or


[01/09/21 - 05:53 PM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Splits Demos with ABC
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/8/21):

CBS (5.712 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) was the top draw on Friday thanks to the return of "MacGyver" (5.062 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5), "Magnum P.I." (5.662 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (6.410 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

ABC (3.874 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its own return of "Shark Tank" (4.440 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) and "20/20" (3.591 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was FOX (2.003 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with its latest installment of "WWE SmackDown" (2.003 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.558 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up encores of "Mr. Mayor" (2.874 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7), another "Mr. Mayor" (2.191 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9) and a two-hour "Dateline NBC" (2.571 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

And finally, The CW (0.795 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with the season premiere of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.849 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.818 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and the return of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.757 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Shark Tank (vs. 12/11/20)
+50.00% - 20/20 (vs. 12/11/20)
+25.00% - MacGyver (vs. 12/18/20)
+20.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. 12/18/20)
+20.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. 12/18/20)
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Dateline NBC

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+60.00% - Shark Tank (vs. American Housewife/Fresh Off the Boat)
0.00% - 20/20
-14.29% - Blue Bloods
-14.29% - Magnum P.I.
-37.50% - MacGyver (vs. Hawaii Five-0)
-37.50% - WWE SmackDown
-42.86% - Dateline NBC
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Repeat))
-50.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Repeats))


Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/10/20):

FOX (2.502 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) was back in front among adults 18-49 with its weekly telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.502 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1).

A close second went to CBS (7.513 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with originals from "Hawaii Five-0" (7.601 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T1), "Magnum P.I." (7.065 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3) and "Blue Bloods" (7.874 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

Sharing the silver was NBC (4.176 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T2) with the debut of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (4.388 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) followed by "Dateline NBC" (4.070 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.106 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) offered up repeats of "American Housewife" (3.415 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6) and "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.294 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #9) plus a two-hour "20/20" (3.231 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T6).

And finally, repeats of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (1.087 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.738 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.668 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T10) rounded out the night on The CW (0.895 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Dateline NBC
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Blue Bloods
-11.11% - Hawaii Five-0
-12.50% - Magnum P.I.
-14.29% - 20/20

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Hawaii Five-0 (vs. MacGyver)
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-12.50% - Blue Bloods
-20.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
-22.22% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[10/31/25 - 02:22 PM]
FOX Sports Hits 14.6 Million Viewers for Game 5 of the World Series
The telecast reached a peak viewership of 16,034,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.

[10/31/25 - 10:42 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scares Up More Wins - Rising for Historic Sixth Week in a Row
"Dancing with the Stars" is the only fall show to increase its overall audience for six consecutive weeks following its season premiere.

[10/31/25 - 06:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record College Football Viewership at the Midway Point of the Season, "College GameDay" Continues on Historic Run
Through nine weeks, ESPN networks are averaging 2.3 million viewers per game, their largest audience since 2009 and an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.

[10/30/25 - 03:05 PM]
14.8 Million Viewers Tuned in for World Series Game 4 Across FOX, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports Streaming Services
Viewership peaked at 16,695,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.

[10/30/25 - 03:01 PM]
Debut of NBC Sports' "Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" Delivers NBA's Largest Pre-Christmas Tuesday Audience Since 1996
"Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" - featuring the New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m. ET) and LA Clippers at Golden State Warriors (11 p.m. ET) - averaged 3.0 million viewers in primetime across NBC and Peacock.

[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.

[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.

[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.

[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.