or


[09/17/20 - 08:15 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "Academy of Country Music Awards" Put CBS on Top
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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/16/20):

CBS (6.589 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1) was the network to beat on Wednesday thanks to its presentation of "The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards" (6.589 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #1).

NBC (3.113 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) settled for second with its mix of "America's Got Talent" (5.092 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2), "Ellen's Game of Games" (2.367 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "Chicago PD" (1.880 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

Next up was FOX (1.563 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with repeats of "MasterChef" (1.461 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and a second "MasterChef" (1.664 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3).

Meanwhile, ABC (1.544 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T4) served up repeats of "The Goldbergs" (2.184 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "Black-ish" (1.634 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) alongside the special "Notre-Dame: Our Lady of Paris" (1.362 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9).

And finally, fresh installments from "The 100" (0.683 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T9) and "Coroner" (0.754 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11) rounded out the night on The CW (0.719 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T4).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - America's Got Talent
0.00% - The 100
0.00% - Coroner

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - The 100 (vs. Mysteries Decoded (Repeat))
0.00% - Coroner (vs. Hypnotize Me)
-37.50% - The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards (vs. 4/7/19)
-53.49% - Notre-Dame: Our Lady of Paris (vs. Various (Repeats))
-60.00% - America's Got Talent


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/18/19):

NBC (7.560 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) was the top draw on Wednesday thanks to the two-hour season finale of "America's Got Talent" (10.081 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) and "A Little Late with Lilly Singh: The Primetime Special" (2.518 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

FOX (3.134 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2) then took home the silver with the penultimate "MasterChef" (3.033 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #4) and the season finale of "MasterChef" (3.235 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was CBS (3.182 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) with a new "Big Brother 21" (4.299 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) alongside repeats of "SEAL Team" (2.377 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "SWAT" (2.870 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.141 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up its second run lineup of "The Goldbergs" (2.671 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Schooled" (2.096 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8), "Modern Family" (1.994 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Single Parents" (1.570 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Celebrity Family Feud" (2.258 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8).

And finally, a repeat "Mysteries Decoded" (0.641 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) and a new "Hypnotize Me" (0.434 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T13) on The CW (0.538 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - America's Got Talent
-9.09% - Big Brother 21
-12.50% - MasterChef
-50.00% - Hypnotize Me

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Hypnotize Me (vs. Supergirl (Repeat))
-20.00% - MasterChef - 9:00
-25.00% - America's Got Talent
-28.57% - Big Brother 21
-30.00% - MasterChef - 8:00
-50.00% - A Little Late with Lilly Singh: The Primetime Special (vs. I Feel Bad)

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," 1.3/4; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.3/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.4/3; "Late Show," 0.3/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline," averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, ratings were: "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 1.0/4 in metered-market households; CBS's "Late Late Show," 0.9/4. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.3/3 in 18-49; "Late Late Show," 0.1/1.

· At 1:35 a.m., "A Little Late with Lilly Singh" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [july 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
[07/09/26 - 04:15 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Most-Watched FIFA Men's World Cup Round of 16 in English-Language U.S. History
Round of 16 coverage averaged 14.465 million viewers.

[07/09/26 - 03:12 PM]
History Made on FOX: 33.086 Million Viewers for Belgium-USMNT - Most-Watched Soccer Telecast in U.S. on Record
The broadcast reached a peak audience of 41.033 million viewers from 9:15-9:30 PM ET.

[07/09/26 - 03:08 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched Start Ever for MLB Tuesday
TNT Sports' coverage of the 2026 MLB regular season is averaging 466,000 viewers across TBS, truTV and HBO Max through its first half of the season (15 games), up 21% vs. 2025.

[07/09/26 - 12:48 PM]
TNT Sports & DAZN Deliver Strong Cross-Platform Audience & Engagement for Inaugural "The Fight" Event
The live championship card peaked with 820,000 viewers on TNT, truTV and DAZN from 11:45 p.m.-12 a.m. ET during the main event.

[07/09/26 - 12:42 PM]
Women's Sports Sundays on ESPN Drives Strong Audience Growth Across WNBA and AUSL
The Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces matchup on Sunday, July 5, averaged 1.6 million viewers on ESPN, peaking with 1.8 million viewers.

[07/09/26 - 08:00 AM]
Nearly 50 Million Viewers Tune in for Epic 24-Hour "Disney Celebrates America" July 4th Programming Event
The live three-hour special "Nashville's Star-Spangled Bash" delivered 5.435 million Total Viewers and a 0.83 rating among Adults 18-49.

[07/08/26 - 04:07 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Sweeps with Most-Watched Regular Season Game Since 2021
3,335,000 viewers tuned in on July 4 for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cardinals victory over the Cubs.

[07/08/26 - 03:53 PM]
FOX Scores Eye-Popping 21.742 Million Viewers for Mexico-England FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 Thriller
The telecast reached a peak audience of 25.715 million viewers from 10:15-10:30 PM ET.

[07/08/26 - 03:27 PM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched MLB All-Star Game Selection Show Since Its Inception in 2007
5,897,000 viewers tuned into the telecast on Saturday.

[07/08/26 - 03:13 PM]
15.619 Million Viewers Watch FIFA World Cup 2026 Instant Classic - Messi's Argentina vs. Cinderella Story Cabo Verde on FOX
Coverage reached a peak viewership with 22.958 million viewers from 8:30-8:45 PM ET.

[07/08/26 - 02:15 PM]
FOX IndyCar Drives Double-Digit Viewership Increase at Mid-Ohio
1,344,000 viewers watched Mexico's Pato O'Ward score his first victory of the season Sunday.

[07/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of June 29
"Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," "Clarkson's Farm," and "Spider-Noir" led all original series worldwide.

[07/08/26 - 10:00 AM]
Championship June Drives Big Viewership Increases for ESPN Studio Shows
Events including the NBA Finals and Draft, the Stanley Cup Final, the Men's and Women's College World Series, FIFA World Cup and more captured the June sports scene and drove the content and discussion in ESPN's studio shows.

[07/07/26 - 02:09 PM]
FOX Scores 11.107 Million Viewers for Portugal-Croatia - Most-Watched Non-USMNT FIFA Men's World Cup Telecast in English-Language U.S. History Excluding a Final
Said coverage hit a peak viewership of 16.023 million viewers from 8:45 - 9:00 PM ET.

[07/07/26 - 11:27 AM]
FOX Sports Sets All-Time U.S. Soccer Viewership Record with 30 Million Watching Belgium-USMNT
The network's coverage reached a peak audience of 36.895 million viewers from 9:15-9:30 PM ET.