or


[05/07/17 - 10:30 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBA Playoffs Put ABC on Top
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 seven ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (5/6/17):

ABC (4.417 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1) claimed the top spot on Saturday with its coverage of the "NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Utah" (4.417 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #1).

NBC (3.373 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #2) then was the silver draw with the primetime portion of "NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh at Washington" (3.722 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) followed by "SNL Vintage" (2.674 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.8, #3).

Next up was FOX (2.154 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #3) and the return of "FOX Sports Saturday Presents Major League Baseball" (2.154 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5).

And finally, a repeat "NCIS" (3.704 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and new episodes of "Training Day" (3.219 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "48 Hours" (4.283 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #4) rounded out the night on CBS (3.735 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4).

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

· "Saturday Night Live" has outrated every primetime telecast on the broadcast networks so far this week in adults 18-49 except "The Big Bang Theory," while delivering the most-watched "SNL" May telecast in nearly five years.

· The May 6 edition of "Saturday Night Live," with host Chris Pine and musical guest LCD Soundsystem, averaged 6.919 million viewers overall and a 1.87 rating in adults 18-49 in "fast official" "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research.

· The telecast, which aired live coast to coast (11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT) and counted unduplicated viewers from 11:30 encores in western markets, generated the show's biggest overall audience for a May edition since the May 19, 2012 season finale, (with host and musical guest Mick Jagger, 6.954 million).

· With its 1.87 rating in adults 18-49, the May 6 "Saturday Night Live" ranks as the #2 telecast so far this week on the broadcast networks in adult 18-49 rating, behind only "The Big Bang Theory" (2.48) and edging out "Empire" (1.85).


Here are the highlights of the nine ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (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).

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [may 2017]  
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
[07/23/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 on Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late Night
"20/20" was up over the previous week in all key target demos and improved year to year across the board.

[07/23/26 - 01:00 PM]
"Big Brother" Premiere Week Up +14% from Last Season
In its first week (episodes airing July 9, 12 and 15), "Big Brother" live plus 3-day total multiplatform viewership averaged 4.96 million viewers.

[07/22/26 - 01:19 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of July 13
"Ride or Die," "Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," and "Clarkson's Farm" led all original series worldwide.

[07/22/26 - 12:37 PM]
Kansas City, Boston and Austin Lead the Way as Top Local Markets for FIFA World Cup 2026 on FOX and FS1
San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Atlanta, St. Louis, Providence, and West Palm Beach round out the top 10.

[07/22/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NBA Summer League Championship Game Since 2017
The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 676,000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[07/21/26 - 04:03 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Delivers 2.639 Million for Seattle's Extra-Inning Win Over San Francisco
Viewership peaked with 3,383,000 viewers from 8:00-8:15 PM ET.

[07/21/26 - 03:22 PM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Etches Place in Record Books as Most-Watched Soccer Telecast in U.S. History With 38,937,000 Viewers
The record-breaking Final reached its dramatic peak with 51,685,000 viewers watching from 5:45 to 6:00 PM ET as Spain secured a 1-0 victory in extra time over Argentina.

[07/21/26 - 02:22 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most Watched Final Round of the Open Championship Since 2022
Sunday's audience peaked at 6.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 1:15-1:30 p.m. ET.

[07/21/26 - 02:03 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" Series Debut Tops 5 Million Total Viewers
On linear, "Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" was the No. 1 program of the night in both Total Viewers (4.42 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.47 rating).

[07/21/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of July 13 - "Little House on the Prairie" Journeys to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Hawk" - the sports comedy starring Will Ferrell as an infamous golf legend chasing a late-career comeback on the green - debuted in the No. 3 spot on the list, swinging to 4.8 million views.

[07/20/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Leads Broadcast Series in Multiplatform Viewing for the 2025-2026 Season
Against broadcast competition, CBS finishes the season with four of the top five series.

[07/17/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX Sports' 15.088 Million Average Viewers for FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinals is Best in U.S. History
16.900 million viewers watched Argentina knock out England in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon on FOX.

[07/17/26 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late Night and Friday Evening
"20/20" improved on the year-ago telecast by double digits in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[07/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
FOX Sports Rings the Bell, Captures Most-Watched MLB All-Star Game Since 2018
Coverage reached a peak audience of 10,186,000 viewers from 8:45-9:00 PM ET.

[07/16/26 - 01:48 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the First Half of 2026
Starting in Q1 2027, Netflix will move from a six-month to a yearly snapshot.