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





  [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
[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

[09/24/26 - 12:25 PM]
ABC News Wins Across the Board in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20" ranks as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, drawing its largest audience in two months and growing year to year in all key measures.

[09/23/26 - 02:56 PM]
Giants-Rams Becomes ESPN's Most-Watched Week 2 "Monday Night Football" Game Ever with 19.4 Million Viewers
Through the first two weeks, "Monday Night Football" is averaging 21.4 million viewers, up 29% compared to the first two weeks of the 2025 season.

[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.