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





  [february 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
[02/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
NHL on ESPN Networks: Viewership Up Nearly 40% Year-Over-Year Through First Four Months
Through 22 games, the NHL on ESPN networks is averaging 795K viewers, +39% YoY.

[02/05/26 - 12:42 PM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board
Hitting new season highs on January 30, "20/20" grew from the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[02/05/26 - 10:03 AM]
ABC's Juggernaut Tuesday Scores More Wins
"High Potential's" January 20 episode jumped to 12.98 million Total Viewers and a 2.17 rating among Adults 18-49 after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, scoring a series high among Total Viewers.

[02/04/26 - 08:00 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Viewed Australian Open in Six Years
The men's championship, featuring No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeating No. 4 Novak Djokovic in four sets, delivered 730K viewers and was up 57% YoY, ranking as most-viewed since 2017.

[02/04/26 - 07:00 AM]
FOX Celebrates Three Breakout Debuts, Each Delivering Over 11 Million Multiplatform Viewers, Driving +21% Year-Over-Year Growth in Total Minutes Watched
"Best Medicine," "Fear Factor: House of Fear" and "Memory of a Killer" drive FOX's strongest midseason performance in 14 years.

[02/04/26 - 06:00 AM]
ESPN's Studio Show Lineup Scores Record Highs, Double-Digit Growth & More Big Viewership Wins in Jan.
On Monday, January 19, following the NFL Divisional Round and ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship, fans fueled milestone episodes for "Get Up," "First Take" and "The Pat McAfee Show," with the 7 a.m. ET edition of "SportsCenter" delivering its best episode of the month the following morning.

[02/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
2026 NHL Stadium Series Delivered Most-Viewed NHL Regular Season Game Ever on Cable
The Bruins-Lightning matchup on ESPN averaged 2.1 million viewers, peaking with 2.4 million.

[02/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 26 - Rags to Romance Wins as "Bridgerton" Season 4 Sweeps to No. 1 in the Top 10
"His & Hers" took No. 2 on the English TV list with 11 million views; while YA romance series "Finding Her Edge" moved up to No. 3 on the list with 6.7 million views.

[02/03/26 - 11:51 AM]
"American Idol" Blasts Off with Biggest Season Debut in Four Years
"American Idol" returned for a new season jumping to 8.27 million Total Viewers and a 1.04 rating among Adults 18-49 after three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[02/02/26 - 10:38 AM]
New Year, New Viewership Milestones for ESPN: Signature Events Deliver Second-Best Month in 30 Years
Continuing ESPN's landmark viewership success to start the year, January 2025 and 2026 now account for two of the top three most-watched months in the platform's history.

[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board Versus CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted across-the-board gains week to week: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 9-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[01/30/26 - 06:20 AM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" was also up year to year in Total Viewers for the week of January 19.

[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.

[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.

[01/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 19 - "The Rip" Is Right on the Money at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Audiences kept the suspense going as they streamed the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.2 million views.