> Showtime is having a very good season.  Subscriptions are up, HOMELAND has, for the first time, put the network in HBO’s orbit of prestige, and the reburbished Sunday night line-up of SHAMELESS, HOUSE OF LIES and CALIFORNICATION has burst out of the winter starting gate, with double-digit gains for the 2 returning shows (a […]

  DOWNTON ABBEY returned to PBS in spectacular fashion last night, with an enormous 5.1 household rating.  That was almost double the rating for Season 2’s premiere (almost 50% higher than the Season 2 finale, which was itself up 25% from Season 1), and its 7.9M total audience outrated everything on network TV in the […]

  Sports dominated the night, not just because of the OLYMPICS, but because the NFL preseason began, leading to many local preemptions that may shift numbers this afternoon. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men […]

                      NETWORK FINALS:  THE AMAZING RACE and SLEEPY HOLLOW each gained 0.1 in final numbers. Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  Discovery’s GOLD RUSH (the episode was billed as a “special”) fell 0.17 from last week to 1.13 but still topped […]

DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) and total viewership (thousands of people over the age of 2). COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR NIGHTS: Preliminary adult 18-49 ratings versus the same night […]

  Skiers and skaters couldn’t beat walkers. NBC:  See Mitch Metcalf’s Skedball report for Sunday’s WINTER OLYMPICS analysis.  The games scored 6.9 in preliminary primetime 18-49 numbers. AMC:  Although THE WALKING DEAD had fewer total viewers than the Olympics (15.8M to 25.4M), it walloped the athletes in 18-49s with a gigantic 8.2 in that demo.  […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday April 18 and Sunday April 19, 2015. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population. Click here for a look at sports ratings from the same weekend last year. NBA Playoffs […]

> Unfortunately for NBC, there are other nights in the week besides Monday. NBC:  The gradual season-long collapse of THE OFFICE continued last night, as the show’s 2.5 hit not just a season low, but its lowest rating since Season 1 in 2005–i.e., the season that almost got it canceled.  That was still by far […]