NBC Ranks #1 For September 10-16, Winning A 14th Straight Week In 18-49
By: Tori Hartshorn Sep. 18, 2018
NBC has delivered a decisive ratings victory for the primetime week of Sept. 10-16, led by top-15 results for "Sunday Night Football," two nights of "America's Got Talent" and season finales of "American Ninja Warrior" and "World of Dance," according to "live plus same day" viewership figures from Nielsen Media Research.
NBC won the week among the Big 4 networks in all key measures - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers. Even excluding sports, NBC ranked #1 or tied for #1 for the week in each of those key categories.
It's the 14th week in a row NBC has ranked #1 or tied for #1 in 18-49 and the network's 11th consecutive weeklong win in total viewers.
In 18-49, Giants-Cowboys "Sunday Night Football" ranked #1 for the week among primetime programs on the Big 4 networks, while Tuesday's" "Talent" finished #4, Wednesday's "AGT" tied for #6, the "American Ninja Warrior" finale tied for #9 and the "World of Dance" finale tied for #12. Rankings exclude sports pre- and post-game shows.
In total viewers, Sunday football also ranked #1, Tuesday and Wednesday editions of "America's Got Talent" finished #3-4 respectively, the "Ninja" finale was #11 and the "World of Dance" closer ranked #12.
In adults 18-49, NBC is dominating the current primetime season, with a lead over #2 ABC and CBS of +0.5 of a rating point or +38% (1.8 vs. 1.3). The +38% advantage is the best for any #1 network at this point in the season in the 31-year history of Nielsen's current people-meter sample.
Season to date, NBC also ranks #1 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in every other key ratings measure - adults, men and women 18-34; men and women 18-49; and adults, men and women 25-54, as well as total viewers. It's the first time NBC has led in total viewers at this point in the season in 16 years, since 2001-02. Even excluding all sports, NBC is running closer to CBS at this point in the season in total viewers than it's been in 15 years (currently within 1.010 million total viewers of CBS excluding sports, best since the gap was 629,000 in 2002-03).
Counting entertainment programming only, NBC ranks #1 for the season in adults, men and women 18-49 and is #1 or tied for #1 among the Big 4 nets in adults 25-54, adults 18-34, men 18-34 and women 25-54.
Weekly ratings are "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date ratings are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."
Week 51 Averages
Adult 18-49 Rating, "live plus same day," Sept. 10-16
NBC...1.7
CBS...0.9
ABC...0.9
Fox...0.7
CW...0.2
Total Viewers
NBC...6.7 million
CBS...4.8 million
ABC...4.0 million
Fox...2.3 million
CW...0.7 million
Season-to-Date Averages
Adult 18-49 Rating, "Most Current"
NBC...1.8
ABC...1.3
CBS...1.3
Fox...1.2
CW...0.5
Total Viewers
NBC...7.8 million
CBS...7.6 million
ABC...5.5 million
Fox...4.1 million
CW...1.5 million
NBC highlights for the week of Sept. 10-16:
Monday
NBC won Monday night among the Big 4 networks in 18-49 and total viewers.
The season finale of "American Ninja Warrior" (1.2/5 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) equaled the show's season high in adults 18-49 and delivered its second most-watched episode of the season. "Ninja" wasthe #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 and total viewers, making this the fifth week in a row "Ninja" has been Monday's most-watched show on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. "Ninja" was up +9% week to week in 18-49 (1.2 vs. 1.1) and +17% in total viewers (5.691 million vs. 4.851 million).
"Live Plus Three Day" Ratings: "Ninja" increased by +13% in 18-49 (from a 1.18 rating to a 1.33) and +558,000 viewers overall (5.7 million to 6.2 million) going from "live plus same day" Nielsens to L+3.
Upscale: "Ninja" is delivering a solid upscale audience, generating a 119 index among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes, according to "most current" Nielsens, including L+3).
An encore telecast of "America's Got Talent" (0.6/3 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) ranked #1 in the timeslot among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.
Tuesday
NBC finished #1 Tuesday night in adults 18-49 and total viewers and was #1 or tied for #1 in every other key measure. NBC has now won 16 of the last 17 Tuesday nights among the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 and 17 Tuesdays in a row in total viewers.
"America's Got Talent" (1.9/8 in 18-49, 10.7 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 show of the night in 18-49, total viewers and most other key measures, topping the night's #2 show in 18-49 by +58% in 18-49 (1.9 vs. 1.2 for ABC's "Bachelor in Paradise") and by +4.6 million persons or +75% in total viewers (10.7 million vs. 6.1 million for CBS' "NCIS" encore). "Talent" grew +6% week to week in 18-49 (1.9 vs. 1.8) and +1% in total viewers (10.746 million vs. 10.692 million). L+3: "Talent" increased by +21% in 18-49 (1.91 to 2.31) and +1.7 million viewers overall (10.7 million to 12.4 million) going from L+SD to L+3, for the biggest L+3 lifts of the night in 18-49 rating and total viewers. Upscale: "Talent" is generating a strong upscale audience, indexing at a 110 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes.
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine Presents NBC Fall 2018" (0.8/3 in 18-49, 3.5 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) won the timeslot among ABC, CBS and NBC by a +40% margin in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.5 for CBS' "NCIS: New Orelans" encore), and also took the time period among those nets in every other key demographic (including a tie in women 25-54).
Wednesday
NBC wins Wednesday night among the Big 4 networks in every key ratings measure. It's the fifth consecutive Wednesday that NBC has won in both 18-49 and total viewers.
"America's Got Talent" (1.6/7 in 18-49, 10.2 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) scored as the #1 show of the night in 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.5 for #2 "Big Brother") and total viewers (+4.5 million viewers or +78%, 10.2 million vs. 5.7 million for #2 "Brother"). "Talent" equaled its season high for a Wednesday telecast in 18-49 and set a new Wednesday high in total viewers. "Talent" equaled NBC's strongest 18-49 rating in the time period, excluding Olympics, since Nov. 29, 2017 and scored the net's top non-Olympic total-viewer result in the slot since Sept. 20, 2017. L+3: The Wednesday "Talent" grew by +19% in 18-49 (1.56 to 1.86) and more than +1.3 million viewers overall (10.2 million to 11.5 million) going from L+SD to L+3 Nielsens, for the night's biggest L+3 lift in total viewers.
The season finale of "World of Dance" (1.1/5 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET) delivered the show's most-watched episode of the summer among eight Wednesday telecasts to conclude its season with a third straight week of total-viewer gains (5.584 million vs. 5.172 million on Sept. 5 vs. 5.063 million on Aug. 29 and 5.053 million on Aug. 22). Week to week, "World" retained 100% in 18-49 (1.1 vs. 1.1) and grew +8% in total viewers (5.6 million vs. 5.172 million in official nationals. L+3: "World" increased by +30% going from L+SD to L+3 in 18-49 (1.14 to 1.48) and +1.1 million viewers overall (5.6 million vs. 6.7 million).
Thursday
Encore telecasts of "The Good Place" averaged a 0.5/3 in 18-49 and 2.3 million viewers overall from 8-8:30 p.m. ET; a 0.4/2 in 18-49 and 1.6 million viewers from 8:30-9; a 0.4/2 in 18-49 and 1.8 million viewers from 9-9:30; and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 and 1.6 million viewers from 9:30-10.
A rebroadcast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (0.4/2 in 18-49, 1.9 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) finished within 0.1 of a point of #1 among ABC, CBS and NBC in the timeslot in adults 18-49 and tied for #1 among those nets in adults 18-34.
Friday
NBC finished #1 for the night among the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, marking the 12th time in 13 weeks NBC has ranked #1 or tied for #1 on a Friday night among the Big 4 in 18-49.
An encore telecast of "American Ninja Warrior" (0.5/3 in 18-49, 2.8 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) grew +0.1 of a point or +25% versus the show's prior rebroadcast in this time period in 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.4 on Aug. 31) and up +19% in total viewers (2.8 million vs. 2.3 million), to rank #1 in the timeslot among the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers and all other key measures.
"Dateline NBC" (0.7/3 in 18-49, 1.0 in adults 25-54, 3.6 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, maintaining 100% week to week in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.7 from 9-11 p.m.) to equal the show's high rating since May 18 in 18-49 (0.8). L+3: The prior Friday's "Dateline" increased by +24% in 18-49 (0.75 to 0.93) and +870,000 viewers overall (4.4 million to 5.3 million) going from L+SD to L+3 Nielsens. Upscale: Friday's "Dateline" is delivering a solid upscale audience, indexing at a 115 among adults 18-49 in $100K+ homes.
Sunday
NBC Sports coverage of New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys "Sunday Night Football" (7.0/28 in 18-49, 20.7 million viewers overall from 8:23-11 p.m. ET) won the night in all key ratings measures, beating the combined nightlong averages of ABC, CBS and Fox in each key demo as well as total viewers. The game's Total Audience Delivery of 21.0 million beats the result for the year-ago Packers-Falcons Week 2 telecast (20.57 million on Sept. 17, 2017).
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