or


[01/25/21 - 11:11 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: AFC Championship Delivers Big for CBS
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 18 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (1/24/21):

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

CBS (29.958 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 8.4, #1) was of course the network to beat on Sunday with its coverage of the "AFC Championship" (33.005 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 9.3, #1) followed by a special "FBI" (8.624 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #2).

A distant silver went to FOX (1.260 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #2) with its repeat lineup of "The Great North" (2.360 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #3), "Bob's Burgers" (1.235 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), "The Simpsons" (1.230 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4), another "The Great North" (0.917 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), another "Bob's Burgers" (0.858 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8) and "Family Guy" (0.959 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

Next up was ABC (3.004 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.3, #3) with a repeat "America's Funniest Home Videos" (3.907 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4) alongside originals from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (2.890 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8), "Card Sharks" (1.979 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "The Rookie" (3.241 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T4).

Meanwhile, NBC (1.421 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.2, #4) offered up its lineup of "Weakest Link" (1.539 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "The Wall" (1.270 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "Chicago Med" (1.188 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and a new "Dateline NBC" (1.688 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T8).

And finally, a new "Batwoman" (0.642 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and the return of "Charmed" (0.465 million viewers, #18; adults 18-49: 0.1, #18) rounded out the night on The CW (5.540 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+250.00% - FBI (vs. 12/8/20)
+100.00% - Batwoman
0.00% - The Rookie
-25.00% - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
-33.33% - Card Sharks

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Batwoman
-7.00% - AFC Championship (vs. NFC Championship on 1/19/20)
-20.00% - The Rookie (vs. Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend)
-25.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World)
-50.00% - Charmed (vs. Supergirl)
-55.32% - FBI (vs. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards)
-60.00% - Card Sharks (vs. Shark Tank (Repeat))
-62.50% - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (vs. America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat))


Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (1/26/20):

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

CBS (14.963 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) shot to the top spot on Sunday with its primetime coverage of "Grammy Red Carpet Live" (10.243 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2) and "The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards" (16.536 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1).

ABC (3.825 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #2) was the distant silver with its mix of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (5.864 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3), another "America's Funniest Home Videos" (4.432 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4), "Shark Tank" (2.547 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5) and "Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend" (2.459 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T5).

Next up was NBC (2.460 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #3) with an encore of "America's Got Talent: The Champions" (2.763 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7) followed by the annual "American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World" (2.157 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

Meanwhile, FOX (0.923 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.3, #4) opted for repeats of "Last Man Standing" (0.751 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "Outmatched" (0.755 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13), "The Simpsons" (0.996 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10), "Bob's Burgers" (0.889 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10), "Family Guy" (0.995 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.3, #T10) and another "Family Guy" (1.149 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T7).

And finally, originals from "Batwoman" (0.869 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) and "Supergirl" (0.965 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.2, #T13) on The CW (0.917 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Supergirl
0.00% - Batwoman

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Grammy Red Carpet Live (vs. 2/10/19)
-6.00% - The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards (vs. 2/10/19)
-33.33% - Supergirl (vs. Charmed)
-33.33% - Batwoman (vs. Supergirl)
-42.86% - American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World
-50.00% - Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend (vs. Shark Tank (Repeat))

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
[10/31/25 - 02:22 PM]
FOX Sports Hits 14.6 Million Viewers for Game 5 of the World Series
The telecast reached a peak viewership of 16,034,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.

[10/31/25 - 10:42 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scares Up More Wins - Rising for Historic Sixth Week in a Row
"Dancing with the Stars" is the only fall show to increase its overall audience for six consecutive weeks following its season premiere.

[10/31/25 - 06:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record College Football Viewership at the Midway Point of the Season, "College GameDay" Continues on Historic Run
Through nine weeks, ESPN networks are averaging 2.3 million viewers per game, their largest audience since 2009 and an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.

[10/30/25 - 03:05 PM]
14.8 Million Viewers Tuned in for World Series Game 4 Across FOX, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports Streaming Services
Viewership peaked at 16,695,000 viewers on FOX between 10:00-10:15 PM ET.

[10/30/25 - 03:01 PM]
Debut of NBC Sports' "Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" Delivers NBA's Largest Pre-Christmas Tuesday Audience Since 1996
"Coast 2 Coast Tuesday" - featuring the New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m. ET) and LA Clippers at Golden State Warriors (11 p.m. ET) - averaged 3.0 million viewers in primetime across NBC and Peacock.

[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.

[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.

[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.

[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.