ratings

America’s Got Talent lifted NBC to a dominant Tuesday victory, yet again. Talent averaged a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., even with its most recent original episode two weeks ago. It was by far the highest-rated program on a night littered with repeats. Talent nearly tripled the ratings for ABC’s two original programs, Extreme Weight Loss and Celebrity Wife Swap, which both averaged a 0.9.

The Big Five networks plus Univision and Telemundo are off 12% in 18-49s this summer, the result of shorter NBA and NHL finals, lackluster new shows and the usual viewer erosion

Under the Dome posted much lower ratings for last night’s second-season premiere than it did for last summer’s big debut. Still, even a diluted Dome was better than everything else on broadcast. The drama averaged a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., down 33% from last summer’s premiere, which posted a 3.3. It was also off 21% from the September season finale, which averaged a 2.8.

Sunday’s Mexico-Netherlands game averages 10.4 million total viewers, becoming the most-watched program in Spanish-language TV history.

Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy and Nielsen President, U.S. Media, Lynda Clarizio just released the following statement: “Nielsen and Fox Television Stations Inc. have come to a mutually beneficial resolution to continue their longstanding relationship.  Both companies are committed to more meaningful and accurate measurement in local markets. We look forward to a strong and productive relationship going forward.”

With its long-term contract with Nielsen set to expire today, the Fox Television Stations Group was preparing to become the first network-owned TV station group to walk away from Nielsen in decades. While sources say negotiations continued over the weekend, the two companies were characterized as being at loggerheads over some key contractual and methodological issues, and that the Fox stations were considering dropping Nielsen altogether and instead using rival TV ratings service Rentrak exclusively.

On a slow night for broadcast, ABC’s new singing competition Rising Star fell from last week’s debut, though it still did well enough to lift the network into a tie for first on Sunday. Star averaged a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating, down 20% from a 1.5 for last week’s bow. The show finished first in its 9 to 11 p.m. timeslot, besting original competition on NBC and CBS. But CBS had the top show of the night with Big Brother, which averaged a 1.8 rating at 8 p.m. in its Sunday night debut, down 22% from Thursday night’s most recent episode.

For the second straight night, Big Brother improved over the previous year’s rating and boosted the network to a first-place finish. Brother averaged a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., up 10% over a 2.1 for its first Thursday episode last year. The program, now in its 16th season, was even to Wednesday night’s debut rating.

Big Brother can still draw a crowd in its 16th year. The CBS reality show returned to slightly higher ratings than last year with Wednesday night’s premiere.The program averaged a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating, up a tenth from its 2013 bow. That was easily the top show of the night on broadcast, with NBC and ABC’s schedules peppered with repeats.

NBC’s hit reality show was the No. 1 show on broadcast Tuesday night despite being a rerun. Talent averaged a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., 46% ahead of the night’s No. 2 show, ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap, which averaged a 1.3 at 10 p.m. and posted its second-highest rating in a year. In fact, the Talent repeat even led NBC to a nightly victory, against admittedly weak competition with Fox and CBS entirely in repeats.

The reality show American Ninja Warrior, airing from 9 to 11 p.m. last night, averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating, up 13% over last week. It finished as the night’s No. 1 program on broadcast, slightly ahead of Fox’s MasterChef, which drew a 1.7, down 6% from last week. ABC’s The Bachelorette was also off from last week, falling 12% to a 1.5. But the CW’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? was up a tenth from last week, to a 0.6 for the 8 p.m. episode.

ABC’s Rising Star got off to an OK start last night, at least according to the first batch of Nielsen data. The true performance of the show won’t be clear until later today, when time zone-adjusted fast nationals are released, since Star airs live across every time zone and fast nationals don’t take time zones into account. But early numbers suggest a so-so showing for the singing competition, which averaged a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

After a depressing run that saw many dramas get axed, soaps are seeing a resurgence in this year’s Daytime Emmys race.

Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen is cooking with gas. The Gordon Ramsay reality program was the top original show on broadcast Thursday night among adults 18-49, averaging a 1.8 rating. That was up 13% over last week and tied a repeat of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory as the No. 1 program overall for the day. It also led Fox to a Thursday night victory.

The signing of the two CBS Television Stations outlets marks the ratings service first clients in the No. 2 market.

A season high for Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance helped the network to a first place finish among viewers 18-49. Dance averaged a 1.7 rating among 18-49s from 8-10 p.m., its highest rating this summer and up 31% from a 1.3 last week. The reality dance competition was also up 20% week-to-week among total viewers, from 4.4 million to 5.3 million, and it grew 36% among 18-34s as well. Powered by Dance, Fox easily led the night among 18-49s with a 1.7 average overnight rating and a 6 share.

America’s Got Talent lifted NBC to a big victory on Tuesday night, as usual. The talent show averaged a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., flat to last week. That was easily the top show of the night. In fact, NBC had the top two programs of the evening on broadcast, with Talent lead-out The Night Shift posting a 1.4, off 7% from last week but still easily the evening’s No. 2 program.

The Gordon Ramsay reality show averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 20% over last week and finishing as the highest-rated program of the night on broadcast. That boosted Fox to No. 1 for the night when combined with 24: Live Another Day, which averaged a 1.5 at 9 p.m. 24 fell a tenth from last week, and it wasn’t the night’s only show to dip.

The deciding game of the NBA finals boosted ABC to an easy primetime victory on Sunday night. Game five of the series, which the San Antonio Spurs won 104-87 over the defending champion Miami Heat to clinch the title, averaged an 11.7 metered-market household rating. The game peaked with a 15.1 from 10:30 to 10:45, with the outcome of the game never really in doubt. The Spurs led by a solid margin throughout.

Nielsen said 9.5 million people in the U.S. watched Brazil’s tournament-opening victory over Croatia, compared to the 8.8 million who saw Mexico take on South Africa in 2010’s first game.

The 2013-14 television season has officially bit the dust and, like the one before it, the nine months that just passed were marked by steep viewership declines for most of the broadcast networks. Factoring out the Olympic-size boost NBC got from the Sochi games, the Big Four managed to collectively average a 9.6 rating among viewers under 50, down about 10% from last year’s combined 10.1 rating in the key demo.

This year’s Stanley Cup finals really weren’t much of a contest; the Los Angeles Kings needed only five games to dispatch the New York Rangers. But considering how noncompetitive the series was, NBC drew pretty good ratings. The fifth game, when the Kings clinched the title, averaged 6 million total viewers on Friday night, according to Nielsen, marking the most-watched game five of the finals since 2008.

Another dominant performance by the San Antonio Spurs led to another dominant performance by ABC on Thursday night. The Spurs easily dispatched of the Miami Heat in game four of the NBA Finals on Thursday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, and the game averaged a 10.6 household rating on ABC, according to Nielsen metered markets. The game peaked between 11 and 11:15 p.m. with a 12.0 rating

With Rentrak’s announcement this week that it struck a long-term deal to provide local market TV ratings to Fox Television Stations, the company is making headway in its battle for a bigger piece of the audience measurement business.

Apparently viewers are more interested in reminiscing than in revisiting recent news this summer. An NBC News special revisiting the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase 20 years ago was the top-rated program on broadcast among adults 18-49 last night, outdrawing a recent NBC News special on Edward Snowden as well. Dateline: The People vs. OJ averaged a 1.4 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., a tenth better than the Snowden interview that aired two weeks ago. In fact, it bettered everything on broadcast last night.

The agreement covering the group’s 28 stations in 18 markets makes Fox the first network O&O station group to adopt Rentrak’s local TV ratings across all stations.

ABC bounced the competition with another strong night for the NBA finals. The San Antonio Spurs’ 111-92 victory over the Miami Heat averaged a 10.3 household rating, up from a 10.0 for game three of the finals last year, which featured the same two teams. The game peaked with a 12.6 for the final 15 minutes of the contest, from 11:30 to 11:45.

Broadcast slipped on Monday night, with a number of shows seeing week-to-week declines, including top programs American Ninja Warrior on NBC and MasterChef and 24: Live Another Day on Fox. Ninja was the night’s top show with a 1.7 adults 18-49 rating from 9 to 11 p.m., off 11% from last week. The 8 p.m. reality show MasterChef posted a 1.5, falling 12% from last week, while lead-out 24 drew a 1.6, down 11%.

Miss USA 2014 saw year-to-year growth against strong competition on broadcast Sunday night. The pageant, which aired on NBC, averaged a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating, airing from 8 to 11 p.m. against ABC’s NBA finals and CBS’s Tony Awards. That was up 8% over last year. Among total viewers, the pageant posted 5.55 million, growing by 21%. ABC dominated the night with the NBA finals, averaging a 5.0 in 18-49s from 9 to 11 p.m.

California Chrome did not become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. But you certainly couldn’t tell from NBC’s ratings for the third leg of the Crown, which aired on Saturday. The Belmont Stakes drew its second-biggest viewership ever, drawing 20.6 million total viewers. That was just behind the record 21.9 million viewers who watched Smarty Jones’ failed attempt at the Triple Crown in 2004.

Like the San Antonio Spurs, ABC pulled off a win on Thursday night. The network rode game one of the NBA finals, in which the Spurs beat the host Miami Heat 110-95, to an easy victory in primetime. ABC led the night among 18-49s with a 4.2 rating/14 share. Those numbers will change when final ratings are released later today as overnights measure timeslot, not actual program data, and they don’t account for time zone differences. But the game appeared to take a toll on the competition. Back-to-back episodes of NBC’s Undateable slipped 23% from last week’s debut, from a 1.3 to a 1.0, in the 9 p.m. hour.

Game one of the Stanley Cup finals lifted NBC to a win among adults 18-49 last night. The network averaged a 1.7 rating and 6 share in the demo in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, just ahead of second-place Fox with a 1.5/5.

NBC is clearly the network to beat on Tuesday nights. Week two of America’s Got Talent remained dominant, and lead-out The Night Shift held most of its audience from last week’s solid debut, lifting NBC to an easy primetime win last night. Talent averaged a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., down just 7% from last week’s season premiere, which posted a 3.0. At 10 p.m., the new drama Shift posted a 1.5, down a tenth from last week’s debut.

CBS won last week in primetime, averaging 5.5 million viewers. NBC had 5.2 million, ABC had 4.1 million, Fox had 3 million, Univision had 2.7 million, Telemundo had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and the CW had 1 million.

A number of broadcast shows saw week-to-week gains last night, as Fox pulled out a close win over NBC and ABC. Last Monday was Memorial Day, and ratings for most shows sank as people chose to spend time with friends and family or enjoy a vacation rather than stay in and watch TV. Last night Fox’s 8 p.m. reality show MasterChef shot up 21% week to week, to a 1.7 adults 18-49 rating. That was the biggest rise for any broadcast show. MasterChef lead-out 24: Live Another Day also saw a healthy week-to-week bump, up 20% to a 1.8.

You know it’s summer time when it only takes a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating to win the night on broadcast. Fox and ABC tied for first place on Sunday night, lifted by a repeat of Family Guy, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and a special episode of The Bachelorette, which all tied for No. 1 on broadcast in primetime. All three programs averaged a 1.3 18-49 rating. Cosmos was up 18% from last week’s 1.1.

Judged by summer standards, NBC’s new comedy Undateable got off to a good start last night. The new comedy posted a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating for its first and second episodes at 9 and 9:30 p.m., becoming the highest-rated summer sitcom debut on the Big 4 in five years, since ABC’s The Goode Family drew a 1.6 in 2009. Undateable is NBC’s highest-rated new summer comedy bow since Come to Papa in 2004.

On a night littered with repeats, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance soared well above the competition on broadcast. The reality show’s 11th season premiere averaged a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., lifting Fox 33% ahead of the No. 2 network on the night, NBC, and finishing as the night’s top show. There were few other original shows on broadcast Wednesday night.