or


[08/15/20 - 08:55 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Keeps Demo Crown; CBS Tops Total Viewers
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 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (8/14/20):

FOX (1.978 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1) led the demo race on Friday thanks to "WWE SmackDown" (1.978 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #1).

CBS (3.585 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) was the most-watched broadcaster with the season finale of "The Greatest #AtHome Videos" (3.913 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) alongside repeats of "Magnum P.I." (3.138 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Blue Bloods" (3.704 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6).

Next up was NBC (2.709 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with encores of "The Wall" (2.292 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (2.917 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

Meanwhile, ABC (2.600 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) also offered up second runs of "Shark Tank" (2.714 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and "20/20" (2.543 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2).

And finally, The CW (0.332 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed out the night with repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (0.449 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), another "Masters of Illusion" (0.459 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), a new "Being Rueben" (0.214 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.0, #T11) and a second "Being Rueben" (0.206 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.0, #T11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Being Rueben - 9:00
0.00% - Being Rueben - 9:30
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+66.67% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+33.33% - The Greatest #AtHome Videos (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-100.00% - Being Rueben - 9:00 (vs. Hypnotize Me (Repeat))
-100.00% - Being Rueben - 9:30 (vs. Hypnotize Me (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (8/16/19):

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Some high rated local pre-season NFL games (across all networks) are included here but will be excluded from Officials.]

NBC (3.054 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) was the demo champ on a repeat heavy Friday with its duo of "American Ninja Warrior" (3.025 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #1) and "Dateline NBC" (3.111 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

CBS (3.424 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) then was the most-watched network with its trio of "Hawaii Five-0" (3.265 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Magnum P.I." (3.252 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Blue Bloods" (3.755 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was ABC (2.594 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and its mix of "American Housewife" (2.542 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "Fresh Off the Boat" (1.999 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "What Would You Do?" (2.774 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "20/20" (2.737 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, FOX (1.362 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) served up encores of "BH90210" (1.426 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "MasterChef" (1.297 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, repeats of "Masters of Illusion" (1.316 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "The Big Stage" (1.198 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "Hypnotize Me" (1.104 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) rounded out the night on The CW (1.180 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - What Would You Do?

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
-16.67% - What Would You Do?

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

TBA

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [august 2020]  
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.