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





  [december 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
[12/23/25 - 03:11 PM]
College Football Playoff First Round Presented by Allstate Averages 9.9 Million Viewers Across Four Games on ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports
Alabama vs. Oklahoma delivered 14.9 million viewers on Friday.

[12/23/25 - 03:03 PM]
FOX NFL Exclusive Week 16 Doubleheader Delivers 21.3 Million for Packers-Bears and 15.4 Million for Eagles-Commanders
Plus: 15,460,000 viewers watched FOX Sports' exclusive Week 16 Saturday presentation of the Eagles victory over the Commanders and divisional clinch of the NFC East.

[12/23/25 - 12:16 PM]
"Stranger Things" by the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shaped Culture
In just four weeks, Season 5 Vol. 1 has already reached 102.6M views globally and all five seasons still remain in the Top 10 this week.

[12/23/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 15 - "The Great Flood" Rises to No. 1; "Wake Up Dead Man" Stays on Top for a Second Week
Plus: "Emily in Paris" returned with its fifth season, taking the No. 2 spot on the list with 13.5 million views.

[12/23/25 - 10:01 AM]
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua's Epic Six-Round Battle
The event reached Netflix's Top 10 in 91 countries and ranked #1 in 45 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina.

[12/19/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC Celebrates Record-Breaking 2025 with Top Six Shows Among Adults 18-49 and TV's No. 1 Show, "High Potential"
"High Potential" stands as the No. 1 series for the year in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with the network also owning the Top Six shows in the key Adult demo.

[12/17/25 - 01:30 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks #1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" also posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[12/17/25 - 06:42 AM]
Cricket Celebration Bowl Delivered Double-Digit Increases on ABC
Coverage averaged 2.3 million viewers with a peak of 3.0 million.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
FOX NFL Week 15 Scores 19.4 Million Viewers for "America's Game of the Week"
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is averaging 20,055,000 viewers; up +8% over last year's average (18,630,000) and its best since 2015.

[12/16/25 - 02:15 PM]
"CBS News Presents: A Town Hall with Erika Kirk" Boosts CBS' Time Period Performance in Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49
The special delivered 1.9 million viewers with 265,000 in the adults 25-54 demographic on Saturday, December 13.

[12/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 8 - "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" Cracks the Case at No. 1 in the Top 10
New comedy series "Man vs. Baby" took No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.1 million views, with the Rowan Atkinson vehicle eliciting laughs over the bumbling Trevor Bingley trying to earn money house-sitting for millionaires while a lost baby keeps him on his toes.

[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/12/25 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched Jimmy V Women's Classic Ever; Men's Classic Most-Watched in Five Years
The former averaged 1.0 million viewers, peaking with 1.3 million.

[12/11/25 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos
The series also saw gains on the same week last year in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[12/10/25 - 02:59 PM]
FOX NFL Scores Massive Week 14 Viewership
28 million viewers watched FOX Sports' Week 14 "America's Game of the Week," featuring the Green Bay Packers divisional win over the Chicago Bears.