or


[01/25/21 - 11:11 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: AFC Championship Delivers Big for CBS
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 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/24/21):

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

CBS (29.958 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.4, #1) was of course the network to beat on Sunday with its coverage of the "AFC Championship" (33.005 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.3, #1) followed by a special "FBI" (8.624 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2).

A distant silver went to FOX (1.260 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) with its repeat lineup of "The Great North" (2.360 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3), "Bob's Burgers" (1.235 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "The Simpsons" (1.230 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), another "The Great North" (0.917 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), another "Bob's Burgers" (0.858 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Family Guy" (0.959 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

Next up was ABC (3.004 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with a repeat "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.907 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) alongside originals from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (2.890 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Card Sharks" (1.979 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "The Rookie" (3.241 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (1.421 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) offered up its lineup of "Weakest Link" (1.539 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "The Wall" (1.270 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "Chicago Med" (1.188 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and a new "Dateline NBC" (1.688 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, a new "Batwoman" (0.642 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and the return of "Charmed" (0.465 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.1, #18) rounded out the night on The CW (5.540 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+250.00% - FBI (vs. 12/8/20)
+100.00% - Batwoman
0.00% - The Rookie
-25.00% - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
-33.33% - Card Sharks

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Batwoman
-7.00% - AFC Championship (vs. NFC Championship on 1/19/20)
-20.00% - The Rookie (vs. Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend)
-25.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World)
-50.00% - Charmed (vs. Supergirl)
-55.32% - FBI (vs. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards)
-60.00% - Card Sharks (vs. Shark Tank (Repeat))
-62.50% - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/26/20):

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

CBS (14.963 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) shot to the top spot on Sunday with its primetime coverage of "Grammy Red Carpet Live" (10.243 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) and "The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards" (16.536 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1).

ABC (3.825 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) was the distant silver with its mix of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.864 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), another "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.432 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4), "Shark Tank" (2.547 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and "Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend" (2.459 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was NBC (2.460 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with an encore of "America's Got Talent: The Champions" (2.763 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) followed by the annual "American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World" (2.157 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (0.923 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) opted for repeats of "Last Man Standing" (0.751 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "Outmatched" (0.755 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "The Simpsons" (0.996 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10), "Bob's Burgers" (0.889 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10), "Family Guy" (0.995 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10) and another "Family Guy" (1.149 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

And finally, originals from "Batwoman" (0.869 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "Supergirl" (0.965 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) on The CW (0.917 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Supergirl
0.00% - Batwoman

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Grammy Red Carpet Live (vs. 2/10/19)
-6.00% - The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards (vs. 2/10/19)
-33.33% - Supergirl (vs. Charmed)
-33.33% - Batwoman (vs. Supergirl)
-42.86% - American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World
-50.00% - Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend (vs. Shark Tank (Repeat))

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [march 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
[03/13/26 - 01:45 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers in Late Night, Friday Night and Sunday Morning
"20/20" saw week-to-week gains in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[03/12/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX Sports Scores All-Time High Team USA World Baseball Classic Viewership
3,171,000 viewers on average watched the four Team USA World Baseball Classic Pool play games across FOX, FS1 and FOX Deportes.

[03/12/26 - 03:01 PM]
CBS Midseason Premiere Week Tops Broadcast and Streaming Rankings in Live + 7-Day Multiplatform Viewership
The network scored three of the top four and 12 of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition.

[03/11/26 - 03:16 PM]
FOX Sports Sets All-Time World Baseball Classic Viewership Record with Mexico-USA
5,018,000 viewers watched on FOX and FOX Deportes as Team USA defeated Mexico 5-3 in World Baseball Classic pool play on Monday night.

[03/11/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched Women's College Basketball Regular Season Since 2008-09
ESPN networks were home to six of the top 10 women's college basketball regular season games across all networks this season and 29 of the top 30 on cable.

[03/10/26 - 03:04 PM]
FOX Sports Smashes World Baseball Classic Pool Play Viewership Records
Great Britain at USA drew 2.98 million viewers on Saturday, March 7.

[03/10/26 - 02:09 PM]
"R.J. Decker" Gets Down to Business with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date for Series Debut
In fact, "R.J. Decker" was the most compatible telecast to air following "High Potential" to date, with 73% of the hit drama's live audience flowing through to the series debut.

[03/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of March 2 - "War Machine" Powers Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Bridgerton" Season 4 claimed the No. 1 spot on the English TV list with 13.1 million views in its sixth week in the Top 10.

[03/09/26 - 04:44 PM]
"90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days" Delivers Its Highest Rated Episode in Nearly Four Years
TLC continued its Sunday momentum as the #1 cable network of the night, including news and sports, marking one of TLC's highest rated Sunday nights in in the last two years.

[03/09/26 - 04:35 PM]
Pilot for New NBC Comedy "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Has Now Been Seen by Nearly 13 Million Viewers
Continuing off the momentum of the pilot, episode two is now the most-watched NBC comedy on Peacock this season.

[03/04/26 - 04:36 PM]
"American Idol" Leads Monday Night - Powering ABC to Another Victory in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
The show's strong performance lifted ABC to a Monday night win across broadcast and cable in both Total Viewers (4.32 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.36 rating).

[03/04/26 - 09:29 AM]
ABC Continues Multiplatform Success With Midseason Lineup
Season to date, ABC continues to dominate the competitive cross-platform landscape among broadcast series based in viewing over seven days on ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and digital platforms.

[03/03/26 - 03:30 PM]
ABC's Beloved Comedy "Scrubs" Returns with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date
On linear over three days, "Scrubs" was the top comedy telecast among Adults 18-49 (0.74 rating) on any network (excluding post-NFL telecasts) in over a year.

[03/03/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Marshals" Premiere on CBS Is the Most-Watched New Scripted Debut Without a Football Lead-In Since 2018, with 9.5 Million Viewers
"Marshals," "Tracker" and "60 Minutes" are the top three series on television for the week.

[03/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 23 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Lives Happily Ever After at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Coming in at No. 2 on the English TV list is Season 3 of "The Night Agent" with 9.9 million views.