ratings

ABC’s Dancing With the Stars‘ special Tuesday outing featuring Season 29’s first elimination delivered 5.85 million total viewers and a 1.0 demo rating, down 27% and 23%, respectively, from its opener but still topping the night in the demo.

the debut of L.A.’s Finest on Fox delivered 2.9 million total viewers and a 0.5 rating, landing in a three-way tie for Monday’s second best demo number (behind ABC’s share of Monday Night Football).

TV’s biggest night is looking at its smallest audience. Per Nielsen fast nationals (and pending possible adjustment in finals), ABC’s broadcast of the 2020 Emmys on Sunday night averaged 5.1 million total viewers, down double digits from last year’s all-time audience low — which is not unexpected, given multiple on- and off-screen obstacles.

Post- and end-of-the-season action for TV sports franchises has seen sharply lower overall viewership as a result of sports competition caused by disruptions in scheduling due to COVID-19, as well as lower persons using television (PUT) data. MoffettNathanson Research says the returning NBA and NHL have been impacted by lower PUT data in August and September versus the April and May periods — the former period being one that traditionally sees lower PUT data.

CBS’s Big Brother was the top-rated show in primetime Thursday, scoring a 1.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic to go along with 4.14 million viewers. It teamed with fellow reality mate Love Island (0.5, 2.03 million) to help the network finish No. 1 in the key demo overall in early Nielsen numbers. ABC was tops in viewers behind the second night of two Holey Moley specials (0.5, 2.50 million).

CBS has topped primetime, daytime and latenight TV viewership for a second 52-week season in a row. While in a virtual dead-heat with NBC for overall total reach, the ViacomCBS-owned network averaged 6.32 million viewers in the highly valued 8-11 p.m. period for the 2019-20 full-year season, says Nielsen.

TV measurement and attribution firm TVSquared and Blockgraph, which securely connects data providers and users, said they are working together to provide omni-channel TV measurement and attribution capabilities.

The CBS broadcast of the virtual, pandemic-delayed Academy of Country Music Awards averaged 6.6 million total viewers and a 1.0 demo rating, down about 33% from last year (when it aired in-season, in April) but still dominating Wednesday in both measures.

ABC’s The Presidential Town Hall: Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Questions: Pennsylvania drew 3.8 million total viewers, marking Tuesday night’s third-largest broadcast audience (behind America’s Got Talent and Big Brother). In the 18-49 demo, the town hall scored a 0.6 demo rating.

Dancing With The Stars samba’d, tango’d and fox-trotted its way to the top of Monday’s primetime broadcast ratings, delivering a 1.3 in the adults 18-49 demo and netting 8.10 million viewers. The final numbers for the live premiere are expected to be adjusted due to an NFL preemption in parts of the country, but the numbers were still big enough to lead the night.

SoFi Stadium was devoid of fans on last night’s Sunday Night Football due to the coronavirus pandemic, but full of victory for hometown heroes the Los Angeles Rams. Sadly that winning feeling wasn’t reflected in the ratings for NBC and the NFL.

NBC Sunday Night Football‘s Thursday-night NFL kickoff game between the Chiefs and Texans averaged 17.1 million total viewers and a 5.5 demo rating in fast nationals, down about 12% from the preliminary numbers for last year’s season opener. Among regularly scheduled Thursday fare, CBS’ Big Brother (3.9 million/1.0) dipped week-to-week but led the pack; lead-out Love Island (1.7 million/0.4) was also steady.

Nielsen has shut down its 12-year-old place-based video networks measurement service. The move comes as many place-based media venues have been challenged by shutdowns or sparse attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBS’s Big Brother delivered 3.9 million total viewers and a 1.0 demo rating, ticking down week-to-week yet still dominating Wednesday in the demo. Leading out of that, Love Island did 1.7 million and a 0.4, followed by the 48 Hours: Suspicion premiere’s 2.4 million/0.3.

NBC’s America’s Got Talent this Tuesday delivered 5.8 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, dipping week-to-week yet still leading the night in both measures. Leading out of that, Transplant (3.7 million/0.4) matched its U.S. premiere rating while dropping just a handful of eyeballs.

On Aug. 31, Nielsen started including out of home viewing in its daily final ratings, which are usually released in the afternoon (or Tuesday morning for Saturdays and Sundays). They also include ratings for cable programs. The “fast national” ratings (overnights) that arrive each morning don’t have either of those. THR will now switch to reporting on the afternoon numbers, which, it says, will provide a better — if still incomplete — snapshot of just how many people watched a given network or cable show the night it aired.

In the latest TV ratings, NBC’s American Ninja Warrior Season 12 premiere delivered 3.5 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating, down sharply from its Season 11 averages (4.7 mil/0.9) but still good enough to dominate Labor Day in both measures.

The deal covers measurement services for Weigel Broadcasting’s eight stations in Milwaukee and South Bend, Ind.

Big Brother continued its steady performance on Thursday, easily leading the broadcast primetime ratings. It was a pretty quiet night otherwise, however, with ABC’s game shows returning lower after two weeks off for the political conventions.

CBS’s Big Brother led Wednesday’s primetime among adults 18-49, beating America’s Got Talent head to head. The NBC show, however, scored a victory among total viewers.

The Tuesday night ratings race was a battle between the NBA playoff game between the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets, and the latest edition of America’s Got Talent. In the end, the basketball came out on top, averaging around a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.7 million total viewers for ABC. The game itself was the decider between two evenly-matched teams, and ended in a narrow 80-78 victory for the Nuggets.

ABC’s The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! returned from a three-week break to its lowest ratings yet. The Bachelor highlight show scored a 0.2 rating among adults 18-49 and drew only 1.5 million, roughly a 20% drop on both metrics from the previous episode. It remains to be seen whether the show can boost things a little with its final episode of the summer next week.

Following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman Friday, ABC aired Black Panther and a tribute to Boseman on Sunday night. Both programs scored big numbers for the Disney-owned network, as viewers tuned in to see the likes of fellow Avengers stars Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Winston Duke, Mark Ruffalo, and Paul Rudd discuss the significant legacy that Boseman has left behind. In total, 6.1 million viewers watched Black Panther, delivering a Sunday night-high 1.4 rating for the Disney-owned network. The remembrance special A Tribute For a King, followed with a 1.1 rating and 4.7 million viewers, the second largest tally on the night.

Fox News dominated ratings for the Republican convention, and MSNBC was the clear No. 1 for the Democrats’ gathering.

CBS’ unscripted combo Big Brother and Love Island helped the network to the top ratings spot Thursday, on a night President Donald Trump’s 70-minute speech from the White House lawn in primetime wrapped the Republican National Convention. Big Brother scored a night-leading 1.0 rating and 4.01 million viewers, with the all-star edition off a tenth from Wednesday’s episode, which had matched season-best numbers in the demo. As for that final night of the RNC at 10 p.m., ABC (0.4, 2.25 million) led among the broadcasters in early numbers from Nielsen, as it did for the final night of the Democratic National Convention.

Republican National Convention TV viewership fell off significantly on its third night, which was highlighted by Vice President Mike Pence’s acceptance speech from Fort McHenry. According to early numbers from Nielsen, an average of 15.7 million viewers watched in the 10-11:15 p.m. ET time frame across six networks. That compares to 18 million who watched in the same period on Tuesday, when First Lady Melania Trump spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House.

CBS set the bar for Wednesday ratings, topping the night with a new episode of Big Brother: All Stars, which climbed one tenth from last week to a 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic and 4.24 million viewers. The reality series matched season-best numbers in the demo. Tough As Nails (0.5, 2.90 million) also climbed a tenth from last week while the broadcaster saw an uptick in early numbers for Night 3 of the Republican National Convention (0.3, 1.64 million).

America’s Got Talent topped Tuesday in primetime, delivering a 0.7 in the adults 18-49 demographic and 5.58 million viewers to hold steady with last week’s numbers. The reality talent competition led into Night 2 of the Republican National Convention, which so far trails Night 1 in the early data with NBC (0.3, 2.42 million) and ABC (0.3, 1.74 million) leading in the demo and CBS (0.2, 1.30 million) at No. 3. These numbers will likely be adjusted when finals are delivered.

Not only did Fox News pull in the biggest audience for the first night of the Republican convention, but the network scored more viewers than they did four years ago for the opening of the 2016 event. According to Nielsen Media Research data, Fox News averaged 7.063 million total viewers from 10 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET, an 11% jump from 2016, when it pulled brought in 6.348 million viewers for the opening night of the RNC that first nominated Donald Trump to be president.

The quarantined second season of Love Island premiered on CBS on Monday and took a two-tenths hit from last year’s freshman debut. Still, the reality dating competition in which hot and bothered singles are essentially stuck on an island to find “love” scored a 0.4 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic and 1.94 million viewers, plenty enough to finish No. 1 among primetime’s new offerings.

After airing repeats for three-plus months due to the coronavirus shutdown, CBS’s The Young and the Restless returned with original episodes  the week of Aug. 10. However, a sizable chunk of the show’s audience was not there to greet it.

CBS’s Big Brother and an ABC News interview with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris led Sunday’s broadcast ratings among adults 18-49. 60 Minutes also delivered its best viewer tally in two months.

CBS’s Thursday edition of Big Brother was primetime’s top-rated and most-watched program, scoring a 1.0 rating and 3.98 million viewers. That and the network’s coverage of the final night of the Democratic National Convention (0.2, 1.59M) helped CBS sweep the night in the demo and viewers. ABC’s Your Voice/Your Vote 2020 (0.4, 2.43M) finished No. 1 in the demo and viewers, according to the early Nielsen numbers as the Democrats wrapped their confab with Joe Biden accepting the party’s presidential nomination.

CBS took the top spot in primetime Wednesday, with Big Brother leading the way delivering a 1.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic and 3.93 million viewers. The reality series dipped a tenth from last week, as did its lead-out Tough As Nails (0.4, 2.63M). The network’s broadcast of the third night of the Democratic National Convention (0.3, 1.81M) from 10-11 p.m. ET ticked up from night 2. It was NBC that won the night in preliminary Neilsen numbers when it came to the convention.

NBC won Tuesday in primetime with a fresh episode of America’s Got Talent, which took a two-tenths hit in the adults 18-49 demographic but still delivered a night-leading 0.7 rating. The reality talent competition also netted the largest audience of the night with 5.51 million viewers. Of the three networks airing the Democratic National Convention from the 10-11 p.m. ET hour, NBC tied in the demo with ABC with a 0.3 but was tops in viewers with 2.29 million.

The Disney-owned network drew 2.1 million total viewers to its 10 p.m. coverage of the convention, and scored a 0.3 rating among adults 18-49. NBC tied in the demo, but came second with 1.9 million viewers. CBS lagged behind in the third with a 0.2 rating and 1.7 million total viewers. That gives a total of around 5.8 million viewers across all three, which is around half the viewership from the last convention.