or


[05/21/11 - 08:49 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "Kitchen Nightmares" Closes On Top
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for friday, may 20, 2011)

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (3.67 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) was the network to beat on the final Friday of the May sweeps period with the season finale of "Kitchen Nightmares" (3.84 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) followed by an encore of "Kitchen Nightmares" (3.49 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3).

ABC (4.53 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #2) then took home the silver with a repeat of "Shark Tank" (4.15 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6) followed by the season finale of "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (3.94 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.3, #4) and a new "20/20" (5.52 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2).

Next up was NBC (4.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with fresh installments of "Friday Night Lights" (3.31 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9) and "Dateline NBC" (5.32 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5).

Meanwhile, CBS (6.32 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up a new "Flashpoint" (6.68 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T9) followed by a repeat of "CSI: NY" (7.08 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T6) and a special "48 Hours Mystery" (5.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #8).

And finally, a new "Supernatural" (2.06 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) led into the season finale of "Supernatural" (2.21 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T11) on The CW (2.14 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.8, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Friday Night Lights (28.60%), 20/20 (25.00%), Primetime: What Would You Do? (8.30%), Kitchen Nightmares (6.70%), Supernatural (-11.10%), Dateline NBC (-14.30%), Flashpoint (-30.80%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 3.2/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.3/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.1/7; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.5/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; "Late Show," 0.6/2; "Nightline," 1.1/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.6/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.2/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 1.0/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/21/10):

CBS (6.68 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) squeezed out a victory on Friday thanks to the season finales of "Ghost Whisperer" (6.65 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) and "Medium" (6.82 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T2) followed by a new "Miami Medical" (6.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7).

The silver then went to ABC (4.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) with is mix of "Wife Swap" (3.66 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (5.10 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.8, #1) and "20/20" (4.54 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5).

Next up was NBC (5.48 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with its combination of "Friday Night Lights" (3.96 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #9) and "Dateline NBC" (6.24 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #4).

Meanwhile, FOX (3.17 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up a repeat of "House" (2.92 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #10) and the season finale of "Kitchen Nightmares" (3.41 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5).

And finally, a full night of "America's Next Top Model" (1.20 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #11) repeats on The CW (1.20 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the evening.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 2011]  
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
[10/23/26 - 03:54 PM]
ESPN's NBA Opening Wednesday Delivered Its Second-Largest Audience Ever
The Minnesota Timberwolves' victory over the Miami Heat averaged 2.52 million viewers, up 16% from last year's comparable game.

[10/23/26 - 03:25 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 3 Since 1999, Best Ever on Cable
1.71 million viewers on average tuned into Wednesday night's Game 3 coverage across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock.

[10/23/26 - 08:30 AM]
Record College Football Viewership Propels ESPN to Second Best Start Since 2011 with "College GameDay" on Track for Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks are averaging 2.2 million viewers across 120 games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU - the second-best start for ESPN since 2011.

[10/22/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: The Suitcase Murders" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/22/26 - 04:00 PM]
CBS Dominates Its Premiere Week in Seven-Day Multiplatform Viewership, Up +14% from Last Year, with Six Series Topping 10 Million Viewers
Among its broadcast competition, CBS claimed eight of the top 10 series.

[10/22/26 - 02:50 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most-Watched NBA Tip-Off Primetime Game Ever with 76ers-Knicks
Viewership peaked at 9.1 million - an NBA Tip-Off record - from 9:45-10:00 pm ET as the 76ers clinched the victory.

[10/22/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Waltzes to Season High During Heartfelt "Dedication Night" with 7.36 Million Total Viewers
The October 20 episode hit a season high with the show's best non-finale episode in six years.

[10/21/26 - 04:01 PM]
USA Sports' Coverage of Dream-Valkyries Game 2 Is Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 2 Ever on Cable
Monday night's coverage averaged 1.33 million viewers across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network, CNBC and E!).

[10/21/26 - 03:15 PM]
It's Back to School at "Abbott Elementary" as Show Returns with Over 6 Million Total Viewers
The premiere episode scored the show's best streaming performance since Season 4, based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[10/21/26 - 02:31 PM]
Commanders-49ers on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 17.9 Million Viewers
Six weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 23% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19 million viewers.

[10/21/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 12
"Carrie," "Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," and "Sterling Point" led all original series worldwide.

[10/21/26 - 06:39 AM]
NFL Network's London Slate Culminates with 6.4M Viewers for Jaguars-Texans
Season to date, through three games in London, NFL Network is averaging 6.9M viewers, up 15% vs. the network's six-game International Series average last season.

[10/21/26 - 06:30 AM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 1 Ever
Led by Gabby Williams' 26 points, Golden State's 68-64 win over Atlanta peaked at 3.0 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 5:45 - 5:55 p.m. ET.

[10/20/26 - 03:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Its Third Most-Watched Regular-Season Episode Ever from BYU
ESPN networks had 3 of the top 4 games this week, the second most-watched regular season Saturday on record (based on minutes).

[10/20/26 - 03:08 PM]
Ohio State's Win Over Indiana Scores Most-Watched College Football Game of the Week
Viewership peaked at 14,269,000 viewers from 3:30-3:45 PM ET on FOX.