Sunday TV Ratings 3/15/26: Oscars Down 15% from 2025, Marshals Declines Again, Tracker Hits Season Low [+ Analysis]

The Oscars (3.92) dealt with some middle-of-the-road declines in both total viewership and Adults 18-49 ratings, but the ABC broadcast was still easily the highest-rated of the night. After the ceremony, The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose (1.0) was a stronger option than last year's post-Oscars American Idol (0.84). 60 Minutes (0.52, +0.04) was up from last week on CBS, but Marshals (0.45, -0.12) and Tracker (0.35, -0.07) declined sharply. Watson (0.20, 0.00) was stable at ten. NBA on NBC (0.43) was passable. On Fox, the 9:30 p.m. Family Guy (0.23) grew markedly from American Dad! (0.17). Earlier, Universal Basic Guys (0.16) retained a decent amount of the 8 p.m. Family Guy (0.22). The CW aired repeats of Penn & Teller: Fool Us (0.03/0.03/0.05). Key: (R) = repeat.

Sunday TV Ratings 3/2/25: Oscars Jump Nearly 20%, Grosse Pointe Garden Society Draws NBC’s Lowest Rating Ever for an Original Series, Watson and Suits LA Also Sink [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: On Sunday night, ABC's broadcast of the 97th Oscars posted a mammoth 4.54 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic and was viewed by nearly 19.7 million people. The ceremony was only up slightly in total viewership, but it was 19% higher than 2024's broadcast (3.82) in the key demo. After the ceremony, the return of American Idol (0.84) was over 40% below the post-Oscars episode of Abbott Elementary (1.43), even though Idol had a significantly larger lead-in. On NBC, The Americas (0.28, -0.15; 0.30, -0.12), Suits LA (0.17, -0.07), and Grosse Pointe Garden Society (0.09, -0.08) were all down from last week's debuts, with Grosse Pointe dropping to a particularly embarrassing level. CBS's Tracker (0.43, 0.00) miraculously held steady, but 60 Minutes (0.31, -0.09), Watson (0.22, -0.05), and The Equalizer (0.21, -0.03) weren't so lucky. Family Guy (0.19, -0.05), Grimsburg (0.14, -0.03), The Great North (0.13, -0.03), and Krapopolis (0.11, -0.02) all declined on Fox. The CW aired the cinematic classic Paul Blart: Mall Cop (0.04). Key: (R) = repeat.

Sunday TV Ratings 3/10/24: Oscars Slightly Down from 2023 in Demo but Rises in Viewers, Abbott Elementary Easily Hits Series High, Bob’s Burgers Rises (Final Ratings w/Analysis)

Ratings Analysis: The 96th Academy Awards took in 19.49 million total viewers on ABC and managed a 3.82 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. Though it was down by 5% from last year's ceremony in the key demo (4.03), it was up by almost a million in total viewership when compared to 2023's broadcast (18.76 million). After the Oscars, ABC plugged in an episode of Abbott Elementary (1.43, +1.10) and boosted it to its highest-ever rating. On Fox, Bob's Burgers (0.29, +0.02) randomly returned for a one-off showing and put the other Sunday cartoons to shame. The animated sitcom actually grew from its last episode (that had indirect football help) and built significantly on the Simpsons rerun (0.17) that led into it. Bob's served as a much-needed lifeline for The Great North (0.21, +0.09) and helped the latter grow by nearly a full tenth. However, Grimsburg (0.12, 0.00) failed to take advantage of the stronger lead-in and could only tie last week's episode. CBS aired 60 Minutes (0.26/0.27) and reruns of So Help Me Todd (0.15/0.16). NBC went with the second Harry Potter film (0.15), but it was a hundredth lower than last week's showing of Sorcerer's Stone. The CW served up Bruce Almighty (0.04) and Totally Funny repeats (0.04/0.05).

Sunday TV Ratings 3/12/23: The Oscars Rise Again, Magnum PI and The Blacklist Rise, The Equalizer Stable (UPDATED)

Finals Update: 95th Academy Awards (+0.8) and Bob's Burgers adjusted up. Countdown to the Oscars (-0.6) adjusted down.

Sunday TV Ratings 3/27/22: The Oscars Soar Above 2021 Telecast, SWAT and Weakest Link Slip (UPDATED)

Ratings Analysis: After years of dwindling ratings, the 94th edition of 'The Oscars' (3.76) grew by a whopping 77% from the 2021 ceremony (2.12) and rose by over six million in the total viewers department (16.6 million vs. 10.4 million). ABC's 'Red Carpet' special (1.22) preceded the main event and barreled past the pre-show from the year prior (0.66). In spite of the increased competition, Fox weathered the blow quite nicely as 'The Simpsons' (0.36, +0.07), 'The Great North' (0.27, +0.01), and 'Family Guy' (0.37, +0.04) all made visible gains. 'Bob's Burgers' (0.33, -0.02) was unable to follow that trend and ended up tying its series low. The 7PM hour was occupied by 'NASCAR' (0.58) and a rerun of 'Welcome to Flatch' (0.24). On CBS, '60 Minutes' (0.97, -0.07) lost seven-hundredths and led into two hours of 'NCIS: Los Angeles' (0.59/0.52). The first episode was the highest-rated since its season premiere while the second was a hundredth shy of last week. 'SWAT' (0.46, -0.03) took a hit in the 10PM timeslot. Leading out of an encore of 'American Song Contest' (0.17), NBC's 'Weakest Link' (0.23, -0.04) lost four-hundredths and was followed by a rising 'Transplant' (0.15, +0.02). The CW's 'Riverdale' (0.06, +0.01) picked up a hundredth and led into the finale of 'March' (0.0).  

Finals Update: 'The Oscars' (+0.9), 'SWAT' (+0.1), 'The Simpsons' (+0.1), and 'Family Guy' (+0.1) adjusted up. 'The Oscars Red Carpet' (-0.5), '60 Minutes' (-0.4), and the repeat of 'Welcome to Flatch' (-0.1) adjusted down.