or


[05/08/16 - 09:03 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Charts with NBA Playoffs
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 nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/7/16):

ABC (4.191 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) was the network to beat on Saturday with its coverage of "NBA Countdown" (3.810 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Portland" (4.267 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).

NBC (3.000 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.9, #2) then snagged the silver with its primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.437 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T2) and a repeat "Saturday Night Live" (2.127 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #5).

Next up was CBS (3.505 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) with repeats of "Scorpion" (2.605 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "Criminal Minds" (3.003 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) alongside a new "48 Hours" (4.909 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4).

And finally on FOX (0.996 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4), encores of "Houdini & Doyle" (1.168 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7) and "American Grit" (0.825 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9) closed out the night.

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

· The May 7 telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Brie Larson and musical guest Alicia Keys, averaged a 4.1 rating, 10 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 1.9/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· Excluding the April 23 tribute telecast to Prince, last night's "Saturday Night Live" scored the show's highest metered-market household rating since Feb. 13 (4.4 with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Kanye West) and equaled its highest 18-49 rating in the local people meters, again excluding the April 23 tribute to Prince, since that Feb. 13 edition (2.3).

· "Saturday Night Live" rose +11% versus the show's May 2015 average for originals in metered-market households (4.1 vs 3.7 for May 2015) and was up +6% versus the May 2015 average in 18-49 in the local people meters (1.9 vs. 1.8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals growing by +50% going from L+SD to L+7 in adults 18-49 (1.87 to 2.80) and +2.171 million persons in total viewers (6.193 million to 8.364 million).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (5/9/15):

ABC (3.974 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1) was the demo champ on Saturday thanks to its "NBA Countdown" (3.096 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) and coverage of "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Memphis" (4.150 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1).

CBS (4.227 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) then claimed the silver with repeats of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.576 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #6) and "Criminal Minds" (3.658 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4) plus a new "48 Hours" (5.448 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was NBC (2.098 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) with encores of "The Voice" (1.951 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Saturday Night Live" (2.394 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T4).

And finally, FOX (1.335 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T3) closed out the evening with second runs of "Hell's Kitchen" (1.002 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Bones" (1.668 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #7).

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

· "Saturday Night Live," with host Reese Witherspoon and musical guest Florence + the Machine (3.7 rating, 10 share in household results in Nielsen's 56 metered markets, 2.0/9 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with Local People Meters) matched the show's highest 18-49 rating in the Local People Meters since Jan. 31 (2.1/10 with host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D'Angelo and The Vanguard), equaling over that span the April 4 telecast (with host Michael Keaton and musical guest Carly Rae Jepsen, 2.0/9) and the March 7 edition (2.0/10 with host Chris Hemsworth and musical guest Zac Brown Band). In metered-market households, it's the top "SNL" since April 11 (3.8/10 with host Taraji P. Henson and musical guest Mumford & Sons).

· This week's "SNL" is the #1 non-sports telecast of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and adults 18-49 in the Local People Meters, ahead of all primetime entertainment programs on those networks in both measures.

· Versus the same night last year, "Saturday Night Live" is virtually matching the year-ago telecast in metered-market households (3.7/10 vss. 3.8/10 on May 10, 2014) and is up +11% in 18-49 in the Local People Meters (2.0/9 vs. 1.8/8).

· Note that "SNL" adds significant viewership via time-shifting, with originals this season growing by an average of +43% going from "live plus same day ratings" to "live plus seven day" in national adult 18-49 rating (from a 1.91 rating to a 2.74).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 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
[02/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
NHL on ESPN Networks: Viewership Up Nearly 40% Year-Over-Year Through First Four Months
Through 22 games, the NHL on ESPN networks is averaging 795K viewers, +39% YoY.

[02/05/26 - 12:42 PM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board
Hitting new season highs on January 30, "20/20" grew from the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[02/05/26 - 10:03 AM]
ABC's Juggernaut Tuesday Scores More Wins
"High Potential's" January 20 episode jumped to 12.98 million Total Viewers and a 2.17 rating among Adults 18-49 after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, scoring a series high among Total Viewers.

[02/04/26 - 08:00 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Viewed Australian Open in Six Years
The men's championship, featuring No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeating No. 4 Novak Djokovic in four sets, delivered 730K viewers and was up 57% YoY, ranking as most-viewed since 2017.

[02/04/26 - 07:00 AM]
FOX Celebrates Three Breakout Debuts, Each Delivering Over 11 Million Multiplatform Viewers, Driving +21% Year-Over-Year Growth in Total Minutes Watched
"Best Medicine," "Fear Factor: House of Fear" and "Memory of a Killer" drive FOX's strongest midseason performance in 14 years.

[02/04/26 - 06:00 AM]
ESPN's Studio Show Lineup Scores Record Highs, Double-Digit Growth & More Big Viewership Wins in Jan.
On Monday, January 19, following the NFL Divisional Round and ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship, fans fueled milestone episodes for "Get Up," "First Take" and "The Pat McAfee Show," with the 7 a.m. ET edition of "SportsCenter" delivering its best episode of the month the following morning.

[02/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
2026 NHL Stadium Series Delivered Most-Viewed NHL Regular Season Game Ever on Cable
The Bruins-Lightning matchup on ESPN averaged 2.1 million viewers, peaking with 2.4 million.

[02/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 26 - Rags to Romance Wins as "Bridgerton" Season 4 Sweeps to No. 1 in the Top 10
"His & Hers" took No. 2 on the English TV list with 11 million views; while YA romance series "Finding Her Edge" moved up to No. 3 on the list with 6.7 million views.

[02/03/26 - 11:51 AM]
"American Idol" Blasts Off with Biggest Season Debut in Four Years
"American Idol" returned for a new season jumping to 8.27 million Total Viewers and a 1.04 rating among Adults 18-49 after three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[02/02/26 - 10:38 AM]
New Year, New Viewership Milestones for ESPN: Signature Events Deliver Second-Best Month in 30 Years
Continuing ESPN's landmark viewership success to start the year, January 2025 and 2026 now account for two of the top three most-watched months in the platform's history.

[01/30/26 - 10:11 AM]
"20/20" Ranks No. 1 in the Two-Hour Time Period Across the Board Versus CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted across-the-board gains week to week: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 9-week highs in both key Adult demos.

[01/30/26 - 06:20 AM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" was also up year to year in Total Viewers for the week of January 19.

[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.

[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.

[01/27/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of January 19 - "The Rip" Is Right on the Money at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Audiences kept the suspense going as they streamed the murder-mystery thriller "His & Hers," putting the series at No. 1 on the English TV list with 17.2 million views.