or


[12/31/15 - 09:02 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Splits 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 (12/30/15):

CBS (4.679 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) was the most-watched network on Wednesday with a new edition of "I Get That a Lot" (4.996 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) followed by repeats of "Code Black" (4.047 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) and "Criminal Minds" (4.995 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4).

ABC (3.844 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T1) then shared in the demo crown with repeats of "The Middle" (5.173 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1), "The Goldbergs" (4.108 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), "Modern Family" (4.518 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T1), "Black-ish" (3.720 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4), "The Goldbergs" (2.883 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9) and "Black-ish" (2.662 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9).

Next up was NBC (4.574 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3) and its own repeat lineup of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.444 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #8), another "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.094 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T4) and "Chicago PD" (4.184 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T9).

Meanwhile, FOX (2.177 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) served up repeats of "Empire" (2.318 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13) and "Rosewood" (2.036 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14).

And finally, encores of "iHeartRadio Jingle Ball" (1.175 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (1.118 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.161 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
N/A

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+42.86% - I Get That a Lot (vs. Blue Bloods (Repeat))

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

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 2.3/6 with an encore telecast; "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," 1.7/4 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.7/4 with an encore.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.2/1 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3 with an encore.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.0/3 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show" (0.8/3 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.3/2 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/1 with an encore).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.6/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.


Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/31/14):

ABC (9.624 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1) was the network to beat on the final night of 2014 with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" (9.624 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.7, #1).

NBC (4.916 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) then claimed the silver with its specials "A Toast to 2014!" (4.678 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) and "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" (5.392 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2).

Next up was FOX (2.214 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3) with its special "Pitbull's New Year's Revolution" (2.214 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4).

Meanwhile, CBS (4.656 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) served up repeats of "Blue Bloods" (5.397 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4), "Criminal Minds" (4.634 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T4) and "Stalker" (3.937 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #7).

And finally, an encore of "iHeartRadio Music Festival Night 1" (1.027 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) closed out the evening on The CW (1.027 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), the special posted a 0.2 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
N/A

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
N/A

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

·From 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" (4.9 rating, 11 share in households in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research; 3.1/11 in 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters) equaled the show's highest 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters in five years. Last night's 3.1 in 18-49 matches the year-ago result, the highest for "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" since Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009 (3.4).

·Versus two years ago, "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" is up +11% in 18-49 in the Local People Meters (3.1/11 vs. 2.8/10 on Monday, Dec. 31, 2012) and versus three years ago, last night's telecast is up +19% (3.1/11 vs. 2.6/9 on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011).

·In metered-market households, "NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" retained 94% of last year's 5.2/11, which matched the show's all-time high in its 10 years airing at 11:30 on NBC (every year since New Year's Eve 2005).

·Other late-night averages last night in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen included: Fox's "Pitbull's New Year's Revolution," 2.6/6 in metered-market households from 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 2.2/8 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters; and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2014" on ABC, 10.7/25 from 11:30 p.m.-1:15 a.m., 7.3/29 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

·National results for the December 31 late-night programs, including viewer numbers, are due from Nielsen Media Research on Thursday, Jan. 8.

·An encore telecast of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," airing at 12:30 a.m. ET, averaged a 2.3/6 in households in Nielsen's 56 metered markets and a 1.4/6 in 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters. The 1.4 in the Local People Meters is a nine-month Wednesday high for "Tonight," best since Fallon scored a 1.4/6 on March 12. The last time a Wednesday "Tonight" beat last night's 1.4 was Feb. 26 (1.7/8)

·At 1:30 a.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "Late Night with Seth Meyers" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.7/4 in the Local People Meters, matching the highest Wednesday "Late Night" score in the LPMs in 10 months, since Feb. 26 (0.9/6, during Meyer's first week hosting "Late Night").

·At 2:30 a.m., an encore "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters. The 0.4 in the LPMs is "Last Call's" Wednesday high since Nov. 26 (0.4/3).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [december 2015]  
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
[01/07/26 - 12:32 PM]
Bowl Season on ESPN Networks Delivers Strongest Audience Since 2015-16
ABC delivered its largest non CFP bowl audience in 12 years, averaging 6.2 million viewers across six games.

[01/07/26 - 09:29 AM]
In 2025, Fans Power ESPN and "ESPN on ABC" to Its Most-Watched Year in Over a Decade
ESPN networks increased industry-leading sports share to 35 percent, up from 31 percent in 2024.

[01/06/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX NFL Rings in Best Regular Season Since 2015
The regular season averaged 19.633 million viewers for the network.

[01/06/26 - 03:00 PM]
Record-Setting Season as "Sunday Night Football" on NBC and Peacock Averages 23.5 Million Viewers & Paces as Primetime's #1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
"Sunday Night Football" averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 23.5 million viewers for the 2025 season.

[01/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 29 - "Stranger Things 5" Concludes Right Side Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series "Run Away," centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her.

[01/05/26 - 02:34 PM]
2025-26 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on ESPN Score 19.3 Million Average Viewers; CFP Up YOY Through Two Rounds
The Rose Bowl (Indiana vs. Alabama) topped all coverage with 23.9 million viewers on average.

[01/05/26 - 09:49 AM]
Prime Video Delivers "Thursday Night Football's" Most-Watched Season Ever
The 2025 season averaged 15.33 million viewers throughout its 15-game campaign, marking a +16% increase over the 2024 season and the third-consecutive year of double-digit, year-over-year viewership growth.

[01/02/26 - 03:45 PM]
"Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" Rises to Four Year High Reaching 30 Million Total Viewers at Midnight
The telecast averaged 18.8 million total viewers in the 11:30pm-12:30am hour alone.

[01/02/26 - 09:49 AM]
FOX NFL's Week 17 "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top with 28.8 Million Viewers
The Eagles-Bills close finish marked FOX's second most-watched telecast of the regular season.

[12/31/25 - 12:46 PM]
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-Vikings Becoming the Most-Streamed NFL Game in US History
Said coverage averaged 27.5 million viewers in the US, with US viewership peaking at over 30 million viewers.

[12/31/25 - 10:11 AM]
NFL on Prime's Christmas Night Showdown Between the Broncos and Chiefs Sets New Viewership Marks for "TNF"
The streamer's "Thursday Night Football" finale averaged 21.06 million viewers, peaking with 22.90 million.

[12/31/25 - 10:08 AM]
ESPN Delivered Largest Average NBA Christmas Audience Since 2018
The San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game in the 2:30 p.m. window became ESPN's most-watched NBA Christmas game in the timeslot since 2017, averaging 6.7 million viewers.

[12/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 22 - "Stranger Things 5" Runs Up That Hill to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the list was "Emily in Paris" Season 5 with 13.3 million views.

[12/30/25 - 08:00 AM]
Aced It! ESPN Scored Most-Watched 2025 NCAA Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
The entirety of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament finished up 13% year over year, averaging 666,000 viewers across the 15 matches and featured the most-watched Regionals on record.

[12/24/25 - 10:01 AM]
Dec. 20 Holiday Episode Ranks as #1 "Saturday Night Live" Telecast of the Season
Hosted by Ariana Grande with musical guest Cher, the episode drew 5.4 million viewers.