or


[10/30/20 - 08:09 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Claims Top Honors with "Thursday Night Football"
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 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (10/29/20):

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

FOX (7.927 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #1) was back on top last night thanks to its weekly presentations of "Thursday Night Football Pre-Game" (6.927 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) and "Thursday Night Football" (8.127 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1).

The silver went to ABC (3.818 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) with the season finales of "Celebrity Family Feud" (5.148 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) and "Press Your Luck" (3.494 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) alongside a new "Match Game" (2.813 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.691 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with the return of "Superstore" (2.769 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) alongside new episodes of "Connecting..." (1.160 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and "Dateline NBC" (3.055 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

Meanwhile, CBS (2.026 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) served up repeats of "Young Sheldon" (3.776 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Mom" (2.927 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) plus the special "Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy" (1.375 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and "Star Trek: Discovery" (1.352 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10).

And finally, originals from "Supernatural" (0.918 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and "The Outpost" (0.477 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.1, #14) on The CW (0.697 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Match Game (vs. 10/8/20)
+20.00% - Press Your Luck (vs. 10/8/20)
+9.52% - Thursday Night Football
0.00% - Celebrity Family Feud (vs. 10/8/20)
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - The Outpost
-14.29% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
-33.33% - Star Trek: Discovery (vs. 10/15/20)
-33.33% - Supernatural
-60.00% - Connecting... (vs. 10/15/20)

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Match Game (vs. How to Get Away with Murder)
0.00% - The Outpost (vs. Mysteries Decoded)
0.00% - Supernatural (vs. The 13 Scariest Movies of All Time)
-14.29% - Press Your Luck (vs. A Million Little Things)
-14.29% - Superstore
-20.69% - Thursday Night Football
-25.00% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
-36.36% - Celebrity Family Feud (vs. Grey's Anatomy)
-41.18% - Dateline NBC (vs. Various)
-50.00% - Star Trek: Discovery (vs. Evil (Repeat))
-60.00% - Connecting... (vs. Perfect Harmony)
-60.00% - Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy (vs. Young Sheldon/The Unicorn (Repeats))


Here are the highlights of the 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/31/19):

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

FOX (10.193 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) coasted to another victory on Thursday with its presentations of "Thursday Night Football Pre-Game" (9.750 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) and "Thursday Night Football" (10.282 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.9, #1).

ABC (4.020 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) then was a distant second with originals from "Grey's Anatomy" (5.691 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3), "A Million Little Things" (4.138 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) and "How to Get Away with Murder" (2.232 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13).

Next up was NBC (3.043 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3) and its mix of "Superstore" (3.138 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "Perfect Harmony" (2.449 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T11), "The Good Place" (2.275 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "Will & Grace" (2.621 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.887 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4).

Meanwhile, CBS (3.611 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) opted for repeats of "Young Sheldon" (5.764 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "The Unicorn" (3.786 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T11), another "Young Sheldon" (4.544 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T9), another "The Unicorn" (3.269 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13) and "Evil" (2.150 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T13).

And finally, The CW (0.788 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening with specials from "The 13 Scariest Movies of All Time" (0.973 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #16) and "Mysteries Decoded" (0.603 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.1, #17).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Perfect Harmony
+20.00% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
+20.00% - Will & Grace
+16.67% - The Good Place
0.00% - Thursday Night Football
0.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-12.50% - Superstore
-15.38% - Grey's Anatomy
-20.00% - How to Get Away with Murder
-22.22% - A Million Little Things

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+41.18% - Thursday Night Football Pre-Game
+38.10% - Thursday Night Football
0.00% - Will & Grace (vs. I Feel Bad)
-12.50% - The Good Place (vs. Will & Grace)
-12.50% - Superstore
-22.22% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-22.22% - A Million Little Things (vs. Station 19)
-26.67% - Grey's Anatomy
-28.57% - Perfect Harmony (vs. The Good Place)
-50.00% - How to Get Away with Murder
-50.00% - The 13 Scariest Movies of All Time (vs. Supernatural)
-75.00% - Mysteries Decoded (vs. Legacies)

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [september 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
[09/23/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 14
"Reacher," "Neagley," "Sterling Point," "El Juicio," and "The Grand Tour" led all original series worldwide.

[09/22/26 - 03:08 PM]
Record-Breaking Week 3: ESPN/ABC Claim Every Saturday Window; "College GameDay" Continues Historic Start to the Season
ESPN networks delivered the top five most-watched games of Week 3 and accounted for two-thirds of all college football viewing.

[09/22/26 - 02:34 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Scores Regular Season High 27,212,000 Viewers in Week 2
Said coverage was up +8% vs. last year's full season average of 25,269,000 viewers.

[09/22/26 - 02:17 PM]
Colts-Chiefs Overtime Thriller Is Most Watched Week 2 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2015, Averaging 24.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
The audience for Colts-Chiefs peaked at 27.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[09/22/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 14 - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" Holds No. 1 for a Second Week
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.

[09/22/26 - 12:00 PM]
"Dateline" Is the #1 Friday Newsmagazine in Both Key Demos for Second Consecutive Broadcast Season
The broadcast remains the #1 most-watched news magazine franchise and #1 most-watched true-crime franchise in total linear minutes watched for the season, with 151.2 million total viewers, up +4% vs. last season.

[09/21/26 - 07:02 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 "Two-Night Premiere: Night 2" Swings to 6.44 Million Total Viewers as the Ladies Take Their Turn in the Ballroom
"Dancing with the Stars" ranked as TV's No. 1 show in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 on both Tuesday and Wednesday across all entertainment programming.

[09/18/26 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Wins Late Night Across the Board
For the sixth week running, "Nightline" increased year to year in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54.

[09/18/26 - 12:58 PM]
Marking a Somber Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks, ABC News' 9/11 Special, Anchored by David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Draws Over 4 Million Total Viewers
The special was also the No. 1 non-sports program of the night in Adults 25-54 (802,000) and Adults 18-49 (559,000).

[09/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
"Monday Night Football" Opens Super Bowl LXI Season with Record-Setting Audience; Broncos-Chiefs Becomes Most-Watched Week 1 Game of ESPN's "MNF" Era
The season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+.

[09/16/26 - 02:30 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Leaps Back Into the Ballroom as Tuesday's No. 1 Show, Delivering Nearly 7 Million Total Viewers - Scores Show's Biggest Season Premiere in 6 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the "Dancing with the Stars" season opener jumped +40% over last year's premiere, with the show's best premiere performance in the key Adult demographic in nine years.

[09/16/26 - 12:20 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of September 7
"Reacher," "The Grand Tour," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," and "LOL Next" led all original series worldwide.

[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.