or


[12/23/18 - 09:00 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Tops in Both Viewers, Demos
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 (12/22/18):

NBC (3.494 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) took home top honors on Saturday with a two-hour "Dateline Saturday Night Mystery" (3.542 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #2) and a vintage "Saturday Night Live" (3.399 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

FOX (1.927 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) then was the silver draw among adults 18-49 with its coverage of "Premier Boxing Champions" (1.927 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

Next up was CBS (2.965 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with repeats of "NCIS" (2.824 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and "FBI" (2.605 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) plus a new "48 Hours" (3.466 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

And finally, an encore of "CMA Country Christmas" (2.594 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T5) and a new "The Alec Baldwin Show" (1.120 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #8) rounded out the night on ABC (2.103 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4).

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

· A Dec. 22 encore telecast of "Saturday Night Live," with host Seth Meyers and musical guest Paul Simon, has averaged a 2.9 rating, 8 share in "live plus same day" household results from the 56 local markets metered by Nielsen Media Research and a 0.9/5 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

· This week's "SNL" scored the show's highest metered-market household rating for a regular-slot encore since April 24 (3.0 with host Saoirse Ronan and musical guest U2) (excludes an hourlong Oct. 27 11:30-12:30 "Halloween" special).

· The 0.9 in 18-49 in the local people meters equals the high for a regular-slot "Saturday Night Live" encore since June 2 (1.0 with host Donald Glover and musical guest Glover as Childish Gambino) (excludes the Oct. 27 special).

· The Dec. 22 "Saturday Night Live" is the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in metered-market households and 18-49 in the local people, topping all primetime shows on those nets in both measures.


Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/23/17):

[Note: Fast affiliate ratings are inaccurate for live sports.]

NBC (13.086 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) rocketed to the top spot on Saturday with special editions of "Football Night in America #3" (10.190 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) and "Sunday Night Football" (13.666 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.6, #1).

CBS (3.170 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) then was a distant silver with its mix of "NCIS: New Orleans" (2.929 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7), "48 Hours" (3.099 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and another "48 Hours" (3.482 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #3).

Next up was ABC (1.976 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with repeats of "The Great Christmas Light Fight" (2.128 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #6), another "The Great Christmas Light Fight" (2.206 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and a new "Ten Days in the Valley" (1.594 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

And finally, FOX (1.082 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) closed out the night with rebroadcasts of "The Gifted" (0.835 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) and "Lethal Weapon" (1.329 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T7).

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

· A Dec. 23 encore of "Saturday Night Live," with host Kumail Nanjiani and musical guest P!nk, was delayed by an NFL overrun and reliable metered-market numbers are currently unavailable.

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [december 2018]  
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
[02/12/26 - 02:34 PM]
ABC's Thursday Night Dramas Dominate as "9-1-1," "9-1-1: Nashville" and "Grey's Anatomy" Jump to Biggest Multiplatform Audience Since Their Season Premieres
The January 29 episodes of all three series rose to their biggest Total Viewer audience since their season premieres after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[02/11/26 - 03:30 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board - in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49
"Nightline" improved on the same week last year by double digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[02/11/26 - 01:46 PM]
"Puppy Bowl XXII" Reaches 15.3 Million Viewers on Sunday, February 8, Delivering Highest Audience in Eight Years
The programming event ranked as the #1 non-sports cable telecast of the day among key adult demos and achieved a 20% year-over-year increase in reach, marking its strongest performance since 2018.

[02/11/26 - 11:15 AM]
Post-Olympics "Tonight Show" Telecast Attracts Most Viewers Since November 2024
The February 6 post-Olympics telecast of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" drew 2.4 million viewers.

[02/10/26 - 03:51 PM]
Super Bowl LX Is Second Most-Watched All-Time with Nearly 125 Million Viewers, Peaking at All-Time U.S. Record 137.8 Million Viewers Across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Super Bowl LX is the most-watched show in the history of NBCUniversal, which celebrates 100 years of NBC in 2026.

[02/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 2 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Is the Tea Everyone Is Having in This Week's Top 10
Plus: the new season of the hit drama series "The Lincoln Lawyer" took the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 9 million views.

[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.