This is the first in what I hope to be many articles in a new series here on The TV Ratings Guide, titled "The Daily, Monthly." Each month, I'll be taking a look at which shows were the top program of the night in the 18-49 demographic and in viewership for each day of the month. It'll give a picture of which shows and networks are doing well at that particular moment in time.
Broadcast:
With repeats occupying so many hours across the big five, NBC having the #1 and #5 summer show air on separate nights consistently throughout the month helped them narrowly claim the most nightly victories in the key 18-49 demographic. The network won twelve of thirty nights in June, with all but two of these wins being from America's Got Talent and The Titan Games. NBC's win count was only twice boosted by repeats, these being for Chicago PD and Dateline NBC, both on weak nights. NBC's victory didn't continue in viewership, but it was close behind CBS, winning twelve of thirty nights. Despite being strong in 18-49, The Titan Games wasn't responsible for any wins in viewership, with AGT, various Chicago repeats and Dateline repeats making up for wins in viewership, along with a one-time win for The Wall.
Save for 60 Minutes, none of CBS's original shows were able to win the night in viewership, even though the network won 50% of June nights in viewership. Repeats of The Neighborhood, Young Sheldon, 48 Hours and Magnum PI were particularly potent, with all of those winning multiple nights for CBS in viewership. Blue Bloods was also able to win a night in viewership despite low ratings in 18-49, proving the show's value as an old-skewing viewership powerhouse on a network that values older viewers more than any other on broadcast. Despite the big wins in viewership for June, nightly wins in the 18-49 demo were few and far between for the Tiffany Network. On only two occasions did CBS win in that demo, with Game On! winning on one of its better weeks and a 48 Hours encore topping the weakest Saturday of the month.
ABC was one of the more dominant networks in 18-49 this month, with consistent wins in that demo on Sundays and Thursdays. Celebrity Family Feud is a Sunday force even six years in, even if it's fallen from its formerly huge numbers. It won the night for ABC each Sunday, aside from when it was off. Even on a week without CFF, ABC won Sunday with an interview of John Bolton. Their Thursday night game show lineup was also lucrative, never failing to bring ABCto the winners circle despite three different game shows claiming the title of top show. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the top summer game show, won for its season finale. After that, Don't won on its premiere night. It would later return to the winners circle two weeks after its premiere, tying Holey Moley, which won twice for ABC. Shark Tank encores won for ABC on two occasions, and a broadcast of the beloved film Up won a night as well. In viewership, though, ABC claimed just three wins. Millionaire was the only victorious original show, while encores of Shark Tank and 20/20 also gave one win apiece. ABC skews far younger than networks like CBS or even NBC, at least for repeats, and they didn't have much of a chance to rack up viewership wins without any procedural repeats, which usually draw big crowds, on their lineup .
Fox was a rare winner this month, with five wins across June in 18-49 and zero wins in viewership. Those wins belong solely to two shows (clearly they don't belong to Labor of Love): WWE Smackdown and Ultimate Tag. Neither are particularly high-rated, and neither are reliable winners for Fox, but they were the best of a bad bunch on multiple occasions.
Obviously, The CW didn't win any nights in either demographic. Highlights for them this month were Penn & Teller: Fool Us and DC's Stargirl, while the lowlights include Bulletproof and In the Dark. Stay tuned for July to see if they can win any nights (spoiler alert: nope!).
Cable:
*Indicates the cable program topped all shows on broadcast for the evening as well
Fox News had what was arguably the most impressive month of any cable network, and maybe even a better month than any other broadcast show. For twenty-six of the thirty days in June, Fox News raked in the largest audience across cable. On twelve occasions, Fox News was even able to beat all broadcast shows in viewership. Sunday, a weaker night for the right-leaning cable news stalwart, was the only night where viewership victories eluded them. Most impressive on the network is Tucker Carlson Tonight, alone responsible for fifteen wins in viewership. Hannity also is a consistent ratings winner for Fox News, with eight viewership wins to its name. Saturday show Justice with Judge Jeanine won twice, and The Greg Gutfeld Show and Watters World each gave Fox News a single victory. In 18-49, their dominance is far reduced, but they still picked up an impressive seven wins, tied for the most of any cable network. Tucker Carlson Tonight was responsible for all but one of them, with a Hannity town hall with President Donald Trump winning once. With many cable news-friendly stories dominating June, it remains to be seen if Fox News can have a month this strong again, but even if they don't, it can't take away from a gangbusters month.
TLC also had a strong month thanks to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise. Franchise entries Before the 90 Days, Happily Ever After and The Other Way each delivered multiple wins to TLC in the 18-49 demo, making up all seven of their 18-49 victories. All but one of those wins saw TLC’s signature franchise toppling not just all of its cable competition, but everything on broadcast TV as well. The series is only gaining in popularity, and it rarely fails to win the night, only losing out once in the eight nights in June that the franchise aired. In addition to the seven 18-49 victories, the franchise twice topped the night in viewership.
CNN triumphed over its cable competition six times in June in the 18-49 demographic, nearly as often as rival Fox News. Unlike Fox News, though, those wins were almost exclusively at the beginning of the month. Five wins came from the first through sixth of June, with only one coming after that (on June 26). Every part of the primetime lineup made it to the winner's circle, with Anderson Cooper 360 making it there three times, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon winning twice, and Cuomo Prime Time winning once. Even though they regularly remain uncompetitive on Saturdays, they won the first Saturday of the month with a Sesame Street Town Hall related to racial injustice, which was aired in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that dominated the 24-hour news cycle. Also unlike Fox News, CNN never once was the top show of the night in viewership, frequently being the least-viewed of the big three cable news channels (behind both Fox News and MSNBC, which didn't have any breakout victories this month), displaying a younger skew than its more partisan counterparts.
MTV, one of the youngest-skewing networks, struggled to even reach a million viewers on their best days, but they were able to top the night in 18-49 five times. Those wins are thanks to Jersey Shore Family Vacation and The Challenge, the network's top shows. Both are reliable players who are consistently one of the top shows on the nights that they air (Thursday and Wednesday, respectively).
Paramount only won the night once in 18-49, but Yellowstone's massive return must be discussed. A powerhouse both in the 18-49 demo and in viewership (a demographic it won both times it aired in June), it's up about 60% in both metrics from its second season and is easily the top scripted show this summer, both on cable and in general. It's the only original scripted show on television to make either the cable or broadcast chart even once, making its rise all the more impressive.
Other networks were also victorious on a few occasions, with ESPN's UFC Fight Night and Bravo's Vanderpump Rules both winning twice. Neither network topped the night in viewers on any occasion.
It's also worth noting that on eleven occasions did a show beat everything on broadcast in 18-49. Those accomplishing this feat include Anderson Cooper 360, 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days: Tell All (which boasts the top rating in all of June with a 1.36 in 18-49), Justice with Judge Jeanine, Yellowstone, The Challenge and UFC Fight Night. This doesn't necessarily mean that these shows were stronger than shows that didn't manage to top broadcast shows on the nights they won, since the competition from broadcast ranged from a lowly 0.33 to a strong 1.33.
What do you think of this new series from The TV Ratings Guide? Let us know in the comments and join me next month when I break down the ratings from across July! Make sure to vote in the poll below on who you think was the biggest winner of June!
