NBC TIES FOR #1 IN ADULTS 18-49 FOR THE WEEK OF DEC. 21-27
NBC RANKS #1 OUTRIGHT AMONG THE MAJOR NETWORKS FOR THE WEEK IN ADULTS, MEN AND WOMEN 18-34, MEN 18-49 AND MEN 25-54 AND #2 IN ADULTS 25-54, TOTAL VIEWERS AND ALL OTHER KEY MEASURES
Paced by “NBC Sunday Night Football,” which was the #1 primetime program of the week in adults 18-49 and all other key measures, NBC tied for #1 in primetime’s key demographic of adults 18-49, averaging a 2.0 rating, 6 share in 18-49 and 6.4 million viewers overall for the week of December 14-20, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.
For the week, NBC ranked #1 outright among the major networks in adults, men and women 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54 and #2 in all other key measures, including adults 25-54 and total viewers.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” telecast of the Dallas Cowboys at the Washington Redskins was the #1 primetime program of the week in every key measure – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. This marks the 15th telecast in a row of “NBC Sunday Night Football” to top the weekly primetime adult 18-49 rankings (excluding NFL pre- and post-game shows, and including a tie with the Thursday NFL season opener). With an average 19.0 million viewers, “Sunday Night Football” also ranked #1 among all programs this week in total viewers.
Monday’s finale of “The Sing-Off” ranked #9 among all primetime programs this week in adults 18-49 (rankings exclude all sports overruns and NFL pre- and post-game telecasts). “The Sing-Off” ranked #3 (tied) among all primetime programs this week in adults 18-34, was #5 among women 18-49 and #2 among women 18-34, behind only “Sunday Night Football.”
Primetime averages for the week of December 21-27 in adults 18-49 were NBC and CBS (2.0/6), ABC and Fox (1.3/4) and CW (0.3/1). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (9.1 million), NBC (6.4 million), ABC (4.5 million), Fox (3.7 million) and CW (0.8 million).
NBC highlights for the week of December 21-27:
* On Sunday, NBC Sports’ “Sunday Night Football” telecast of the Dallas Cowboys at the Washington Redskins led NBC to a #1 finish among the broadcast networks in all key demographics – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
* Sunday’s Cowboys-Redskins game was up 28 percent in both 18-49 rating and total viewers versus the “Sunday Night Football” game that aired on the same night last year (Broncos-Chargers on December 28, 2008).
* On Thursday, Christmas Eve, NBC’s 28th primetime telecast of the 1946 film classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” cheered the network with a first-place finish among the broadcast networks in primetime in adults 18-49 and all other key demographics. From its first half-hour to its sixth, “It’s a Wonderful Life’ increased by 91 percent in 18-49 rating and by 53 percent or more than 2.2 million persons in total viewers.
* On Wednesday, “The Jay Leno Show” built on its lead-in from an encore telecast in the previous hour by 57 percent in adults 18-49, by 56 percent in adults 25-54 and by 76 percent in total viewers. “Leno” ranked #2 among the major networks in the hour in total viewers, men 18-49 and men 18-34 and tied for #2 in adults 18-34.
* On Tuesday, “The Jay Leno Show” ranked #1 among the major networks in its hour in adults, men and women 18-34 and men 18-49 and was #2 in all other key ratings measures, including adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.
* Tuesday, Dec. 22 marked the ninth consecutive telecast of “The Jay Leno Show” to out-deliver a competing broadcast network in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, dating back to a win over ABC’s “Private Practice” encore on December 10, followed by finishes ahead of CBS’s “Numb3rs” rebroadcast on December 11, ABC’s “Castle” encore on December 14, ABC’s December 15 rebroadcast of “The Forgotten,” ABC’s original “Eastwick” on December 16, ABC’s “Private Practice” encore on December 17, CBS’s December 18 encore telecast of “Numb3rs” and ABC’s December 21 rebroadcast of “Castle.”
* Also on Tuesday, an encore telecast of the special “The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?” ranked #2 among the major networks in its slot in adults 18-49, total viewers and most other key measures.
* On Monday, the finale of “The Sing-Off” attracted NBC’s biggest overall viewership in its two-hour time period since September 14 and matched NBC’s highest 18-49 rating in this slot since September 28.
* “The Sing-Off” on Monday ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49, total viewers and numerous other key categories and was #1 among adults and women 18-34 and women 18-49.
* Also on Monday, “The Jay Leno Show” delivered its highest Monday rating in adults 18-49 in 10 weeks; its top Monday results in adults 25-54 in 12 weeks and its biggest overall Monday viewership in 13 weeks. This marks the third Monday in a row that “The Jay Leno Show” delivered week-to-week gains in adults 18-49 and in total viewers. Versus the prior Monday, “Leno” was up 7 percent in adults 18-49, 18 percent in adults 25-54 and 22 percent in total viewers.
* “The Jay Leno Show” on Monday ranked #2 among the major networks in its slot in 18-49, total viewers and all other key measures.
Ratings reflect “live plus same day” data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of “live plus seven day” data except for the two most recent weeks, which are “live plus same day.”
Additional NBC highlights for the week of December 21-27:
On Monday, December 21, from 8-10:01 p.m. ET, the finale of “The Sing-Off” (2.3 rating, 6 share in adults 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) matched NBC’s highest 18-49 rating in this time period since September 28 and attracted the network’s biggest overall viewership in the two-hour slot since September 14. “The Sing-Off” matched its 18-49 rating of the prior Monday and was up 6 percent in total viewers to attract the biggest overall viewership of the four “Sing-Off” telecasts.
In its two-hour time period, “The Sing-Off” ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49, total viewers and most other key categories and was #1 among adults and women 18-34 and women 18-49. From 8-9 p.m., “The Sing-Off” ranked #1 among the major networks in adults 18-49, total viewers and most other key measures.
Monday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, “The Jay Leno Show” averaged a 1.6/4 in adults 18-49, a 2.0/5 in adults 25-54 and 5.8 million viewers overall. Monday’s time-period competition included CBS’s “CSI: Miami” original and ABC’s “Castle” encore. “The Jay Leno Show” ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49, total viewers and most key ratings categories.
“The Jay Leno Show” delivered its highest Monday rating in adults 18-49 in 10 weeks (since October 12), its top Monday results in adults 25-54 in 12 weeks (since September 28) and its biggest overall Monday viewership in 13 weeks (since September 21). Versus the prior Monday, ”Leno” was up 7 percent in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.5), up 18 percent in adults 25-54 (2.0 vs. 1.7) and up 22 percent in total viewers (5.8 million vs. 4.8 million). This marks the third Monday in a row that “The Jay Leno Show” delivered week-to-week gains in adults 18-49 and in total viewers.
Comparisons with Jay Leno’s 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” are: in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (2.0 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC’s Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (2.0 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (5.8 million vs. 6.9 million).
On Tuesday, December 22 from 8-10:01 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of “The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?” (1.4/4 in adults 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, total viewers and most other key measures. From its first half-hour to its fourth, the “Biggest Loser” encore special increased 23 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.6 from a 1.3), easily the biggest build among the major broadcast networks in the time period.
Tuesday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, “The Jay Leno Show” averaged a 1.5/5 in adults 18-49, a 1.8/5 in adults 25-54 and 5.2 million viewers overall. Tuesday’s time-period competition included CBS’s encore telecast of “The Good Wife” and ABC’s rebroadcast of “Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special.”
In the time period, “The Jay Leno Show” ranked #1 among the major networks in adults, men and women 18-34 and men 18-49 and #2 in all other key ratings measures, including adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.
Tuesday marked the ninth consecutive telecast of “The Jay Leno Show” to out-deliver a competing broadcast network in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, dating back to a win over ABC’s “Private Practice” encore on December 10, followed by finishes ahead of CBS’s “Numb3rs” rebroadcast on December 11, ABC’s “Castle” encore on December 14, ABC’s December 15 rebroadcast of “The Forgotten,” ABC’s original “Eastwick” on December 16, ABC’s “Private Practice” encore on December 17 , CBS’s December 18 encore telecast of “Numb3rs,” ABC’s December 21 rebroadcast of “Castle” and this win over ABC’s “Christmas at the White House” encore.
Comparisons with Jay Leno’s 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” are: in adults 18-49 (1.5 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (1.8 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (5.2 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC’s Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.5 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (1.8 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (5.2 million vs. 6.9 million).
NBC ranked #2 among the major networks Tuesday night in adults 18-49, adults 18-34, adults 25-54, total viewers and all other key measures.
On Wednesday, December 23 from 8-9 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of “Mercy” averaged a 0.8/3 in adults 18-49 and 3.5 million viewers overall. From 9-10:01 p.m., a second “Mercy” rebroadcast averaged a 0.7/2 in 18-49 and 2.6 million viewers overall.
Wednesday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, “The Jay Leno Show” averaged a 1.1/3 in adults 18-49, a 1.4/4 in adults 25-54 and 4.6 million viewers overall. Wednesday’s time-period competition included an encore telecast of CBS’s “CSI: NY” and back-to-back rebroadcasts of ABC’s “Cougar Town.” In the time period, “Jay Leno” ranked #2 among the major networks in total viewers, men 18-49 and men 18-34 and tied for #2 in adults 18-34.
“The Jay Leno Show” built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 57 percent in adults 18-49 (1.1 vs. 0.7), by 56 percent in adults 25-54 (1.4 vs. 0.9) and by 76 percent in total viewers (4.6 million vs. 2.6 million). From its first half-hour to its second, “Leno” increased by 33 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.2 from a 0.9), by 33 percent in adults 25-54 (to a 1.6 from a 1.2) and by 16 percent in total viewers (to 4.9 million from 4.3 million).
Comparisons to Jay Leno’s 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” were: in adults 18-49 (1.1 vs. 1.4), adults 25-54 (1.4 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (4.6 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC’s Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (1.1 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (1.4 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (4.6 million vs. 6.9 million).
On Thursday, December 24 from 8-11 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of the 1946 movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1.6/6 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall) ranked #1 among the broadcast networks in adults 18-49 and all other key demographics.
From its first half-hour to its sixth, “It’s a Wonderful Life’ increased by 91 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 2.1/8 from a 1.1/5) and by 53 percent or more than 2.2 million persons in total viewers (to 6.5 million from 4.2 million).
This marks NBC’s 28th primetime telecast of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, since the movie was brought to broadcast network television in 1994. This Christmas Eve telecast matches the year-ago 18-49 rating for the film, which is the top rating for “It’s a Wonderful Life” on NBC since its 23rd primetime run on Friday, December 14, 2007. In total viewers, this was the “most-watched” telecast of “It’s a Wonderful Life” since that December 14, 2007 telecast.
In 2006, the American Film Institute named “It’s a Wonderful Life” the most inspiring movie of all time in its list of America’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies
On Friday, December 25 from 8-10:01 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of “Saturday Night Live Presents a Very Gilly Christmas” (1.2/4 in adults 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among the major networks in the time period in adults 18-49 and tied for #1 in adults 25-54. From its first half-hour to its fourth, the “SNL” encore special increased by 20 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.2 from a 1.0).
Friday from 10:01-11 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of “The Jay Leno Show” averaged a 0.9/3 in adults 18-49, a 1.2/4 in adults 25-54 and 3.4 million viewers overall. Friday’s time-period competition included CBS’s encore telecast of “The Mentalist” and ABC’s rebroadcast of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” In the time period, the “Leno” rebroadcast ranked #2 among the major networks in men 18-34 and men 18-49.
Comparisons to Jay Leno’s 2008-09 average at 11:35 p.m. ET on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” were: in adults 18-49 (0.9 vs. 1.4), in adults 25-54 (1.2 vs. 1.8) and total viewers (3.4 million vs. 5.1 million). Comparisons to NBC’s Monday-through-Friday 10-11 p.m. ET non-sports average over the prior 52 weeks were: in adults 18-49 (0.9 vs. 2.2), adults 25-54 (1.2 vs. 2.7) and total viewers (3.4 million vs. 6.9 million).
NBC ranked #2 among the major networks Friday night in adults 18-49 and other key measures.
On Saturday, December 26 from 8-9 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of “Mercy” averaged a 0.5/2 in 18-49 and 2.4 million viewers overall. From 9-10 p.m., an encore telecast of “Law & Order” (0.7/2 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 40 percent in 18-49 rating and 57 percent in total viewers.
Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (1.2/4 in 18-49, 4.6 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among the major networks in adults 18-49 and total viewers and #1 in adults 18-34. “SVU” built on its lead-in from the previous hour by 71 percent in adults 18-49 and 22 percent in total viewers.
On Sunday, December 20, the “NBC Sunday Night Football” telecast of the Dallas Cowboys at the Washington Redskins propelled NBC to a Sunday primetime win in all key demographics – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. For its full duration, the Cowboys-Redskins game averaged a 6.9/19 in adults 18-49, 19.0 million viewers overall and a 10.9/18 household rating/share from 8:32-11:09 p.m. ET.
Sunday’s Cowboys-Redskins game was up 28 percent in 18-49 rating and 28 percent or 4.2 million persons in total viewers versus the “Sunday Night Football” game that aired on the same night last year (a 5.4/15 in 18-49 and 14.8 million viewers overall for the Broncos-Chargers on December 28, 2008).
For the night (from 7:30-11 p.m. ET), NBC averaged a 5.7/16 in adults 18-49 and 15.8 million viewers overall. NBC’s margin of victory over the #2 network in adults 18-49 was 63 percent (5.7/16 for NBC from 7:30-11 p.m. vs. a 3.5/10 for CBS from 7-11 p.m.).
Also on Sunday, “Football Night in America 2” from 7:30-7:54 p.m. ET averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall and a 2.1/4 household rating/share. “Football Night in America 3” from 7:54-8:22 p.m. delivered a 3.5/10 in 18-49, 9.8 million viewers overall and a 5.9/10 in households. From 8:22-8:32 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football Pre Kickoff” averaged a 5.2/15 in 18-49, 14.4 million viewers overall and an 8.4/14 in households. Note: “Football Night in America” from 7-7:30 p.m. ET was sustaining programming and does not figure in the nightly or weekly primetime averages.
WEEKLY AVERAGES
Average rating, share and audience in each category
ADULTS 18-49
NBC 2.0/6, 2.7 million
CBS 2.0/6, 2.6 million
ABC 1.3/4, 1.7 million
Fox 1.3/4, 1.7 million
CW 0.3/1, 0.4 million
Each rating point equals 1.32 million viewers
ADULTS 25-54
CBS 2.7/8, 3.4 million
NBC 2.4/7, 3.0 million
ABC 1.6/5, 2.0 million
Fox 1.4/4, 1.8 million
CW 0.3/1, 0.4 million
Each rating point equals 1.24 million viewers
TOTAL VIEWERS
CBS 3.1/9, 9.1 million
NBC 2.2/6, 6.4 million
ABC 1.6/4,, 4.5 million
Fox 1.3/4, 3.7 million
CW 0.3/1, 0.8 million
Each rating point equals 2.92 million viewers
2009-10 SEASON AVERAGES
Average rating, share and audience in each category
ADULTS 18-49
Fox 3.3/9, 4.3 million
CBS 3.1/8, 4.1 million
ABC 2.8/8, 3.7 million
NBC 2.7/7, 3.6 million
CW 1.1/3, 1.4 million
Each rating point equals 1.32 million viewers
ADULTS 25-54
CBS 4.0/10, 5.0 million
Fox 3.5/9, 4.4 million
ABC 3.4/8, 4.2 million
NBC 3.1/8,, 3.9 million
CW 1.0/2, 1.2 million
Each rating point equals 1.24 million viewers
TOTAL VIEWERS
CBS 4.0/10, 11.8 million
ABC 3.2/8, 9.3 million
Fox 3.0/8, 8.8 million
NBC 2.7/7, 7.8 million
CW 0.8/2, 2.2 million
Each rating point equals 2.92 million viewers
(source: data and information provided by NBC)
