or


[11/28/06 - 01:24 PM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of November 20, 2006
ABC spins the numbers for the week of November 20-26.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of November 20, 2006

ABC Leads Thanksgiving Week by 18% Among Adults 18-49, Ranking No. 1 on 9 Weeks This Season, its Highest Number in Any Season in 7 Years

ABC Airs 6 of the Top 20 TV Programs During the Week in Adults 18-49, Including the Top 2 with �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy�

ABC�s Airing of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� is Up Year to Year In Viewers and Young Adults, Posting its Best Numbers in 5 Years

ABC�s Telecasts of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� and �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� Qualify as the Top 2 Highest-Rated Broadcast Programs This Season with Kids 2-11

With its Broadcast of the �2006 American Music Awards,� ABC Wins Tuesday in Each of the Adult Demos, Teens and Kids, Marking its Best Non-Sports Adult 18-34 Number on the Night in More Than 4 Years

ABC�s �American Music Awards� Grows Year to Year Across the Adult Demos

ABC Wins Thanksgiving Thursday Evening Among Adults 18-49, Up By 3.9 Million Viewers and by 62% in Young Adults from the Year-Ago Night

ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� is Thursday�s Most-Watched TV Show, Ranking as the No. 1 TV Series on Thursday in the Adult Demos on All Nine of its Original Airings

�Grey�s Anatomy� Beats �CSI� by 1.3 Million Viewers and 46% in Adults 18-49

The USC-Notre Dame Match-up on �Saturday Night Football� Makes ABC a Dominant No. 1 on the Night with its Strongest Saturday in Nearly 1 Year

ABC�s All-Entertainment Lineup is No. 1 on Sunday in Viewers and Adults 18-49

�America�s Funniest Home Videos� Marks its Second-Strongest Numbers This Season In Viewers & Young Adults, While Posting its Top Kids 2-11 Rating Since January �05

Part 1 of a Special �Boston Legal� Wins Sunday at 10pm in Viewers, with the Series� Largest Audience Since January �05 and Top Adult 18-49 Rating Since February �05

WEEK No. 10:

ABC stood as the No. 1 network during Thanksgiving week (w/o 11/20/06) among Adults 18-49, posting its biggest winning advantage this season (+18% - 3.9/11 vs. 3.3/9 � 3-way tie CBS/NBC/Fox). ABC has ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 on 9 of 10 weeks this season, representing its highest number of weeks in the top position during a season in 7 years � since the 1999-00 TV Season.

� Through 25 of 28 nights of the 2006 November Sweep (through Sunday 11/26/06), ABC ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (4.2/11). ABC�s �non-sports� performance during November is up by 16% (12.5 million vs. 10.8 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 4.1/11), the only network to grow on either measure.

� Season to date on an �all programming� basis, which includes �Monday Night Football� in the year-ago averages, ABC is up in both Total Viewers (11.8 million vs. 11.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 4.1/11).

� Excluding sports from the averages this season and last, to adjust for the loss of �Monday Night Football,� ABC�s primetime numbers have surged by 19% in Total Viewers (12.4 million vs. 10.4 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 3.9/11). On both measures, ABC is posting the biggest gains of any broadcaster in the �non-sports� averages.

Weekly Rankings: ABC claimed 6 of the week�s Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� � No. 2, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 7, �Saturday Night Football (USC-Notre Dame)� � No. 9, �American Music Awards� � No. 14 and �Boston Legal SP 11/26� � No. 17. ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� has ranked as the No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49 on 4 occasions this season, while ABC has captured the top-rated show in the key sales demo on all 10 weeks of the season. ABC placed 2 of the Top 3 most-watched TV shows for the week: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1 and �Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� � No. 3. Disney-owned ABC delivered the Top 4 broadcasts during the week among Kids 2-11 with �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown,� �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,� �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� and �America�s Funniest Home Videos,� respectively. �Home Edition� stood as the No. 1 unscripted series during the week in Adults 18-49. ABC News� �Primetime Special Edition 11/23� was the week�s No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49.

Monday

�A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC�s rebroadcast of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� outperformed the prior year�s telecast (11/24/05) by 7% in both Total Viewers (9.4 million vs. 8.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.9/9). In fact, the annual broadcast delivered the animated classic�s strongest performance in 5 years � since its debut on ABC in 2001.

� �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� led its half-hour with the Net�s highest Kids 2-11 rating (5.4/16) in the time period in 6 � years � since 5/1/2000. In addition, �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� ranks as the second-highest-rated broadcast in Kids 2-11 this season, behind only �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown.�

�He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

The animated special, �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown,� built on its lead-in in both Total Viewers (9.5 million vs. 9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/8 vs. 3.1/8). �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� won its time-slot among Kids 2-11 (6.5/11) with ABC�s best performance in the half-hour in 6 � years � since 5/1/2000.

� �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� ranks as the No. 1 telecast among the broadcast nets this season among Kids 2-11.

�The Bachelor: Rome -- The Women Tell All� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

From 9:00-10:00 p.m. �The Bachelor: Rome -- The Women Tell All� took second place in its time period with its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.6/9), defeating CBS' comedies by 9% (�Two and a Half Men�/�Old Christine� � 3.3/8).

�What About Brian� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �What About Brian� took second in the hour, beating NBC�s �Studio 60� across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.2/9), Women 18-49 (3.5/9) and Women 25-54 (3.7/9).

� ABC's �What About Brian� posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 5.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.3/6).

Tuesday

�2006 American Music Awards� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With its 3-hour broadcast of the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted �2006 American Music Awards,� ABC defeated its nearest competition on Tuesday night (Fox) by 12% in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo (4.7/13 vs. 4.2/11 � Fox). The broad appealing �American Music Awards� also made ABC the No. 1 network of the evening among Adults 25-54 (5.0/12), Adults 18-34 (4.4/13), Teens 12-17 (2.6/9) and Kids 2-11 (2.1/9). The Net attracted the second-largest audience of the night, as the music awards show drew an average audience of 10.9 million viewers.

� Behind only last week, the night of penultimate episode of �DWTS,� ABC posted its second-highest-rated Tuesday night this season in Adults 18-49. The �American Music Awards� boosted ABC to its top-rated non-sports Tuesday among Adults 18-34 in over 4 years � since 10/22/02.

� Versus last year�s telecast (11/22/05), ABC�s 2006 airing of the �American Music Awards� was up 7% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 4.4/11). Additionally the annual music awards show was up over last year across the adult demographics, also making gains in Adults 18-34 (4.4/13 vs. 3.9/11) and Adults 25-54 (5.0/12 vs. 4.9/11).

� An estimated 29 million viewers watched at least some portion of the �2006 American Music Awards� during its 3-hour telecast � unique Viewers 2+ who watched 6 minutes or more of the program.

Thursday

ABC won Thanksgiving Thursday evening among Adults 18-49, beating out second-place CBS by 12% (4.7/13 vs. 4.2/12). ABC ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 on 3 out of 4 Thursday�s during the 2006 November Sweep. ABC took first place in Adults 18-34 (4.4/14), qualifying as Thursday�s No. 1 network among Adults 18-34 on all 10 weeks this season.

� ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� stood as Thursday night�s most-watched TV program and has been the evening�s No. 1 TV program across each of the key adult demographics (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) on all 9 of its original airings this season.

� ABC�s delivery was up substantially from the year-ago Thanksgiving evening (11/24/05), growing by 3.9 million viewers (12.1 million vs. 8.2 million) and by 62% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 2.9/8).

�Ugly Betty SP 11/23� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite atypical holiday competition including Fox�s airing of the theatrical �Spider Man 2� and NBC�s special expanded �Deal or No Deal,� ABC�s �Ugly Betty� earned second place in its time period to CBS� �Survivor� across the key women demographics: W18-34 (3.1/11), W18-49 (3.7/11) and W25-54 (4.2/12).

�Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� (9:00-10:10 p.m.)

During the 9 o�clock hour, ABC's �Grey's Anatomy� posted a dominant victory over CBS� �C.S.I� in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC�s medical drama outdelivered CBS� crime drama by 1.3 million viewers (18.5 million vs. 17.2 million) and by 46% in Adults 18-49 (7.6/20 vs. 5.2/14). In the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, �Grey�s� has beaten �C.S.I.� on all 9 occasions where both shows have been in originals this season.

�A Special Edition of Primetime� (10:10-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour �A Special Edition of Primetime,� exploring the movie �Apocalypto� with actor and director Mel Gibson, took second-place with Women 18-34 (3.1/10) and Women 18-49 (3.4/10), beating out CBS� original ��Shark.�

Friday

On Thanksgiving Friday, with programming that included the �ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2� and an installment of �20/20,� ABC took second on the night in both Total Viewers (7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/7). The Net ranked No. 1 on Friday among Adults 18-34 (1.8/7 � tied), Women 18-34 (2.1/7 - tied) and Kids 2-11 (2.2/9).

� On the final Friday of the November Sweep, ABC was up by nearly 1 million viewers and by 20% among Adults 18-49 compared to the same night last year (6.2 million & 2.0/6 in Adults 18-49 on 11/25/05).

�ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2 � (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

The Net�s special telecast of the �ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2� attracted 7.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49, matching ABC�s strongest performance in the 2-hour time block this season. The 2004 theatrical made ABC the top network from 8-10pm among Women 18-34 (2.2/8 � tied) and Kids 2-11 (2.8/10).

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Shrek 2� outperformed its movie competition on the night, NBC�s �Movie of the Week: Family Man� (7.0 million & 2.1/7) and �Fox�s Night at the Movies: Bruce Almighty� (5.3 million & 2.1/7).

Saturday

�Saturday Night Football: Notre Dame at USC� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With �Saturday Night Football,� ABC took the top spot on the night in primetime in Total Viewers (14.5 million) and across each of the key adult demographics [Adults 18-34 (4.1/15), Adults 18-49 (4.9/15) and Adults 25-54 (5.3/15)] for the second consecutive week. In addition, ABC delivered its largest audience and strongest young adult performance on the night in nearly 1 year � since 1/7/06.

� ABC�s �Saturday Night Football� (8:05 � 11:28 p.m.), featuring the USC Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, posted the franchise�s highest numbers ever in Total Viewers (14.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.0/16).

Sunday

ABC�s all-entertainment Sunday lineup won the evening in Total Viewers (15.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/13-tie), despite competing against NFL-fueled NBC (w/�Sunday Night Football�) and Fox (w/NFL overrun from 7:00-8:00 p.m.).

� For the 10th Sunday in a row, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� stood as the night�s No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

�America�s Funniest Home Videos� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

Opposite Fox�s high-rated NFL overrun during the 7 o�clock hour, ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� took second place in Adults 18-49 (3.2/8). �Videos� grew considerably from its first half-hour to its second half-hour, gaining 4.0 million viewers (9.1 million to 13.1 million) and by 63% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 to 3.9/10). �Videos� posted the series� second-strongest results of the season in viewers (11.1 million) and young adults (3.2/8).

� Ranking a strong No. 1 in the hour among Kids 2-11 (3.4/11), �America�s Funniest Home Videos� marked its strongest performance with kids in close to 2 years � since 1/30/05.

�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� ranked No. 1 during the 8 o�clock hour in viewers (14.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.2/12-tie). ABC topped its non-sports competition from 8:00-9:00 p.m. by solid margins, outdrawing CBS in viewers (10.4 million � �Amazing Race�) and Fox among young adults (4.5/11 � �The Simpsons�/�American Dad�).

�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

The No. 1 TV program of the night among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (21.4 million & 8.5/19), ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� dominated the 9 o�clock hour on both measures, pacing well ahead of NBC�s �Sunday Night Football� (16.5 million & 6.3/14).

�Boston Legal SP 11/26� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Part 1 of special Sunday airing of �Boston Legal,� which will conclude in its normal time period this Tuesday (11/28/06 from 10:00-11:00 p.m.), won its time period among Viewers (13.5 million). ABC�s �Boston Legal� topped the final hour of CBS� movie (�Candles on Bay Street�) by 2% in Total Viewers (13.5 million vs. 13.3 million) and by 59% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/11 vs. 2.9/7).

� �Boston Legal� attracted the series� largest audience since January 2005 and its top Adult 18-49 rating since February 2005 � since 1/23/05 and 2/20/05, respectively.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, NTI and NHTI (Live+SD, Most Current), week of 11/20/06, or as dated.





  [november 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· 20/20 (ABC)
· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· AMERICAN DAD (FOX)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CANDLES ON BAY STREET (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DEAL OR NO DEAL (CNBC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, THE (CBS)
· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL (ABC)
· SHARK (CBS)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (NBC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)
· WHAT ABOUT BRIAN (ABC)
· WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/08/26 - 09:18 AM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched MLB Regular Season Start Since 2015
The Yankees/Mariners season opener on March 31 delivered 562,000 viewers and peaked at 735,000, making it the most watched opener on TBS since 2012.

[05/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Strong Month of Sports Propels ESPN Studio Shows to Record Viewership for April
The entire lineup of ESPN studio shows was up 21% overall in viewership over April of 2025 and up 10% year-over-year (YOY) in the coveted Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).

[05/05/26 - 03:36 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched First Round Game 7 in NBA History for Saturday Night's 76ers-Celtics
Saturday night's matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[05/05/26 - 02:33 PM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Ever
Game 7 of the Montreal/Tampa Bay series on Sunday, May 3 averaged 2.3 million viewers, the most-watched First Round game on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.

[05/05/26 - 02:24 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Flexes Double-Digit Season-to-Date Viewership Increase
2,130,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX on Saturday, May 2, for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cardinals' 3-2 Victory over the Dodgers in most of the country.

[05/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 27 - The Hunt Continues as "Apex" Takes No. 1 for a Second Week
Plus: Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but "Man on Fire" served it up hot, reaching No. 1 on the English TV list with 11 million views.

[05/03/26 - 02:40 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers the Most-Watched Kentucky Derby on Record, Averaging 19.6 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Historic "Run for the Roses"
Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade, and made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.

[05/01/26 - 01:33 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Jumps Back from Spring Break with Fifth Straight Week of Growth Among Both Total Viewers and Households
Dominating the New York market, "Live with Kelly and Mark" towers over its closest competition this season by double and triple digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.

[05/01/26 - 08:05 AM]
NBC Sports' NBA Playoff Viewership on NBC & Peacock Up 58% vs. Comparable Coverage Last Year Through First 13 Games
This is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting the NBA Playoffs.

[04/30/26 - 02:17 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
ABC News' "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers (931,000) for the week of April 20.

[04/29/26 - 04:01 PM]
"American Idol" Scores 5.3 Million Total Viewers with Biggest Audience in Over 2 Months During Taylor Swift Night
Monday's episode was the No. 1 entertainment program on the night among Total Viewers (5.34 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.42 rating).

[04/29/26 - 02:41 PM]
Record Breaker! ESPN Airs Most-Viewed First Round Game 5 Ever on Cable, Extending Milestone Run of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday averaged 2 million viewers, up 190% vs. ESPN's First Round Game 5 average last year.

[04/28/26 - 03:41 PM]
TNT Sports Continues Viewership Surge for 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Minnesota's Game 4 victory over Dallas on Saturday averaged 1.9 million viewers on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.

[04/28/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 20 - Charlize Theron Climbs to No. 1 with "Apex" in This Week's Top 10
Another warning to be careful who you trust, the psychological thriller series "Unchosen" debuted at No. 1 on the English TV list with 10.4 million views.