or


[01/18/16 - 09:13 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NFL Playoffs Give Big Boost to CBS
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 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/17/16):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the nature of live sports, Fast Nationals for CBS (7-8p) and approximate.]

CBS (20.077 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.0, #1) got a huge boost on Sunday with a full hour of "NFL Overrun" (40.607 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.0, #1) followed by new episodes of "60 Minutes" (20.272 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 4.7, #2), "Madam Secretary" (11.340 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3) and "The Good Wife" (8.091 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #7).

NBC (7.219 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) then was a distant second place with its mix of "Dateline NBC" (5.562 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), another "Dateline NBC" (5.879 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10) and the "Democratic Presidential Primary Debate" (8.718 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4).

Next up was FOX (2.793 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) and its combination of a "The Simpsons" (1.965 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12) repeat alongside the return of "Bob's Burgers" (2.276 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11) and originals from "The Simpsons" (4.000 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life" (2.546 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8), "Family Guy" (3.399 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.6, #6) and "Bordertown" (2.569 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T8).

And finally, new episodes of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.744 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #T12), "Galavant" (2.509 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T15), another "Galavant" (2.123 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T15) and repeats of "Quantico" (1.339 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.3, #18) and another "Quantico" (1.592 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.4, #17) on ABC (2.498 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) closed out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
487.50% - 60 Minutes
100.00% - Madam Secretary
30.00% - The Good Wife
0.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. 11/15/15)
0.00% - America's Funniest Home Videos
0.00% - Galavant - 8:00
0.00% - Galavant - 8:30
-20.00% - Family Guy
-25.00% - Bordertown
-57.14% - Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life
-73.13% - The Simpsons

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+90.00% - Democratic Presidential Primary Debate (vs. Bridesmaids (Repeat))
+50.00% - The Simpsons (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
+45.45% - Family Guy (vs. Family Guy (Repeat))
+33.33% - Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life (vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Repeat))
+20.00% - Bordertown (vs. Bob's Burgers (Repeat))
+14.29% - Dateline NBC - 7:00
+10.00% - Dateline NBC - 8:00 (vs. Bridesmaids (Repeat))
0.00% - Bob's Burgers (vs. The Simpsons (Repeat))
-11.11% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-33.33% - Galavant - 8:00
-33.33% - Galavant - 8:30
-61.79% - 60 Minutes (vs. AFC Championship)
-69.77% - The Good Wife (vs. AFC Championship Post-Game/Scorpion)
-83.74% - Madam Secretary (vs. AFC Championship)


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/18/15):

CBS (31.579 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 10.3, #1) was the network to beat on Sunday with its coverage of "AFC Championship" (37.323 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 12.3, #1), the "AFC Championship Post-Game" (17.987 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 5.6, #2) and a special "Scorpion" (10.712 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #3).

FOX (2.866 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #2) then claimed the silver with its mix of "NFL Overrun/Mulaney" (4.344 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) followed by repeats of "The Simpsons" (2.616 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7), another "The Simpsons" (3.093 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #5), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2.267 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Family Guy" (2.511 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.1, #6) and "Bob's Burgers" (2.365 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7).

Next up was NBC (3.550 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #3) and its duo of "Dateline NBC" (4.231 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15) and the feature "Bridesmaids" (3.323 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #T7).

And finally, ABC (3.847 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4) closed out the evening with "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.788 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Galavant" (3.418 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), another "Galavant" (3.333 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10), "Resurrection" (3.215 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T15) and "Revenge" (4.009 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T10).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+12.50% - Revenge
-12.50% - Resurrection
-18.18% - America's Funniest Home Videos
-25.00% - Galavant - 8:30
-30.77% - Galavant - 8:00

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+28.57% - Revenge (vs. Betrayal)
+12.50% - America's Funniest Home Videos
0.00% - Galavant - 8:30 (vs. The Bachelor Love Stories)
0.00% - Galavant - 8:00 (vs. The Bachelor Love Stories)
-46.15% - Resurrection (vs. Revenge)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2016]  
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
[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
Plus: 3,094,000 viewers tuned in to Friday's Missouri-Kansas matchup on FOX.

[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
ABC scores two of week 2's top three games, with Alabama at Kentucky winning the afternoon by more than double the competition.

[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?" debuted at the top of the English film list, gathering 19.3 million views for its lakeside destination wedding.

[09/14/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN Aces Its Most-Viewed US Open Women's Semifinals Action Ever, Averaging 2.2M Viewers
Viewership peaked with 2.6M avg. viewers (9:45-10 p.m. ET) during Coco Gauff's three-set showdown against Elena Rybakina.

[09/14/26 - 11:57 AM]
NFL Gameday in Melbourne on Netflix Scores With an Average 18.5 Million US Viewers for First-Ever NFL Regular Season Game in Australia
Globally, the historic matchup averaged 21.7 million viewers, with fans from over 200 countries and territories tuning in to the first-ever NFL regular season game played in Australia.

[09/14/26 - 09:50 AM]
NFL Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock Featuring Patriots-Seahawks Tops 25 Million Viewers for Fourth Consecutive Year
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.

[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.

[09/09/26 - 03:52 PM]
"College GameDay" Wins Week 1 With Top-Three Regular Season Show on Record
Coverage of Clemson/LSU was the top Saturday game of Week 1.

[09/09/26 - 03:30 PM]
ESPN's US Open Coverage Is Most-Viewed Since 2022 Through Third Round
The full-tournament average so far is up 5% over 2025 and the most viewed since 2022, the year of Serena Williams' final match before her return this year.

[09/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 31
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "The Grand Tour," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.

[09/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of August 31 - "The Whisper Man" Tracks Down No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"Death of the Pastor's Wife" held the top spot of the English TV list with 13.9 million views.

[09/08/26 - 10:09 AM]
FOX MLB Posts Best Regular Season Thursday Night Baseball Telecast Since 2022
2,668,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX Thursday for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cubs' 2-1 win over the Brewers in most of the country.