or


[02/26/21 - 09:45 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Shares Demo Crown 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 17 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (2/25/21):

CBS (4.789 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) was the top draw a competitive Thursday with its mix of "Young Sheldon" (7.621 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1), "B Positive" (5.124 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3), "Mom" (5.075 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4), "The Unicorn" (3.723 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Clarice" (3.596 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

ABC (4.243 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared in the demo honors with its trio of "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" (5.773 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #2), "The Chase" (4.413 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) and the season finale of "The Hustler" (2.543 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

Next up was NBC (2.802 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with the season finale of "Mr. Mayor" (2.465 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10) alongside originals from "Superstore" (1.838 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.677 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) and "Dateline NBC" (2.577 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.381 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) offered up new episodes of "Hell's Kitchen" (2.478 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4), "Call Me Kat" (2.124 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T8) and "Last Man Standing" (2.444 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T10).

And finally, The CW (0.663 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) opted for repeats of "Walker" (0.940 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T16) and "Legacies" (0.385 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T16) to round out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+33.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. 2/11/21)
+25.00% - The Unicorn
+16.67% - B Positive
+12.50% - Young Sheldon
0.00% - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
0.00% - Mom
0.00% - The Chase
0.00% - Call Me Kat
0.00% - Clarice
0.00% - The Hustler
0.00% - Last Man Standing
0.00% - Superstore (vs. 2/11/21)
-14.29% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-14.29% - Hell's Kitchen
-20.00% - Mr. Mayor

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. Will & Grace/Indebted)
+40.00% - B Positive (vs. The Unicorn (Repeat))
+28.57% - Young Sheldon (vs. Young Sheldon (Repeat))
+25.00% - The Unicorn (vs. Carol's Second Act (Repeat))
+20.00% - Mom (vs. Mom (Repeat))
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. Last Man Standing/Outmatched)
-16.67% - Call Me Kat (vs. Deputy)
-20.00% - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (vs. Station 19)
-20.00% - Clarice (vs. Tommy)
-20.00% - Superstore (vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
-33.33% - Dateline NBC (vs. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
-33.33% - The Hustler (vs. A Million Little Things)
-33.33% - Last Man Standing (vs. Deputy)
-33.33% - Mr. Mayor (vs. Superstore)
-45.45% - The Chase (vs. Grey's Anatomy)


Here are the highlights of the 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (2/27/20):

ABC (5.415 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #1) was the network to beat on Thursday with originals from "Station 19" (6.549 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2), "Grey's Anatomy" (5.973 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #1) and "A Million Little Things" (3.724 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

FOX (3.461 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) was the silver draw with new episodes of "Last Man Standing" (4.093 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), "Outmatched" (2.480 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) and "Deputy" (3.635 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

Next up was CBS (4.610 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) with repeats of "Young Sheldon" (6.058 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T3), "The Unicorn" (4.172 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9), "Mom" (4.399 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9) and "Carol's Second Act" (3.748 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) plus a new "Tommy" (4.642 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.412 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) offered up its mix of "Superstore" (2.597 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (1.765 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T9), "Will & Grace" (2.059 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14), "Indebted" (1.489 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T14) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (3.281 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

And finally, a new "Katy Keene" (0.488 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T17) and a repeat "Legacies" (0.304 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T17) closed out the night on The CW (0.396 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Tommy
+20.00% - Deputy
0.00% - Grey's Anatomy
0.00% - Station 19
0.00% - Last Man Standing
0.00% - A Million Little Things
0.00% - Outmatched
0.00% - Will & Grace
0.00% - Indebted
0.00% - Katy Keene
-14.29% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
-14.29% - Superstore
-16.67% - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (vs. The Enemy Within (Repeat))
+16.67% - Last Man Standing (vs. Gotham)
0.00% - Grey's Anatomy (vs. A Million Little Things)
0.00% - A Million Little Things (vs. How to Get Away with Murder)
-16.67% - Tommy (vs. SWAT (Repeat))
-16.67% - Outmatched (vs. Gotham)
-25.00% - Deputy (vs. The Orville)
-33.33% - Indebted (vs. Will & Grace)
-37.50% - Station 19 (vs. Grey's Anatomy)
-40.00% - Superstore (vs. The Titan Games)
-42.86% - Will & Grace (vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
-50.00% - Katy Keene (vs. Charmed (Repeat))
-50.00% - Brooklyn Nine-Nine (vs. The Titan Games)

Source: Nielsen Media Research, ShowBuzzDaily.com





  [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
[09/16/26 - 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.

[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.

[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" debuted at the top of the English film list, gathering 19.3 million views for its lakeside destination wedding.

[09/14/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN Aces Its Most-Viewed US Open Women's Semifinals Action Ever, Averaging 2.2M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 2.6M avg. viewers (9:45-10 p.m. ET) during Coco Gauff's three-set showdown against Elena Rybakina.

[09/14/26 - 11:57 AM]
NFL Gameday in Melbourne on Netflix Scores With an Average 18.5 Million US Viewers for First-Ever NFL Regular Season Game in Australia
Globally, the historic matchup averaged 21.7 million viewers, with fans from over 200 countries and territories tuning in to the first-ever NFL regular season game played in Australia.

[09/14/26 - 09:50 AM]
NFL Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock Featuring Patriots-Seahawks Tops 25 Million Viewers for Fourth Consecutive Year
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.

[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.

[09/09/26 - 03:52 PM]
"College GameDay" Wins Week 1 With Top-Three Regular Season Show on Record
Coverage of Clemson/LSU was the top Saturday game of Week 1.

[09/09/26 - 03:30 PM]
ESPN's US Open Coverage Is Most-Viewed Since 2022 Through Third Round
The full-tournament average so far is up 5% over 2025 and the most viewed since 2022, the year of Serena Williams' final match before her return this year.