Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/29/17

FINALS UPDATE: Hell's Kitchen (R) (0.4) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/28/17

The Top 10 TV Ratings Moments of 2017

It's time for my eighth annual look back at the year's top 10 moments in TV ratings! As always, the criteria are pretty subjective, but I go for a blend of 1) relatively isolated incidents that are impressive for their sheer enormity/cultural impact and 2) moments that exemplify much larger trends in TV this year. Please let me know about my most egregious rankings/omissions. Happy New Year!

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/27/17

FINALS UPDATE: Foster Farms Bowl (0.7) adjusted up.

The Best Of Plus: Broadcast New Scripted Series

This is The Best Of Plus, a look at the top performers since 2001-02 using numbers that are adjusted for historical decline. The table simply looks at the top n examples, where n is the number of years since 2001-02... so with each yearly update, each list will get one entry longer. There are some pithy notes about many of the seasons below the table. The chart you can activate at the bottom chronicles the top single performer within each year.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/26/17

The Best Of Plus: Netlet (CW/WB/UPN) Scripted Seasons

This is The Best Of Plus, a look at the top performers since 2001-02 using numbers that are adjusted for historical decline. The table simply looks at the top n examples, where n is the number of years since 2001-02... so with each yearly update, each list will get one entry longer. There are some pithy notes about many of the seasons below the table. The chart you can activate at the bottom chronicles the top single performer within each year.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/25/17

FINALS UPDATE: Man with a Plan (R) (0.6) adjusted up while NBA Basketball (1.8) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/24/17

FINALS UPDATE: The OT (3.6) and The Simpsons (R) (1.7) adjusted up while 60 Minutes (0.7) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/22/17

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/21/17

FINALS UPDATE: Young Sheldon (1.8), Great News (0.6) and Saturday Night Live Christmas (1.2) adjusted up while S.W.A.T. (1.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers coming later today. Most of the CBS Thursday lineup continued into the week before Christmas, with Young Sheldon airing after a repeat of The Big Bang Theory. On NBC, Great News returned with two original episodes in the 8:00 hour.

The Best of Plus: Broadcast Drama Seasons

This is The Best Of Plus, a look at the top performers since 2001-02 using numbers that are adjusted for historical decline. The table simply looks at the top n examples, where n is the number of years since 2001-02... so with each yearly update, each list will get one entry longer. There are some pithy notes about many of the seasons below the table (plus what the list would look like with cable dramas). The chart you can activate at the bottom chronicles the top single performer within each year.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/20/17

FINALS UPDATE: Movie: Pitch Perfect (1.0) adjusted up while Survivor (1.2) and Will and Grace (R) (0.6) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On Wednesday, it was Survivor's turn to have a finale with little broadcast competition, and it delivered a 1.9 in each of the first two hours, plus a 1.6 in the 10/9c hour which was about half finale (1.9) and half reunion (1.2). The 1.9 would be even with last fall's 1.9 finale / 1.3 reunion.

•  The best of the rest was NBC, with a repeat of Will and Grace (0.7) and movie Pitch Perfect (0.7/0.9/0.9/1.1/1.1).

SpotVault - The Librarians (TNT) - Winter 2017-18 Ratings

SpotVault - Ellen's Game of Games (NBC) - Winter 2017-18 Ratings

SpotVault - Better Late Than Never (NBC) - 2017-18 Ratings

The Best Of Plus: Broadcast Comedy Seasons

This is The Best Of Plus, a look at the top performers since 2001-02 using numbers that are adjusted for historical decline. The table simply looks at the top n examples, where n is the number of years since 2001-02... so with each yearly update, each list will get one entry longer. There are some pithy notes about many of the seasons below the table. The chart you can activate at the bottom chronicles the top single performer within each year.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/19/17

WHAT MATTERS:

• The Voice's fall finale (2.1/2.0) had the stage to itself among original series, and it was close to 20% below the 2.5 for last fall's finale.

• The only other originals on broadcast were staple holiday specials, ABC's The Year (0.8) and CBS' old-skewing A Home for the Holidays (0.6). A Home matched last year (when it aired on Friday) but The Year was down three tenths from last year, when it didn't have a Voice finale to deal with.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/18/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.9) and The Year in Memoriam (0.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• NBC saw a very promising start from its 10/9c preview of Ellen's Game of Games (1.7), which is bound for Tuesday lead-off duty during the winter. It was actually a tick above last year's preview of The Wall, which went on to great success in the Tuesday 8/7c slot a year ago. It also crushed anything that the regular occupant The Brave had done in the slot, and was a whooping 70% above last week's Better Late Than Never preview. Its lead-in The Voice (2.0) ticked up for its performance finale.

• The CBS comedy lineup continued into the week before Christmas, and Man with a Plan (0.9) and Superior Donuts (0.8) both inched down along with Scorpion (0.8) at 10/9c.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/17/17

FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.9) adjusted up while 60 Minutes (2.4), Wisdom of the Crowd (1.0), Football Night in America p2 (1.7) and Football Night in America p3 (2.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• A Christmas Story became the latest classic tale to get the live musical event treatment on broadcast TV, with the three-hour Fox telecast averaging a 1.5. This was pretty close to what the network got last fall with The Rocky Horror Picture Show (a 1.7 in October 2016) but still a shadow of the gold standards in this tradition, which remain NBC's The Sound of Music Live! in 2013 (4.6) and Fox's Grease Live! in early 2016 (4.3). 
• Speaking of The Sound of Music, ABC aired the original film across all four hours last night (0.6/0.9/1.0/0.9) and was a few tenths behind last year's 1.1.

• CBS was the only network airing regular series, and got a boost from a massive late-afternoon NFL game between the Patriots and the Steelers (averaging a 6.9 in the 7:00 half-hour). Then came 60 Minutes (2.8), Wisdom of the Crowd (1.2/0.9), NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9) and Madam Secretary (0.7), with adjustments possible since the shows started 8 minutes after their listed times.

• NBC's Sunday Night Football with the Cowboys and Raiders averaged a low-5 prelim, and the West Coast markets will likely get the game into the 6's after finals.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/15/17

FINALS UPDATE: Hawaii Five-0 (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• After last week's surge, MacGyver (0.8) and a double-pump of Hawaii Five-0 (1.0/0.9) were back down in their fall finales.

• They stayed just barely ahead of NBC's steady Blindspot (0.7) and Dateline (0.9), and everything on ABC (0.5/0.5/0.5) and Fox (0.8/0.4) also matched last week. The CW went with a Hollywood Christmas Parade special (0.3).

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/14/17

FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (2.9) adjusted up while Thursday Night Football Pregame (1.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS' The Big Bang Theory (2.6) and Young Sheldon (2.0) gave back much of their surges from last week, but the network made up some of it as S.W.A.T. ticked back up to 1.0 at 10/9c.

• On ABC, Frozen became the latest Disney franchise to get a half-hour holiday special, and Olaf's Frozen Adventure (1.4) was easily the highest-rated holiday programming of the night. It helped boost Prep & Landing (1.1) to its best rating in a few years. With The Great American Baking Show pulled due to sexual misconduct allegations, a two-hour repeat of The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.7) rounded out the evening.

• Fox trailed in the holiday special battle with Showtime at the Apollo (0.7) and Taraji's White Hot Holidays (0.7), while the CW did well with the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball (0.4). It was a rough night for NBC's Thursday Night Football, which featured two non-contending teams.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/13/17

FINALS UPDATE: Speechless (1.2) and Survivor (1.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fall finale night on ABC and Fox brought several upticks, including The Goldbergs (1.6) with its best rating since week two as well as American Housewife (1.3) and Designated Survivor (0.8). Fox's Empire (1.9) and Star (1.3) also gained a tenth apiece. The CW's Riverdale (0.5) and Dynasty (0.2) stayed even.

• With the crime dramas all wrapped for the fall already, CBS ran Survivor (1.7) plus repeats (0.7/0.7) while NBC repeated last week's The Wall special (0.8) and had a Golden Globes 75th Anniversary special (0.8) from 9:00-11:00.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/12/17

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers and analysis coming shortly.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/11/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.9), The Bachelor Special (0.5) and Better Late Than Never (1.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers and analysis coming shortly.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/10/17

FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.4) adjusted up while 60 Minutes (1.0), Football Night in America p2 (0.6), Football Night in America p3 (2.3), The OT (4.3) and The Simpsons (2.3) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox's live-action Sunday comedies took the night off, and it was a bad night to miss as The Simpsons (2.7) rode the NFL boost to its highest ratings of the season. Bob's Burgers (1.6/1.3) aired a one-hour episode from 8:30 to 9:30, and at 8:30 it was higher than any Ghosted episode. Family Guy (1.2) aired at 9:30 and was of course a big improvement on The Last Man on Earth.

• ABC did strong business with a showing of Frozen (1.2) from 8:00 to 10:00, though it was down a half-point from the film's broadcast debut last year. Reality special Encore! (0.5) garnered little interest at 10/9c, though America's Funniest Home Videos (0.9) did well in its return to the 7/6c hour.

• Without NFL help, CBS' Wisdom of the Crowd (0.7) was on the low end, providing little help to NCIS: Los Angeles (0.8) and Madam Secretary (0.7). NBC was down just a bit from recent weeks with a 4.9ish prelim for Sunday Night Football.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/8/17

FINALS UPDATE: Blue Bloods (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's Once Upon a Time (0.5) and Agents of SHIELD (0.5) were finally together on the same night, with the latter dropping two tenths after last week's OK premiere.

• Everything else on broadcast was original as well, and it was a big bounce-back night for CBS with MacGyver (0.9), Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) and Blue Bloods (1.0) all on the rise. Fox was up as well, with Hell's Kitchen (0.8) and The Exorcist (0.4) inching off of last week's lows. And the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.2) and Jane the Virgin (0.3) made a one-off return to the scene after taking the last couple Fridays off.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/7/17

FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (4.3) and Supernatural (0.6) adjusted up while Thursday Night Football Pregame (1.5) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC continued its holiday filler rollout with the return of The Great American Baking Show (0.8). It was down by two tenths from last year's premiere. It led out of another nice showing for some ABC holiday specials, as Shrek the Halls (1.0) and Toy Story That Time Forgot (0.9) were both up a tick from last year. 

• CBS' The Big Bang Theory (2.8) and Young Sheldon (2.2) were on the rebound, with TBBT all the way back to tie its highest Thursday rating this fall. However, S.W.A.T. (0.9) dropped a tenth for the second straight week at 10/9c.

• The CW's superhero fall finale week concluded with Arrow falling to its first 0.4 of the season (though it was still ahead of the 0.3 on Thanksgiving).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/6/17

WHAT MATTERS:

• Some of last week's ugliest droppers were on the rebound this Wednesday, with American Housewife up two tenths to 1.2 (though still on the low end compared with all its other points) and Empire (1.8) picking up a notch for Fox. The ABC comedy anchors The Goldbergs (1.5) and Modern Family (1.7) also edged upward, while Speechless (1.1) and Designated Survivor (0.7) were even.

• On NBC, The Blacklist was MIA again as a repeat of last week's Pentatonix special (0.8) filled in at 8/7c. Lead-out dramas Law and Order: SVU (1.3) and Chicago PD (1.2) came back to earth a bit but were still a little above average.

• The CBS dramas were back, with Criminal Minds (0.9) on the low end but SEAL Team hanging at 1.1. It had an assist from Survivor (1.8), which continued to look strong down the stretch of the season.

SpotVault - Knightfall (HISTORY) - Winter 2017-18 Ratings

SpotVault - Happy! (Syfy) - Winter 2017-18 Ratings

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/5/17

FINALS UPDATE: NCIS (R) (0.9) and Chicago Med (1.2) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• In the middle of their Thursday Night Football hiatus, NBC comedies Will and Grace (1.8) and Superstore (1.1) returned for Christmas episodes leading out of The Voice (1.8), and both did pretty close to their usual deliveries on Thursday. With a reduced lead-in, Chicago Med (1.1) shed a couple tenths at 10/9c.

• ABC's lineup returned after sitting out last week and mostly sitting out two weeks ago, and it was not a good look overall; The Middle (1.2), Fresh Off the Boat (0.9), Black-ish (1.0) as well as newbies The Mayor (0.7) and Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (0.6) all tied their Halloween lows.

• Fox's Lethal Weapon (1.0), The Mick (0.8) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.7) all matched last week, meaning the comedies held onto their upticks. On the CW, Legends of Tomorrow (0.6) was the first of the superhero shows to show a little growth vs. two weeks ago before the crossover, while The Flash was back down to 0.8. CBS (0.8/0.7/0.6) was in repeat mode, including a SEAL Team tryout in the 9:00 hour.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/4/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Great Christmas Light Fight (1.0), The Good Doctor (1.6), The Voice (1.8) and The Wall Special (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• A repeat of The Big Bang Theory (1.2) filled in for Kevin Can Wait and helped keep the original Man with a Plan at 1.1 at 8:30. However, Superior Donuts (0.9) and 9JKL (0.8) each shed a tenth in the 9:00 hour.

• On Fox, The Gifted (0.8) is clearly limping to the finish late in the fall, losing another tenth after last week's preemption. Lucifer held at 0.9.

• Pending a Monday Night Football preemption in Pittsburgh, ABC finished up The Good Doctor's fall run (1.7), leading out of the return of The Great Christmas Light Fight (1.1/1.2) in the first two hours. Light Fight had a 1.1 all three weeks last year and should be very close to that even with a finals drop. NBC's The Voice (1.8/1.9) and The Wall (1.0) are also pending an MNF preemption in Cincinnati.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/3/17

FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (6.4) and The OT (3.3) adjusted up while America's Funniest Home Videos (R) (0.7), NCIS: Los Angeles (R) (0.6), Football Night in America p2 (1.6) and Football Night in America p3 (3.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• With an underwhelming national NFL lead-in, Fox's The Simpsons (1.7), Ghosted (1.0) and Family Guy (1.1) were all down at least a couple tenths from the last time they had an NFL lead-in on November 12, but still up markedly from two weeks ago without such help.

• Meanwhile, CBS was much stronger than usual for a non-NFL night, thanks to a two-hour Carol Burnett special (1.4/1.5) from 8:00-10:00. Though the raw demo rating is solid, the show skewed incredibly old, which is another way of saying it had very gaudy total viewership numbers (over 15 million in each hour).

• ABC came back to earth somewhat after last week's spikes with America's Funniest Home Videos (1.0) and Shark Tank (0.9). And it was another good night for Sunday Night Football, which should end up around to slightly above last week's 6.0 after finals.

SpotVault - Vikings (HISTORY) - 2017-18 Ratings

SpotVault - Agents of SHIELD (ABC) - Winter 2017-18 Ratings

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/1/17

FINALS UPDATE: Blue Bloods (0.8) and The Exorcist (0.3) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (0.7/0.6) joined the Friday mix for ABC with a two-hour premiere, about in line with the ratings it was doing throughout the second half of last season.

• CBS had a little slippage with procedurals MacGyver (0.8) and Hawaii Five-0 (0.9), but Blindspot (0.7) was on the rebound for NBC. Hell's Kitchen (0.7) fell to a season low on Fox, leading into another 0.4 for The Exorcist.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 11/30/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.5), Thursday Night Football (4.7) and Supernatural (0.6) adjusted up while Thursday Night Football Pregame (1.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS series The Big Bang Theory (2.4), Young Sheldon (2.1), Mom (1.4), Life in Pieces (1.1) and S.W.A.T. (1.0) gave back most to all of their Thanksgiving bounces from last week, and were close to their results from two weeks ago. S.W.A.T. was able to stay in the ones, putting it ahead of two weeks ago and back within a tenth of its series premiere four weeks ago.

• On ABC, TGIT is over for the fall but the network had a similar average to a typical TGIT night thanks to A Charlie Brown Christmas (actually up a tenth year-to-year to 1.6) and a two-hour Wonderful World of Disney special (1.2).

• Fox saw Gotham finally down to 0.8 for the first time, after an almost season-long string of low 0.9's. The season's penultimate edition of The Orville matched its 0.9 from two weeks ago.

• Supernatural (0.5) bounced back some but not all the way from last week's Thanskgiving debacle; this would be the show's lowest result this season other than last week. And NBC had an above average Thursday Night Football thanks to the Dallas Cowboys.