or


[04/17/21 - 10:08 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Demos with "Blue Bloods"
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 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night (4/16/21):

CBS (5.399 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) was the top draw on Friday thanks to its night of originals from "MacGyver" (4.188 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6), "Magnum P.I." (5.350 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3) and "Blue Bloods" (6.659 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1).

ABC (3.478 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) shared in the demo crown with its duo of "Shark Tank" (3.804 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T1) and "20/20" (3.316 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

Next up was FOX (1.997 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T1) and its mainstay "WWE SmackDown" (1.997 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T3).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.972 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.4, #4) served up new episodes from "The Blacklist" (3.432 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #8) and "Dateline NBC" (2.742 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.4, #T6).

And finally, a new "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.745 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9), a repeat "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (0.691 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) and a new "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (0.669 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #T9) closed out the evening for The CW (0.694 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Blue Bloods
0.00% - Magnum P.I.
0.00% - 20/20
0.00% - MacGyver
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - The Blacklist (vs. 4/2/21)
0.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. 3/19/21)
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us
-14.29% - Shark Tank
-16.67% - WWE SmackDown

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+20.00% - Blue Bloods (vs. Blue Bloods (Repeat))
0.00% - Dateline NBC (vs. The Blacklist (Repeat)/Dateline NBC)
0.00% - Penn & Teller: Fool Us (vs. Dynasty)
-14.29% - Shark Tank (vs. Shark Tank (Repeat))
-16.67% - WWE SmackDown
-28.57% - Magnum P.I.
-28.57% - 20/20 (vs. 20/20 (Repeat))
-42.86% - MacGyver
-50.00% - The Blacklist
-50.00% - Whose Line Is It Anyway? (vs. Charmed)


Here are the highlights of the 11 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (4/17/20):

ABC (4.161 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #1) was still the network to beat on Friday despite its all-repeat lineup of "Shark Tank" (4.363 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) and "20/20" (4.061 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1).

A close second was CBS (6.294 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) with new episodes of "MacGyver" (6.348 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) and "Magnum P.I." (6.932 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T1) plus a repeat "Blue Bloods" (5.603 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

Sharing the silver was FOX (2.192 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T2) and its weekly "WWE SmackDown" (2.192 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.486 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 0.5, #4) offered up a new "The Blacklist" (4.832 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.6, #T5), a repeat "The Blacklist" (2.321 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.3, #9) and "Dateline NBC" (3.304 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.5, #T7).

And finally, originals from "Charmed" (0.651 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.2, #10) and "Dynasty" (0.320 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.1, #11) rounded out the night on The CW (0.486 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.1, #5).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Magnum P.I.
0.00% - MacGyver
0.00% - WWE SmackDown
0.00% - Dateline NBC
0.00% - Charmed
0.00% - Dynasty
-14.29% - The Blacklist

Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+75.00% - Magnum P.I. (vs. Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat))
+50.00% - The Blacklist (vs. Blindspot)
+40.00% - MacGyver (vs. I Love Lucy Funny Money Special (Repeat))
0.00% - WWE SmackDown (vs. Various)
0.00% - Charmed (vs. Dynasty)
-28.57% - Dateline NBC
-60.00% - Dynasty (vs. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Repeat))

Source: Nielsen Media Research, ShowBuzzDaily.com





  [april 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
[11/26/25 - 02:31 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 in Time Period vs. CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted substantial increases week to week across the board.

[11/26/25 - 02:30 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Weeks, ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[11/26/25 - 02:21 PM]
"Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary" Is the Season's Most-Watched Primetime Entertainment Special
The telecast delivered 6.32 million viewers and was the most-watched entertainment program Monday night.

[11/26/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Caps Spectacular Season 34 with 9.24 Million Total Viewers - Drawing Largest Finale Audience in 9 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the show nearly doubled last season's finale episode (+89% - 2.15 rating vs. 1.14 rating), hitting its strongest finale result in 10 years.

[11/25/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Center Stage: Countdown to the CMA Awards - Special Edition of 20/20" Rises Over Last Year's Performance in All Key Measures
"Center Stage" (434,000 and 326,000, respectively) ranked No. 1 in its hour in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[11/25/25 - 03:05 PM]
ESPN Wins Week 13 with Stellar Showings for "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot," "SEC on ABC" and Friday College Football on ESPN
Texas Longhorns defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 52-37 delivered 5.6 million viewers on November 22.

[11/25/25 - 02:57 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Scores 27,816,000 Viewers in Week 12
The Dallas Cowboys win over the Philadelphia Eagles peaked with 28.4 million viewers from 7:30 PM - 7:45 PM ET.

[11/25/25 - 02:03 PM]
CBS Sports' Coverage of the 2025 NWSL Championship Is the First NWSL Match Ever to Surpass 1 Million Viewers!
The Gotham FC victory over Washington Spirit set a NWSL viewership record.

[11/25/25 - 02:00 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on ESPN
ESPN's live telecast on Saturday night, November 22, averaged 1.5 million viewers, the largest audience to watch the event in its three-year history,

[11/25/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 17 - 3 Cheers for "Champagne Problems" at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys continued to keep audiences guessing in their psychological thriller "The Beast in Me," which took the No. 1 spot on the English TV list for a second week with 14.1 million views.

[11/21/25 - 12:00 PM]
CBS Series Top L+7 Multiplatform Competitive Charts
Seven weeks into the 2025/26 broadcast season, "Tracker" is the #1 series, averaging 14.2 million viewers across broadcast and streaming.

[11/20/25 - 04:55 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Jumps to Season Highs with Epic "Prince Night"
The show rose dramatically over its year-ago penultimate episode in Total Viewers, with its best semifinals performance in seven years.

[11/20/25 - 11:31 AM]
"Landman" Season 2 Premiere Delivers Record Breaking 9.2 Million Global Streaming Views in Its First Two Days on Paramount+
Views increased by +262% from the first season premiere, making it the most watched premiere for any original series for Paramount+.

[11/20/25 - 08:22 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Performance Among Total Viewers and Households in Five Months
Friday's "Live's Halloween Show: "It's Trending!" posted its top telecast in Total Viewers (2.554 million) and Households (1.62 million) in over six months.

[11/18/25 - 03:40 PM]
"College GameDay" Scores Best Week 12 Show Ever in Steel City Stop; ABC & ESPN Deliver Top Four Most-Watched Games of Week 12
ABC is registering 6.9 million viewers per game, on pace for the most-watched season on record for the network.