ABC and NBC split Tuesday with ”Dancing With the Stars,“ ”America’s Got Talent“
The broadcast premiere of “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” was not out-of-this-world, ratings-wise, for Fox. As a matter of fact, the modest Nielsen numbers kept the network pretty grounded and in a fifth-place tie with Telemundo.
“Cosmos: Possible Worlds” previously aired on National Geographic Channel.
You've reached your article limit.
Unlock premium content with a subscription.
Click Here Already a subscriber? LoginABC was the highest-rated broadcast network in primetime, thanks to “Dancing With the Stars.” NBC had the most total viewers last night, however, brought in by “America’s Got Talent.”
Also Read: 'Ellen' Season 18 Premiere, the Apology Episode, Steady in Ratings From 2019 Start
ABC was first in ratings with a 0.8 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 4.7 million, according to preliminary numbers. “Dancing With the Stars” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. averaged a 1.0/7 and 5.8 million viewers. A “Time 100” special at 10 got a 0.4/2 and 2.4 million viewers.
NBC was second in ratings with a 0.7/4 and first in viewers with 5.2 million. “America’s Got Talent” from 8-10 drew a 0.8/5 and 5.9 million viewers. At 10, “Transplant” had a 0.5/3 and 3.8 million viewers.
CBS and Univision tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. CBS was third in total viewers with 2.6 million, Univision was fifth with 1.2 million.
Also Read: Ratings: Fox's 'Filthy Rich' Has a Pretty Poor Debut
For CBS, between reruns, “Love Island” at 9 received a 0.4/3 and 1.9 million viewers.
Fox and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.3/2. Fox was fourth in total viewers with 1.5 million, Telemundo was sixth with 1 million.
For Fox, those numbers were the averages of the two-hour “Cosmos” start.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/0 and in viewers with 297,000. The “Dead Pixels” finale at 8 had a 0.1/0 and 348,000 viewers. Following a rerun, “Tell Me a Story” at 9 got a 0.1/0 and 315,000 viewers.
12 Highest-Rated Broadcast TV Shows of Summer 2020 (Photos)
-
NBC/CBS/ABCSummer is over and it goes without saying that coronavirus threw off pretty much everything about the season, including broadcast TV. But in a time of production delays and pushed premiere dates, June, July and August still saw new episodes of staples like "America's Got Talent" and "Big Brother," and the debuts of newbies like "Don't" and "Broke" (R.I.P.) These are the highest-rated broadcast shows of 2020 ranked from lowest to highest, according to "most current" Nielsen data. For the purposes of this list, we omitted sports and only counted shows that aired five episodes or more between May 21 and Sept. 20. And yes, there are ties.
Also Read: Here Are the Premiere Dates for Broadcast TV’s New and Returning Fall Shows (Updating)
-
ABCRank: 7 (tie) Show: "Holey Moley" Net: ABC 18-49 Rating: 0.7 Holy moley, a putt-putt golf show actually made our list.
-
ABC
Rank: 7 (tie) Show: "Don't" Net: ABC 18-49 Rating: 0.7 We can't believe this many people did watch a show named "Don't" either.
-
ABC
Rank: 7 (tie) Show: "Celebrity Family Feud" Net: ABC 18-49 Rating: 0.7 Survey says: This concept still works.
-
CBS
Rank: 7 (tie) Show: "Broke" Net: CBS 18-49 Rating: 0.7
Canceled, but not "Broke" per TV ratings currency.
-
NBC
Rank: 7 (tie) Show: "The Wall" Net: NBC 18-49 Rating: 0.7
Plug-and-play game show hosted by Chris Hardwick hasn't hit a wall yet.
-
NBC
Rank: 7 (tie) Show: "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday) Net: NBC 18-49 Rating: 0.7 "Big Brother's" little brother in multi-night ratings strength.
-
NBC
Rank: 6 Show: "The Titan Games" Net: NBC 18-49 Rating: 0.9 If you can't smell what The Rock's cookin', it's solid summer ratings.
-
NBC
Rank: 5 Show: "World of Dance" Net: NBC 18-49 Rating: 1.2 It's J. Lo's world, we're just living in (watching) it.
-
CBS
Rank: 3 (tie) Show: "Big Brother" (Thursday) Net: CBS 18-49 Rating: 1.3
OK, we promise, this is the last "Big Brother" slot.
-
NBC
Rank: 3 (tie) Show: "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday) Net: NBC 18-49 Rating: 1.3 America's got 140 million adults 18-49. Enough of them still watch "America's Got Talent" in its 15th season.
-
CBS
Rank: 2 Show: "Big Brother" (Sunday) Net: CBS 18-49 Rating: 1.4 Toldja.
-
CBS
Rank: 1 Show: "Big Brother" (Wednesday) Net: CBS 18-49 Rating: 1.5 "Big Brother" gets big ratings in the key demo -- and not just on Wednesdays.
No, it just FEELS like 12 nights of ”Big Brother“
Summer is over and it goes without saying that coronavirus threw off pretty much everything about the season, including broadcast TV. But in a time of production delays and pushed premiere dates, June, July and August still saw new episodes of staples like "America's Got Talent" and "Big Brother," and the debuts of newbies like "Don't" and "Broke" (R.I.P.) These are the highest-rated broadcast shows of 2020 ranked from lowest to highest, according to "most current" Nielsen data. For the purposes of this list, we omitted sports and only counted shows that aired five episodes or more between May 21 and Sept. 20. And yes, there are ties.
Also Read: Here Are the Premiere Dates for Broadcast TV’s New and Returning Fall Shows (Updating)
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio