or


[01/23/21 - 09:24 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, FOX Top Demos; CBS Leads Total Viewers
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 (1/22/21):

ABC (3.066 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and FOX (2.282 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared the demo crown on Friday as the former served up "Shark Tank" (3.969 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) and a repeat "20/20" (2.615 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) while the latter aired "WWE SmackDown" (2.282 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was CBS (5.707 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with originals from "MacGyver" (4.879 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4), "Magnum P.I." (5.659 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (6.582 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.891 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) offered up the return of "The Blacklist" (3.167 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) and "Dateline NBC" (2.753 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

And finally, The CW (0.813 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the evening with "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.947 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.787 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.758 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Magnum P.I.
0.00% - Shark Tank
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - MacGyver
0.00% - The Blacklist (vs. 11/20/20)
0.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. 1/8/21)
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway?
-16.67% - Blue Bloods (vs. 1/8/21)
-50.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Magnum P.I. (Repeat))
+33.33% - The Blacklist (vs. U.S. Figure Skating Championships)
+33.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. U.S. Figure Skating Championships)
+27.27% - Shark Tank (vs. American Housewife/Fresh Off the Boat)
+25.00% - MacGyver (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
+25.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. Blue Bloods (Repeat))
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Charmed)
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Dynasty)
-14.29% - WWE SmackDown


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/24/20):

FOX (2.469 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) held off the demo competition on Friday with another edition of "WWE SmackDown" (2.469 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

ABC (3.329 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was a close second with its mix of "American Housewife" (3.404 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2), "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.379 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) and "20/20" (3.547 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was NBC (2.390 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) and its primetime coverage of the "U.S. Figure Skating Championships" (2.390 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8).

Meanwhile, CBS (5.146 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) opted for repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (5.298 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5), "Magnum P.I." (4.968 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5) and "Blue Bloods" (5.171 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T5).

And finally, originals from "Charmed" (0.609 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) and "Dynasty" (0.347 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #10) closed out the night on The CW (0.478 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Fresh Off the Boat
+20.00% - 20/20
+20.00% - American Housewife
0.00% - Charmed
0.00% - Dynasty
-12.50% - WWE SmackDown

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+16.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
-14.29% - American Housewife (vs. Fresh Off the Boat)
-16.67% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Speechless)
-25.00% - 20/20
-25.00% - U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [november 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
[11/06/26 - 10:56 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late-Night
"20/20: Justice for Faith" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 25-54 (437,000) and Adults 18-49 (341,000) on October 30.

[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.

[11/04/26 - 03:37 PM]
Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers, Becomes Most-Watched ESPN-Only "Monday Night Football" Game Since 2019
Bears-Seahawks is also "Monday Night Football's" third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).

[11/04/26 - 12:31 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Hits Season High with Host Inde Navarrette and Musical Guest Gracie Abrams
It was also the top Peacock performance of the season and best since March 14, 2026, with host and musical guest Harry Styles.

[11/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 26
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Helluva Boss" led all original series worldwide.

[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).

[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.

[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.

[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.

[10/31/26 - 10:48 AM]
USA Sports Delivers 1.5 Million Viewers for Valkyries-Dream Game 6 Thursday Matinee
USA Sports' Game 6 coverage delivered the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game on cable on record.

[10/30/26 - 08:57 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: Help Dale Find Dee" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/29/26 - 03:25 PM]
Champions at Last: 14.2 Million Viewers Projected for FOX Sports' Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers World Series Clinch
13,476,000 viewers tuned in for World Series Game 4 presented by Capital One across FOX and FOX Deportes.

[10/29/26 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Thursday Returns Strong with "9-1-1" and "9-1-1: Nashville" Rising Over Previous Season Averages
The Season 10 debut of "9-1-1" (8 p.m.) earned 8.14 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, based on Nielsen's competitive multiplatform measurement.

[10/28/26 - 03:31 PM]
Cowboys-Eagles on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 18.8M Viewers
Seven weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 26% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19M viewers.

[10/28/26 - 11:30 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Hits All-Time Series High
This season to date, "The Drew Barrymore Show" averaged 1.90 million total viewers, up +36% year over year.