or


[01/16/21 - 08:52 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, FOX Share Demo Crown; CBS Leads 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 10 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/15/21):

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

ABC (4.100 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and FOX (2.153 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) shared the demo crown on Friday as the latter offered up a fresh installment of "WWE SmackDown" (2.153 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

The Alphabet then served up its duo of "Shark Tank" (4.212 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) and "20/20" (4.044 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2).

Next up was CBS (4.855 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with new episodes of "MacGyver" (4.844 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "Magnum P.I." (5.291 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (4.429 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #6).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.066 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) offered up its coverage of the "U.S. Figure Skating Championship" (2.066 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.3, #7).

And finally, The CW (0.785 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) rounded out the night with its mix of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.886 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.742 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8) and "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.757 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T8).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway?
+100.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us
+20.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - MacGyver
-12.50% - Shark Tank
-16.67% - Magnum P.I.

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+100.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Dynasty)
+55.56% - Shark Tank (vs. American Housewife/Fresh Off the Boat)
+20.00% - 20/20
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Charmed)
-16.67% - MacGyver (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
-16.67% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Magnum P.I. (Repeat))
-25.00% - WWE SmackDown


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/17/20):

FOX (2.580 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1) remained the demo champ on Friday with its telecast of "WWE SmackDown" (2.580 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.8, #1).

CBS (5.420 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) was the most-watched network despite its all-repeat lineup of "Hawaii Five-0" (5.487 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2), "Magnum P.I." (5.177 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and "Blue Bloods" (5.597 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Next up was NBC (3.776 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) with week two of "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" (3.783 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) and "Dateline NBC" (3.772 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

Meanwhile, ABC (3.106 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T2) served up the return of "American Housewife" (3.430 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4) and "Fresh Off the Boat" (2.408 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T8) plus a new "20/20" (3.200 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T4).

And finally, The CW (0.512 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5) closed the evening with the winter premieres of "Charmed" (0.676 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) and "Dynasty" (0.349 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. 12/13/19)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. 12/6/19)
0.00% - Dynasty (vs. 12/6/19)
-16.67% - American Housewife (vs. 12/13/19)
-16.67% - 20/20
-28.57% - Dateline NBC
-33.33% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+14.29% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
-16.67% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist/Dateline NBC)
-28.57% - American Housewife (vs. Fresh Off the Boat)
-28.57% - 20/20
-33.33% - Fresh Off the Boat (vs. Speechless)
-33.33% - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (vs. Blindspot)
-50.00% - Dynasty (vs. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

Source: Nielsen Media Research





  [january 2021]  
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
[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.

[12/04/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores 4.36 Million Viewers on FOX
The 2025 season was "Big Noon Kickoff's" most-watched season in history.

[12/04/25 - 02:41 PM]
18.4M Viewers Tuned in for Ohio State-Michigan on FOX
Ohio State's win over Michigan scored 18,424,000 viewers on FOX.

[12/04/25 - 02:28 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix on ESPN2
The November 30 telecast earned an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience ever to watch the event on U.S. television.

[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.

[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.

[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).

[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.

[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[12/02/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 24 - "Stranger Things" Escapes the Upside Down to Take No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The series returned last week with Volume 1 of its fifth and final season, touting the biggest premiere week ever for an English language show in the history of Netflix, amassing 59.6 million views and securing No. 1 on the English TV list.