Saturday TV Ratings 10/31/20: SNL Narrowly Down in Final Pre-Election Show, Ohio State vs. Penn State College Football Game Dominates (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: ABC's 'College Football' game (1.4) comfortably outperformed Fox's game (0.5), the alphabet network topped the night while Fox beat every non-ABC program that aired from 8-10pm. NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' (1.3) lost a tenth from its last original with host John Mulaney and musical guest The Strokes. Leading into 'SNL' was a repeat of 'Weakest Link' (0.3), an encore of 'Ellen's Game of Games' (0.4), and 'SNL Vintage' (0.3). CBS had steady editions of 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.2/0.2) and '48 Hours' (0.3). 

Finals Update: ABC's 'College Football' game (1.6, +0.2) adjusted up alongside both episodes of 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.3, +0.1; 0.3, +0.1) on CBS. NBC's repeats of 'Weakest Link' (0.2, -0.1) and 'Ellen's Game of Games' (0.2, -0.2) adjusted down.

Saturday TV Ratings 10/24/20: SNL Stable, World Series Rises, Manhunt: Deadly Games Steady in Saturday Move (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: Game 4 of the World Series (1.7) rose four-tenths from Friday's lackluster performance and easily topped the night. ABC's 'College Football' game (1.2) came close to competing with the Fox network but ultimately fell several tenths short. CBS 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.2/0.2) made the move from Monday nights to Saturday and held even with its last Monday original. '48 Hours' (0.3) improved from 'Manhunt' at 10pm. NBC had repeats of 'Weakest Link' (0.3), 'Ellen's Game of Games' (0.4), and 'SNL Vintage' (0.4). The original episode of 'Saturday Night Live' (featuring Adele as the host and musical guest H.E.R) posted a 2.4 in Top 25 markets. 

Finals Update: 48 Hours (+0.1) College Football: MI v. MN (+0.2) and World Series Game 4 (+0.6) adjusted up. SNL Vintage (-0.1) and repeats of Weakest Link (-0.1) and Ellen's Game of Games (-0.2) adjusted down.

Monday TV Ratings 10/19/20: The Voice Returns on Top, NFL Boosts LA’s Finest, Dancing with the Stars and Emergency Call Rise (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: The 19th season premiere of NBC's 'The Voice' (1.2) came in a dismaying five-tenths below 2019's debut (1.7) but was still the top broadcast of the night. Jane Lynch game show 'Weakest Link' (0.8) was the direct lead-out and improved by two-tenths from what it garnered last Tuesday. As NBC's Monday-night staple faltered, ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars' (1.0) gained a tenth from last week's installment and continued to dramatically improve from last year's numbers. In the 10pm hour, struggling newbie 'Emergency Call' (0.5) inched up alongside 'Dancing'. On CBS, 'Big Brother' (0.9) and the rebroadcasts of 'One Day at a Time' (0.2/0.2) both lost a tenth on a week-to-week basis. 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.2) was flat at the end of the night for its final Monday airing. 

Recently-cancelled 'LA's Finest' (0.9) soared to a new season high on Fox thanks to some NFL assistance. Barring a significant downward adjustment in finals, this would be four-tenths above its previous high (0.5) and six-tenths above last week (0.3). The boost was mostly gone by 9pm as lead-out drama 'Filthy Rich' (0.4) could only rise a tenth. The CW's 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' (0.1) lost a tenth and was outperformed by a repeat of itself (0.2) that came right after. 'Penn & Teller: Fool Us' (0.2) held steady at 9pm. 

Finals Update: 'Dancing with the Stars' (0.8, -0.2), 'LA's Finest' (0.6, -0.3), and 'Emergency Call' (0.4, -0.1) all adjusted down.

Monday TV Ratings 10/12/20: One Day At A Time Low, Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother Top MLB (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: The Fox network let out a big sigh of relief as they were allowed to rid themselves of their failing Monday dramas, at least for one week. Instead of 'LA's Finest' and 'Filthy Rich', Fox aired game 1 of the National League Championship Series (0.8) and got a number several tenths higher than their meager dramas. But the Braves v. Dodgers baseball game still fell a tenth short of a steady 'Dancing with the Stars' (0.9) on ABC. 'Dancing' led into an increasingly underwhelming 'Emergency Call' (0.4). The new drama shed a tenth from last week, now two-tenths below its premiere.  

CBS had an even 'Big Brother' (0.9) and the broadcast debut of Pop TV's 'One Day At a Time' reboot (0.3/0.3). While 'One Day' was obviously above the 0.1s it would garner in its Pop home, it looks a lot worse here given it lost nearly 70% of its 'Brother' lead-in. Even if these are just glorified repeats, this is still a pretty disheartening start for the sitcom. A steady 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.2) closed things out for the network. NBC was on the rise as 'American Ninja Warrior' (0.6) gained two-tenths and 'Dateline' (0.5) inched up. The CW had a steady 'Whose Line' (0.2/0.2) and an up 'Penn & Teller' (0.2).

Finals Update: Fox's MLB game (1.2, +0.4) adjusted up by four-tenths, becoming the night's top broadcast. 'Big Brother' (1.0, +0.1) adjusted up on CBS while NBCs 'Dateline' (0.4, -0.1) adjusted down.

Monday TV Ratings 9/28/20: Emergency Call Starts Solidly Behind Stable Dancing with the Stars, Filthy Rich and Manhunt Get Uglier, Final Stanley Cup Game Rises (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: The 'Dancing with the Stars' resurgence showed no sign of slowing down in week 3 as the longtime reality series notched a healthy 1.1 A18-49 rating, steady with last week and far ahead of all other offerings. In comparison, the third episode of 'Dancing' in fall 2019 could only manage a 0.8 rating. The good will transitioned nicely into the 10pm hour as the series premiere of new drama 'Emergency Call' (0.7) posted a very solid number for its debut. Considering how low Nielsen ratings have fallen, it's safe to say that ABC will be quite happy with its performance.

But while the alphabet network had a night of prosperity, there was little to write home about over on Fox. New drama 'LA's Finest' (0.4) lost a tenth from last week's premiere while 'Filthy Rich' (0.3) shed two-tenths from a barely passable start. Over on NBC, game six of the Stanley Cup (0.8) posted a hefty result but couldn't quite come close to the heights of 'Dancing'. CBS had a duo of comedy repeats (0.4/0.4), a stable 'Love Island' (0.4), and a declining 'Manhunt: Deadly Games' (0.2). The CW had another 'iHeartRadio Music Festival' (0.2) that was a notch above yesterday's 0.1.

Finals Update: Emergency Call (-0.1) adjusted down.