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





  [may 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
[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.

[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.

[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.

[05/13/26 - 07:56 AM]
ESPN Networks Delivered Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Ever with Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever on May 9
ESPN today announced that the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever matchup on May 9 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game across ESPN networks ever.

[05/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 4 - The Critters of "Swapped" Soar to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The pursuit of justice is action-packed in "Man on Fire," which set the English TV list ablaze at No. 1 with 12.6 million views.

[05/08/26 - 09:18 AM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched MLB Regular Season Start Since 2015
The Yankees/Mariners season opener on March 31 delivered 562,000 viewers and peaked at 735,000, making it the most watched opener on TBS since 2012.

[05/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Strong Month of Sports Propels ESPN Studio Shows to Record Viewership for April
The entire lineup of ESPN studio shows was up 21% overall in viewership over April of 2025 and up 10% year-over-year (YOY) in the coveted Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).

[05/05/26 - 03:36 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched First Round Game 7 in NBA History for Saturday Night's 76ers-Celtics
Saturday night's matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[05/05/26 - 02:33 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Ever
Game 7 of the Montreal/Tampa Bay series on Sunday, May 3 averaged 2.3 million viewers, the most-watched First Round game on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/05/26 - 02:24 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Flexes Double-Digit Season-to-Date Viewership Increase
2,130,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX on Saturday, May 2, for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cardinals' 3-2 Victory over the Dodgers in most of the country.

[05/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 27 - The Hunt Continues as "Apex" Takes No. 1 for a Second Week
Plus: Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but "Man on Fire" served it up hot, reaching No. 1 on the English TV list with 11 million views.

[05/03/26 - 02:40 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers the Most-Watched Kentucky Derby on Record, Averaging 19.6 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Historic "Run for the Roses"
Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade, and made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.

[05/01/26 - 01:33 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Jumps Back from Spring Break with Fifth Straight Week of Growth Among Both Total Viewers and Households
Dominating the New York market, "Live with Kelly and Mark" towers over its closest competition this season by double and triple digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.