Thursday TV Ratings 3/26/26: iHeartRadio Music Awards Rise from 2025, 9-1-1 Hits Series Low, March Madness Jumps Week-to-Week, Love Story Rises for Finale [+ Analysis]

Fox's broadcast of the iHeartRadio Music Awards (0.32) was up by almost 19% from last year (0.27) in the Adults 18-49 demographic, but MLB on NBC (0.55) was significantly higher. March Madness coverage on CBS (1.98) topped the night overall. 9-1-1 (0.29, -0.02) and 9-1-1: Nashville (0.21, -0.03) declined on ABC, while Grey's Anatomy (0.20, 0.00) held steady. The CW's repeats of Scrabble (0.04) and Trivial Pursuit (0.02) were down from last week's. Key: (R) = repeat.

Saturday TV Ratings 12/17/22: Saturday Night Live Slides to Near-Low Amid Cecily Strong Exit, Weak College Football Leads Abysmal Primetime Lineup, Jingle Ball Invisible (UPDATED)

Finals Update: The repeat of Fire Country (-0.1) adjusted down.

Analysis to come.

Saturday TV Ratings 10/8/22: CBS Wins Four-Way College Football Showdown with Texas A&M/Alabama Game, SNL Holds Steady (UPDATED)

Ratings Analysis: Episode two of NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' (0.73, 0.00) held steady with the premiere and received ample lead-in support from the 'BYU v. Notre Dame' college football game (0.49). Fox's 'WA St. v. USC' game (0.45) and ABC's 'Clemson v. Boston' faceoff (0.43) were close behind the peacock network. However, it was CBS's 'TX A&M v. AL' game (1.85) that managed to beat the combined rating of all the other three. The CW's 'iHeartRadio Music Festival' (0.04) declined dramatically from its Friday-night showing (0.11).

Finals Update: 'College Football: TX A&M v. AL' (+0.3), 'College Football: Clemson v. Boston' (+0.1), 'College Football: BYU v. Notre Dame' (+0.1), and 'College Football: WA St v. USA' (+0.1) adjusted up.

Friday TV Ratings 10/7/22: Fire Country Ignites with Solid Rating, SWAT Returns Up, Shark Tank Ticks Up (UPDATED)

Ratings Analysis: CBS's new drama 'Fire Country' (0.40) burned bright on premiere night and gave life to a night with little to discuss. The series was able to grow from its lead-in and beat out its 9PM competitors head-on. Sandwiching 'Fire Country' were the returns of veteran dramas 'SWAT' (0.38) and 'Blue Bloods' (0.41). Both shows were down by just four-hundredths from their year-ago starts (0.42/0.45). ABC's 'Shark Tank' (0.47, +0.05) and '20/20' (0.32, +0.01) were on the upswing while NBC's 'Capital One College Bowl' (0.21, -0.04) and 'Dateline' (0.28, -0.07) fell into the abyss. Fox's 'WWE Smackdown' (0.54, 0.00) held even with last week's installment and topped the night as usual. The CW's 'iHeartRadio Music Festival' (0.11) posted a rating higher than the vast majority of the network's dramas.

Finals Update: 'Shark Tank' (+0.1) adjusted up.

Sunday TV Ratings 10/3/21: NFL Soars as Brady Faces Patriots, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Jumps in Week Two, Fox Cartoons Crumble (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: Tom Brady faced off his former team in a monstrous 'Buccaneers v. Patriots' NFL game (6.1). This NBC broadcast went five-tenths above last week's final rating and may even head into the 7s with an upward adjustment. Earlier in the evening, 'Football Night in America' (2.6) nearly doubled the rating it garnered a week prior. On ABC, 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' (0.6) was brought back to life after an unsatisfactory premiere, rising a full two-tenths from that rotten return. Much of that likely had to do with 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (0.4) reappearing in the 7pm hour, even if the Alfonso Ribeiro-hosted series fell below its usual level for summer reruns. At 9, 'Supermarket Sweep' (0.4) was unable to bounce back and 10pm drama 'The Rookie' (0.3) shed a tenth. CBS's '60 Minutes' (1.5) gained seven-tenths with the help of the 'NFL Overrun' lead-in (4.4) but a broadcast of the movie 'Star Trek' (0.3) crashed into oblivion. Fox's cartoon lineup crumbled without football help, with only 'The Simpsons' (0.5) appearing semi-decent. Despite a promising start last week, 'The Great North' (0.3) found itself looking fairly indistinguishable from the average fall 2020 episode of 'Bless the Harts'. 'Bob's Burgers' (0.4) and 'Family Guy' (0.4) improved from there but both tied their series lows. 7pm reruns of 'Simpsons' (0.5) and 'Bob's (0.4) were clearly assisted by some football help outside of primetime. Night two of the CW's 'iHeartRadio Music Festival' (0.1) garnered the same rating as the first one. 

Finals Update: NFL Overrun (+1.4), NFL: Buccaneers v. Patriots (+1.3), The Great North (+0.1), Bob's Burgers (+0.1), Family Guy (+0.1), and America's Funniest Home Videos (+0.1) adjusted up. The repeat of The Simpsons (-0.1) adjusted down.