New method, which aims to capture out-of-home viewing, slated to start in early October
Nielsen, the TV ratings company whose data has been used as industry currency since the 1950s, has been prepping networks for significant changes in the way it reports “overnight” numbers starting this fall, insiders at two major broadcast networks tell TheWrap.
On Oct. 3, the overnight ratings for primetime TV shows are expected to be sent to networks at 1 p.m. ET the following day, or four and a half hours later than they currently are. (We’ll save you the math: Overnights are currently available around 8:30 a.m. ET.)

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Click Here Already a subscriber? LoginThe overnight numbers, which are also referred to as “metered-market ratings,” were typically the earliest-available metric for the previous evening’s programming, and a good way to analyze and compare the performance of live events like sports and awards shows. That data set, which currently measures Nielsen’s panel viewership in 56 major TV markets, will only count 44 markets come October.
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Why is all of this happening? Nielsen is planning to add out-of-home viewership to the local-market overnight numbers (not the national ones — at least, not for now) to generate a more accurate estimate of people watching live sports at bars and restaurants, mostly. That’s a significant figure that has mostly been missing from the ratings picture especially for big events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars.
For those big live events, a network generally pays Nielsen extra for special-order “fast official” ratings, which can speed up the process of generating “official” numbers by a few hours. Practically speaking, it generally allows the media to publicly report a more-accurate and often more-flattering viewership number.
“Starting with data of Oct. 3, 2019, local overnight ratings in the 25 local people meters (LPM) + portable people meters (PPM) and 19 set-meter + PPM markets will include out-of-home viewing,” Nielsen told TheWrap in a statement. “In and out-of-home audiences are reported as a single number.”
A Nielsen insider confirmed that the October change should not impact national numbers. Nielsen did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on whether it is working toward including out-of-home viewership into its national ratings figures.
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The dozen markets being delayed for the new system are Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Birmingham, Buffalo, Dayton, Ft. Myers-Naples, Greenville-Spartanburg-
“Official nationals” — the “final” nationwide TV ratings, so to speak — will still come in at 4 p.m. ET, as usual. For Saturdays and Sundays, the release of that final data set will wait until Tuesday morning, which is also currently the norm.
(Note: Where we use “final” here, we’re referring to Nielsen’s term for its official Live + Same Day ratings data set. Many networks these days are more concerned with numbers that include delayed viewing, or DVR and on-demand tune-in.)
Nielsen’s “fast-affiliate” ratings, which TheWrap reports each weekday, should continue to come in around 11 a.m. ET. Those are not time-zone adjusted for live programming, however, which makes them an unreliable to analyze programming like football games and the Oscars. They’re still good for entertainment programming, or at least they are as valuable as any night-of number is.
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These changes will be something between irrelevant and a headache for those interested in regular entertainment programming performance. After all, overnights for ordinary primetime programming — “Modern Family,” for example — will soon be considered too “late” to matter and less comprehensive by a dozen markets. But the output format for the overnight ratings are not user-friendly — overnights don’t include an actual total-viewer tally, which the fast-national and officials do — and by definition are limited to certain geographic markets.
But for the Super Bowl, assuming it’s a halfway decent game, we should probably plan to see a record in the overnight ratings since it gets tons of out-of-home viewing. For that reason alone, the delay in data should be worth the wait to TV networks with live sports rights. Unless Nielsen surprises us by fast-tracking a national OOH-inclusive total-viewer number, the same can’t be said for the final figure we all actually care about.
19 Highest-Rated Broadcast TV Series Over the First Half of 2019 (Photos)
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ABC/NBC/CBS
It's July 1, which means 2019 is officially at its midway point. In honor of the very unofficial holiday, TheWrap has ranked the 19 highest-rated broadcast TV shows of the calendar year.
We've ranked them by Nielsen ratings among adults 18-49, which is the demographic most targeted by the advertisers on broadcast entertainment programs. We've also included each show's total-viewer averages as an alternative metric.
One last note: These numbers include a week's worth of delayed viewing where available, though that pretty much would only impact an episode or two of summer hit "America's Got Talent." Our data set runs from Jan. 1 through June 27, to be perfectly exact.
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NBC
Rank: 19
Show: "The Voice"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 1.93
Total Viewers: 10.527 millionAlso Read: Ratings: No Whammys for ABC’s ‘Press Your Luck’ Revival Premiere
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NBC
Rank: 18
Show: "New Amsterdam"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 1.97
Total Viewers: 10.379 millionAlso Read: MTV Movie and TV Awards Ratings Drop 46% From Last Year
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NBC
Rank: 17
Show: "Chicago Fire"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 2.02
Total Viewers: 11.780 millionAlso Read: Ratings: ABC’s ‘Holey Moley’ Tees Off, Lands Atop Thursday Leaderboard
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NBC
Rank: 16
Show: "America's Got Talent" (Tuesdays)
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 2.04
Total Viewers: 11.583 millionAlso Read: Ratings: No One Watched What Happened on Fred Savage’s ‘What Just Happened??!’ Debut
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NBC
Rank: 15
Show: "Chicago PD"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 2.07
Total Viewers: 11.271 millionAlso Read: Democratic Debate Night 2 Scores 18.1 Million Viewers, New Party Record for a Primary
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ABC
Rank: 14
Show: "The Conners"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.12
Total Viewers: 9.391 millionAlso Read: NBCU’s Democratic Debate Lands 15.3 Million TV Viewers, Much Lower Than Kickoff to 2016 Cycle
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ABC
Rank: 13
Show: "A Million Little Things"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.14
Total Viewers: 8.657 millionAlso Read: Nik Wallenda’s Ratings Fall: ‘Highwire Live’ Nets Practically Half the Viewers of 2012 Special
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CBS
Rank: 12
Show: "Survivor"
Network: CBS
18-49 Rating: 2.17
Total Viewers: 9.658 millionAlso Read: ‘Property Brothers: Forever Home’ Posts HGTV’s Highest-Rated Series Premiere in More Than 2 Years
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NBC
Rank: 11
Show: "AGT: Champions"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 2.24
Total Viewers: 12.394 millionAlso Read: 21 Lowest-Rated Broadcast TV Shows of 2018-19 Season (Photos)
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ABC
Rank: 10
Show: "Modern Family"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.26
Total Viewers: 7.552 millionAlso Read: 14 Highest-Rated Broadcast TV Shows of the 2018-19 Season (Photos)
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Fox
Rank: 9
Show: "9-1-1"
Network: Fox
18-49 Rating: 2.28
Total Viewers: 9.916 millionAlso Read: 11 Highest-Rated Broadcast TV Shows to Go Off the Air During the 2018-19 Season – So Far (Photos)
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NBC
Rank: 8
Show: "Manifest"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 2.35
Total Viewers: 10.913 millionAlso Read: 11 Lowest-Rated Broadcast TV Shows of the 2018-19 Season That Have Been Renewed – So Far (Photos)
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ABC
Rank: 7
Show: "The Bachelor"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.41
Total Viewers: 7.923 millionAlso Read: Live TV Musicals Ranked by Ratings, From ‘Rent’ to ‘Grease’ (Photos)
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ABC
Rank: 6
Show: "The Good Doctor"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.48
Total Viewers: 12.479 millionAlso Read: ‘Game of Thrones’ Finale Burns Up Series Record With 19.3 Million Viewers
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CBS
Rank: 5
Show: "Young Sheldon"
Network: CBS
18-49 Rating: 2.61
Total Viewers: 14.897 million -
ABC
Rank: 4
Show: "Grey's Anatomy"
Network: ABC
18-49 Rating: 2.73
Total Viewers: 10.008 million -
NBC
Rank: 3
Show: "This Is Us"
Network: NBC
18-49 Rating: 3.52
Total Viewers: 13.147 millionAlso Read: TV Ratings in 2019: What Counts as a Streaming ‘View’?
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Fox
Rank: 2
Show: "The Masked Singer"
Network: Fox
18-49 Rating: 3.78
Total Viewers: 11.566 millionAlso Read: FITE TV Boss Is ‘Optimistic’ About NJPW ‘Southern Showdown’ PPV Sales – Despite 5 AM Start Time
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CBS
Rank: 1
Show: "Big Bang Theory"
Network: CBS
18-49 Rating: 3.82
Total Viewers: 18.470 millionAlso Read: Are TV Mega Deals Worth It? Why Studios Are Paying So Much for Producing Talent
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NBC/CBS/ABC
Better luck next year, "Chicago Med" (1.86), "NCIS" (1.85) and "The Bachelorette" (1.77).
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Just one summer series makes the cut
It's July 1, which means 2019 is officially at its midway point. In honor of the very unofficial holiday, TheWrap has ranked the 19 highest-rated broadcast TV shows of the calendar year.
We've ranked them by Nielsen ratings among adults 18-49, which is the demographic most targeted by the advertisers on broadcast entertainment programs. We've also included each show's total-viewer averages as an alternative metric.
One last note: These numbers include a week's worth of delayed viewing where available, though that pretty much would only impact an episode or two of summer hit "America's Got Talent." Our data set runs from Jan. 1 through June 27, to be perfectly exact.
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio