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[09/26/20 - 08:04 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Viewers; Shares Demo Crown with FOX, 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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (9/25/20):

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

ABC (3.538 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) was the most-watched network on Friday with a special repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (2.982 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) alongside "20/20" (3.816 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1).

FOX (2.032 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) and NBC (1.942 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) shared in the demo honors with "WWE SmackDown" (2.032 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) and "Stanley Cup Finals: Tampa Bay at Dallas" (1.942 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1), respectively.

Next up was CBS (2.490 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) with the return of "The Greatest #AtHome Videos" (3.125 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) plus repeats of "Magnum P.I." (1.830 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "Blue Bloods" (2.516 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

And finally, The CW (0.665 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) rounded out the night with "Masters of Illusion" (0.647 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8), a repeat "Masters of Illusion" (0.539 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8), "World's Funniest Animals" (0.738 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8) and a repeat "World's Funniest Animals" (0.737 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T8).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - 20/20
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - World's Funniest Animals
0.00% - Masters of Illusion
-25.00% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. 8/14/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
0.00% - 20/20
-50.00% - World's Funniest Animals (vs. Red Bull Peaking)
-50.00% - Masters of Illusion
-57.14% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. Hawaii Five-0)


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/27/19):

CBS (6.992 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) was the top draw on Friday with its debut lineup of "Hawaii Five-0" (6.798 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Magnum P.I." (6.359 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3) and "Blue Bloods" (7.818 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

ABC (3.135 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared in the demo honors with the season premieres of "American Housewife" (3.385 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1), "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.439 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T6) and "20/20" (3.247 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T6).

Next up was NBC (3.307 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with an encore of "Bluff City Law" (2.698 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (3.612 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T3).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.328 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up the special "WWE SmackDown's Greatest Hits" (1.391 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) followed by a rebroadcast of "Prodigal Son" (1.265 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #10).

And finally, The CW (0.849 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night with its quartet of "Masters of Illusion" (0.975 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11), "The Big Stage" (0.887 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11), "Red Bull Peaking" (0.824 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T11) and another "Red Bull Peaking" (0.709 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #14).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Red Bull Peaking - 9:00
+50.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Masters of Illusion
0.00% - The Big Stage
0.00% - Red Bull Peaking - 9:30

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - American Housewife (vs. Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost)
0.00% - Red Bull Peaking - 9:00 (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))
0.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. New Amsterdam (Repeat)/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Masters of Illusion
0.00% - The Big Stage (vs. Masters of Illusion (Repeat))
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. MacGyver)
-16.67% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost)
-23.08% - 20/20 (vs. Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost/20/20)
-33.33% - Blue Bloods
-33.33% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0)
-50.00% - Red Bull Peaking - 9:30 (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))
-75.76% - WWE SmackDown's Greatest Hits (vs. Last Man Standing/The Cool Kids)

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," 1.6/4; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 2.5/7; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.3/4 with an encore.

· 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," 0.3/2 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.0/3 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," 1.0/4 in metered-market households with an encore; CBS's "Late Late Show," 1.1/4 with an encore. In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, averages were: "Late Night," 0.2/2 in 18-49 with an encore; "Late Late Show," 0.2/2 with an encore.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





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