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





  [june 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
[06/10/26 - 01:49 PM]
23.8M Viewers! ABC and ESPN Deliver Largest NBA Finals Game 3 Audience Since 1998
Through three games, the 2026 NBA Finals is ABC and ESPN's second most-watched ever, averaging 19.1M viewers.

[06/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of June 1
"Off Campus," "Spider-Noir," "The Boys," "Clarkson's Farm," and "Citadel" led all original series worldwide.

[06/10/26 - 09:08 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers 2nd-Largest Final Round Audience for U.S. Women's Open Since 2014
Coverage averaged 1.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock.

[06/09/26 - 03:59 PM]
Belmont Stakes Audience Peaks at 4.7 Million Viewers Across FOX & FS1
The combined telecast on FOX and FS1 averaged 3,730,000 viewers.

[06/09/26 - 03:34 PM]
FOX UFL Scores Strong Finish
1,066,000 viewers watched FOX UFL as the Louisville Kings defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks Sunday and advanced to the United Bowl.

[06/09/26 - 02:50 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 2 Since 2018 with Average Audience of 16.43M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 19.42 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.

[06/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 1 - "Office Romance" Sneaks to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Michael Jackson: The Verdict" has grabbed viewers' attention, landing at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.8 million views.

[06/09/26 - 10:29 AM]
May Continues ESPN Studio Shows' Year-Long Viewership Success
Combined, all ESPN studio shows were up 27 percent in viewership over May of 2025 and up 11% year-over-year (YOY) among younger viewers in the Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[06/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NCAA DI Women's College World Series on Record
The WCWS Finals, featuring Texas and Texas Tech, averaged 2.2 million viewers as the Longhorns claimed their second-straight national championship in the two-game series.

[06/08/26 - 09:03 AM]
ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched WCWS Finals on Record; Game 2 Delivers Most-Watched College Softball Game Ever
Game 2 averaged 2.5 million viewers across ESPN/ESPNU, delivering the most-watched college softball game on record.

[06/05/26 - 02:00 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 1 Since 2018 with Average Audience of Nearly 17M Viewers (16.93M)
Game 1 peaked with nearly 20M viewers (19.63M) at 11 p.m. ET.

[06/05/26 - 01:23 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, Friday Evening and in Late-Night
"20/20" stood as Friday's No. 1 program on broadcast and the No. 2 program on all of broadcast and cable in all key target demos on May 29.

[06/04/26 - 03:03 PM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" Soars Over 10 Million Total Multiplatform Viewers Across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu
On its encore telecast on Monday, "The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" averaged 2.704 million Total Viewers and ranked as the night's No. 1 program on broadcast.

[06/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of May 25
"Off Campus," "Spider-Noir," "The Boys," "Citadel," and "LOL: Last One Laughing Germany" led all original series worldwide.

[06/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Season 51 Was #1 Among All Broadcast Comedy Series in the 18-49 Demo and #2 Among All Entertainment Series
The most-watched telecast of the season across all platforms was 10.1 million viewers on December 20 with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher.