POST-SUPER BOWL "BLACKLIST" SETS SERIES RECORDS, SCORES AS PRIMETIME'S TOP ENTERTAINMENT TELECAST ON THE BIG 4 SINCE THE OSCARS

Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers, Sunday's Special 'Blacklist' Captures the Biggest Overall Audience for an NBC Scripted Series in More Than 10 Years

Special 'Tonight Show' Is the Most-Watched Post-Super Bowl Late-Night Talk Show in People Meter History

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Feb. 2, 2015 - Sunday's special post-Super Bowl telecast of "The Blacklist" has set series records and delivered the top results for any primetime entertainment telecast on the Big 4 networks since last March's Academy Awards.

And at 12:13 a.m. ET, a special post-Super Bowl edition of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" delivered the biggest total-viewer results for a post-Super Bowl late-night talk show in the history of People Meters.

NBC's 10:38-11:38 p.m. ET post-Super Bowl telecast of "The Blacklist" averaged 26.5 million viewers overall and an 8.7 rating in adults 18-49, according to "fast official" ratings from Nielsen Media Research, setting series records in both measures and making it the most-watched post-Super Bowl entertainment telecast in three years.

Note that these fast-official ratings for "Blacklist" are subject to minor revision in official nationals expected from Nielsen Tuesday morning to adjust for a late start time in the Boston market due to a local post-game show.

Last night's "Blacklist" beat the show's prior record in total viewers by +111% or 13.9 million persons (26.496 million vs. 12. 583 million for the series premiere on Sept. 23, 2013, "live plus same day") and topped the show's previous record in adult 18-49 rating by +129% (8.7 vs. 3.8 on Sept. 23, 2013).

The 8.7 in 18-49 and 26.5 million viewers make this the top primetime entertainment telecast on the Big 4 networks in total viewers and 18-49 since ABC's coverage of last year's Academy Awards (13.1 in 18-49, 43.6 million viewers overall on March 2, 2014).

It's also the most-watched scripted series on the Big 4 in more than three years, since the Ashton Kutcher season premiere of "Two and a Half Men" (28.7 million viewers on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011).

For NBC, it's the network's top entertainment telecast in 18-49 and total viewers since the post-Super Bowl edition of "The Voice" (16.3 in 18-49, 37.6 million viewers overall). It's also NBC's most-watched scripted-series telecast in more than 10 years, since the May 6, 2004 episode of "ER" (28.4 million) on the night of the "Friends" finale.

"The Blacklist" is up +25% versus Fox's year-ago post-Super Bowl hour of "The New Girl" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (21.173 million viewers overall from 10:23-11:20 p.m. ET on Feb. 2, 2014). In adults 18-49, Fox's year-ago hour of entertainment programming averaged a 9.3 rating.

Versus the post-Super Bowl telecast of two years ago, "The Blacklist" is up +27% in total viewers (26.496 million vs. 20.857 million for CBS's "Elementary" on Feb. 3, 2013) and +12% in adults 18-49 (8.7 vs. 7.8).

The last post-Super Bowl entertainment telecast to deliver a bigger overall audience was NBC's Feb. 5, 2012 edition of "The Voice," which averaged 37.611 million.

NBC Research estimates that a total of 41.8 million viewers watched some or all of last night's "Blacklist."

Sunday's "Blacklist" presented part one of a two-part story that will conclude when the show moves to its new time period this Thursday, Feb. 5 from 9-10 p.m. ET. Previously, "The Blacklist" run regularly Mondays at 10 p.m.

In preliminary results for primetime last night, NBC averaged 104.0 million viewers from 7-11 p.m. and a 35.8 rating in adults 18-49, making it NBC's most-watched night in the history of People Meters.

The 12:13-1:16 a.m. ET post-Super Bowl edition of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" delivered 9.834 million viewers overall and a 3.60 rating in adults 18-49, according to "fast official" ratings from Nielsen Media Research, scoring as the #2 telecast ever of "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" in total viewers and 18-49, behind only the show's debut on Feb. 17, 2014 with an Olympics lead-in (11.330 million viewers overall, 3.82 rating in 18-49).

It's the most-watched post-Super Bowl late-night talk show in the history of People Meters (dating back to September 1987), while in adults 18-49, it's the second-highest-rated post-Super Bowl late-night talk show in People Meter history, behind only the Jan. 25, 1998 "Tonight Show" (4.22).

Note that these preliminary "Tonight Show" ratings are subject to minor change with official nationals (available Thursday morning) to adjust for a late start in the Boston market due to local post-game coverage.

Versus the prior late-night post-Super Bowl telecast, Fallon was up +131% (9.834 million vs. 4.255 million for "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" on Feb. 3, 2013) and up +118% in 18-49 (3.60 vs. 1.65).

Versus his own prior post-Super Bowl "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" in 2012, last night's "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" was up +62% in total viewers (9.834 million vs. 6.087 million on Feb. 5, 2012) and up +45% in 18-49 (3.60 vs. 2.48).

NBC Research estimates that a total of 13.7 million viewers watched some or all of the post-Super Bowl edition of "The Tonight Show."