439 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1).

FOX (2.477 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then took home the silver with its own "CFB on FOX" (2.477 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) coverage.

Next up was CBS (3.116 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with a repeat "NCIS" (2.749 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) followed by the two-hour season premiere of "48 Hours" (3.299 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3).

And finally, repeats of "America's Got Talent" (1.769 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (2.207 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) rouned out the night on NBC (1.915 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

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

· A Sept. 14 encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host John Mulaney and musical guest Thomas Rhett, has averaged a 2.3 rating, 7 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 0.6/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· The 2.3 in metered-market households ranks as the show's highest overnight rating since June 29 (2.3 for an encore hosted by Don Cheadle with musical guest Gary Clark Jr.) and the 0.6 in 18-49 matches the "SNL" high since June 1 (0.7 for a rebroadcast with host Emma Thompson and musical guest Jonas Brothers).

· The Sept. 14 "Saturday Night Live" encore ranks as the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 in the local people meters, topping all primetime programs on those nets for the night except ABC's Clemson-Syracuse college football telecast.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 2025]  
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
[09/17/25 - 03:14 PM]
Buccaneers at Texans Delivers 17.4 Million Viewers, ESPN's Most-Watched "MNF" Week 2 Game Since 2008
Additionally, the Buccaneers-Texans is ESPN's most-watched individual game on weeks with multiple "MNF" games, whether a true doubleheader or two games with staggered start times.

[09/16/25 - 03:39 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" and College Football on ESPN/ABC Both Off to Stellar Starts in 2025
ABC is off to its best three-week start ever, averaging 7.8 million viewers per game.

[09/16/25 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is the No. 1 Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night
"20/20" ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program on Friday night in Total Viewers (2.457 million).

[09/16/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in All Three Measures
For the 2nd week in a row, "Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[09/16/25 - 02:45 PM]
FOX NFL Smashes All-Time Viewership Records with Week 2 Super Bowl Rematch
A massive 33.8 million viewers delivers FOX Sports its best-ever regular season Sunday telecast, most-watched Week 2 NFL telecast on record and more all-time viewership highs!

[09/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 8: "Canelo vs. Crawford" Packs a Punch, "Wednesday" Season 2 Joins Most Popular List
In movies, "KPop Demon Hunters" danced its way back to No. 1 on the English Film list with 22.6 million views.

[09/15/25 - 03:25 PM]
Over 41 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watch Terence Crawford Defeat Canelo Alvarez to Claim Super Middleweight Championship
The main event scored an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 36.6 million live+SD viewers from opening to closing bell, per VideoAmp and Netflix.

[09/15/25 - 11:45 AM]
The "77th Emmy Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2021, Up +8% from Last Year
Hosted by Nate Bargatze, the telecast was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/12/25 - 02:43 PM]
"The Groomsmen: First Look" Launches Hallmark Channel's "Fall Into Love" Seasonal Stunt with Chart-Topping Ratings
The film was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program on Saturday among Households, Women 18+, Persons 18+, and Total Viewers.

[09/12/25 - 05:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever
ESPN networks aired eight of the top 10 most-watched WNBA games during the 2025 season, highlighted by its most-watched WNBA game ever - 2.7 million viewers for Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever on May 17 (ABC).

[09/10/25 - 02:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year and Most Viewed US Open Since 2022
The Men's Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82% vs. 2024 while the Women's Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50% vs. 2024.

[09/09/25 - 03:43 PM]
On Pace for Record Year, ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Earns 10th Event High of '25 Season
F1 races are averaging 1.4M viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, ahead of the all-time series record average of 1.21M that was set in 2022.

[09/09/25 - 03:29 PM]
ABC Scores Three of the Top Four Best Audiences of College Football's Week 2; "College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Show on Record
Michigan/Oklahoma (9.7 million viewers) was ABC's most-viewed Week 2 game since 2006.

[09/09/25 - 03:17 PM]
FOX's "Big Noon Saturday" & "Big Noon Kickoff" Up Big Through Week 2
Iowa-Iowa State scored 4,278,000 viewers on FOX, most-watched game in the noon window.

[09/09/25 - 02:26 PM]
NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience in a Decade & Second Best All-Time, Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers Across NBC & Peacock
NBC's 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend average viewership trailed only 2015, as Steelers-Patriots in NFL Kickoff '15 and Cowboys-Giants in the Sunday night opener averaged 27.2 million viewers.