Primetime Preliminary Fast National Nielsen Data
(includes all DVR playback through 3:00 am)

Here are the highlights of the 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (12/18/20):

FOX (3.039 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) was the demo champ on Friday with its primetime coverage of the "Pac-12 Football Championship Game" (3.039 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

CBS (5.417 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #2) had to settle for second with its fall finales from "MacGyver" (4.677 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "Magnum P.I." (5.315 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (6.258 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

Next up was ABC (2.570 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with encores of "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" (2.978 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2), "Shrek the Halls" (2.620 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) and "20/20" (2.456 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

NBC (2.747 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) likewise opted for repeats of "Weakest Link" (2.499 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6) and "Dateline NBC" (2.871 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9).

And finally, week two of "The Christmas Caroler Challenge" (0.513 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #10) rounded out the night for The CW (0.513 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Blue Bloods
0.00% - Magnum P.I.
0.00% - The Christmas Caroler Challenge
-20.00% - MacGyver

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+25.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. Blue Bloods (Repeat))
+25.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Magnum P.I. (Repeat))
0.00% - The Christmas Caroler Challenge (vs. Various (Repeats))
0.00% - Pac-12 Football Championship Game (vs. WWE SmackDown)
-20.00% - MacGyver (vs. I Love Lucy Christmas Special (Repeat))

Here are the highlights of the 12 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (12/20/19):

FOX (2.414 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) continued its demo reign on Friday with its weekly presentation of "WWE SmackDown" (2.414 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1).

The most-watched network then was CBS (4.431 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) with repeats of "I Love Lucy Christmas Special" (4.892 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2), "Magnum P.I." (3.823 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and "Blue Bloods" (4.578 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Next up was ABC (2.815 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) and its pairing of "Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee" (2.528 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) and a two-hour "20/20" (2.958 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.659 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T2) served up the "Global Citizen Prize" (1.849 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) alongside its own two-hour "Dateline NBC" (3.064 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2).

And finally, repeats of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.903 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #9), "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.669 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) and another "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.605 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T10) closed out the night on The CW (0.770 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Dateline NBC
-20.00% - 20/20

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
+11.11% - Dateline NBC (vs. Various)
-20.00% - 20/20 (vs. Various)
-25.00% - Global Citizen Prize (vs. Midnight, Texas)
-42.86% - Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (vs. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (Repeat))

Source: Nielsen Media Research