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





  [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
[11/11/26 - 09:30 AM]
The 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on The CW Network Delivers Strongest Viewership in Five Years
Coverage averaged 1,044,000 total viewers for all 33 races, per Nielsen Panel + Big Data.

[11/11/26 - 08:27 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Reaches Two-Year High with Host Druski and Musical Guest The Strokes
The 5.6 million topped the previous week's telecast of 5.2 million viewers, which at that point was the best of the season.

[11/10/26 - 03:19 PM]
Madrid Finale Culminates NFL Network's Most-Watched International Series Slate
Sunday's Cincinnati Bengals-Atlanta Falcons game from Bernabéu Stadium averaged 6.2 million viewers on NFL Network and NFL+.

[11/10/26 - 03:10 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Records Fifth-Most-Watched Episode of All Time
ESPN networks delivered three of the weekend's top five games, including the top game of the week for the eighth time this season.

[11/10/26 - 03:01 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" Delivers 25.7 Million Viewers for Packers' Dominant Win Over Patriots
Said coverage was the most-watched telecast of the week on any network.

[11/10/26 - 02:51 PM]
Notre Dame Victory Over No. 1 Miami Is Third Most-Watched Primetime Game in 35 Years of Fighting Irish Football on NBC
The audience for the Fighting Irish's 31-24 victory over No. 1 Miami peaked at 12 million viewers in the fourth quarter (11 p.m.-11:10 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame held off the Hurricanes' last-minute touchdown attempt to seal the win.

[11/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 2 - "A Dog's Perfect Christmas" Unwraps the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Taken: Natalee Holloway" premiered in the No. 1 spot of the English TV list, gathering 12.9 million views.

[11/09/26 - 10:58 AM]
76ers-Pistons November 4 Matchup Delivered 2M Viewers on ESPN, Up 47 Percent from Last Year
The audience peaked with 2.6M viewers during the 9:45 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[11/06/26 - 11:40 AM]
Romantic Epic "The Remarried Empress" Becomes The Most Viewed Local Original Premiere of All Time on Disney+ Globally
It currently ranks as the number one Korean title premiere in over 50 global markets including the US, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Chile, ANZ and Canada.

[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).