Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/30/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (R) (0.3) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/29/20

FINALS UPDATE: To Tell the Truth (R) (0.6) adjusted up while Tell Me a Story (0.0) adjusted down.

The Top 10 TV Ratings Moments of 2020

It's time for my eleventh 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 relatively isolated incidents that are impressive for their sheer enormity/cultural impact, and moments that exemplify much larger trends in TV this year. Please let me know about my most egregious rankings and omissions. Happy New Year!

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/28/20

FINALS UPDATE: Monday Night Football (ABC) (1.5, +0.3), The Neighborhood (R) (0.6), Let's Make a Deal Special (R) (0.4), Movie: Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors (0.3), 9-1-1 (R) (0.3) and LA's Finest (0.3) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/27/20

FINALS UPDATE: America's Funniest Home Videos (R) (0.6), Supermarket Sweep (R) (0.4), Supermarket Sweep (R) (0.3), NCIS: Los Angeles (R) (0.4), Sunday Night Football (4.9, +1.1), NFL Overrun (5.5, +1.4), The OT (3.1, +0.2) and The Masked Dancer (1.4, +0.2) adjusted up while 60 Minutes (0.6), Football Night in America p2 (0.9, -0.6) and Football Night in America p3 (2.5, -0.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox previewed reality series The Masked Dancer (1.3/1.0) following NFL coverage in the 7:30 half-hour (2.9). For comparison, a The Masked Singer special in a similar situation back in September had a 1.3 prelim/1.6 final following a much bigger 7:30 half-hour (4.0)).
  

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/25/20

FINALS UPDATE: NBA Basketball (1.8, +0.7), Blue Bloods (R) (0.3), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (0.5) and WWE SmackDown! (1.0, +0.2) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/24/20

FINALS UPDATE: Movie: The Greatest Showman (0.5), Young Sheldon (R) (0.3) and Movie: It's a Wonderful Life (R) (0.8, +0.2) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/23/20

FINALS UPDATE: Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (R) (0.6) and The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.6) adjusted up while Silent Night -- A Song For the World (R) (0.0) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/22/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelorette (1.4, +0.2), The Price Is Right Special (0.8), Let's Make a Deal Special (0.7), The Voice (R) (0.5) and NEXT (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/21/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Neighborhood (R) (0.6) and Bob Hearts Abishola (R) (0.5) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/20/20

FINALS UPDATE: Movie: The Sound of Music (0.6), NFL Overrun (5.6, +1.2), 60 Minutes (1.6, +0.2), Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event (0.6), A Home For the Holidays (0.3), Sunday Night Football (4.3, +0.9) and The Simpsons (R) (1.1) adjusted up while Football Night in America p2 (0.3, -0.7), Football Night in America p3 (1.8, -1.0) and Bob's Burgers (R) (0.4) adjusted down.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/18/20

FINALS UPDATE: MacGyver (0.5), Dateline (0.4) and Pac-12 Championship (0.9, +0.2) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/17/20

FINALS UPDATE: Station 19 (1.0), Grey's Anatomy (1.1) and Thursday Night Football (3.4, +1.2) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/16/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.7), The Masked Singer (1.3) and The Masked Singer (1.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/15/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelorette (1.1), Cosmos: Possible Worlds (0.3) and NEXT (0.2) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/14/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (0.9) and Nurses (0.4, -0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/13/20

FINALS UPDATE: Card Sharks (0.3), 60 Minutes (0.8), NCIS: Los Angeles (0.6), Sunday Night Football (4.6, +0.7), NFL Overrun (5.7, +1.2), Bless the Harts (0.7) and Bob's Burgers (0.7) adjusted up while Football Night in America p2 (1.0, -0.5) and Football Night in America p3 (2.4, -1.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's Supermarket Sweep (0.5) and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (0.3) are eyeing new lows on their last Sunday together in 2020. (Card Sharks also fell to 0.2, which it has hit before.)
  

• None of the other entertainment options fared much better, with CBS' NCIS spin-offs (0.5/0.4) and Fox's cartoons (1.3/0.6/0.6/0.7) on the low end (for an NFL evening in Fox's case). And the CW got 0.0's on the same night for the first time since Pandora and The Outpost were paired together.
  

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/11/20

FINALS UPDATE: Shark Tank (0.6), Dateline (0.5) and WWE SmackDown! (0.6) adjusted up.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/10/20

FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.2) and Thursday Night Football (3.6, +1.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's Station 19 (0.8), Grey's Anatomy (1.1) and A Million Little Things (0.5) were all down a tenth as most scripted options took the night off.
  

• NBC had specials on Broadway (0.5) and the TIME Person of the Year (0.3). Fox easily beat the combined competition with Thursday Night Football (2.4).
  

SpotVault - Nurses (NBC) - Winter 2020-21 Ratings

Nurses

Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/9/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Masked Singer Special (1.1) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On a night full of holiday specials, Fox was still on top with a holiday singalong edition of The Masked Singer (1.0), though it was at least a half point lower than regular episodes, and the season finale of I Can See Your Voice (0.8).
  

• It was a pretty tight race among the rest of the big four, as ABC staple The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.7/0.6) returned and was about in line with NBC's two-hour Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical! (0.6). CBS dramas SEAL Team (0.6) and S.W.A.T. (0.5) along with ABC's For Life (0.4) were all on the upswing.
  

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/8/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelorette (1.2), Big Sky (0.6) and Thursday Night Football (3.9, +1.1) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox dominated with a special Tuesday NFL game (2.8), and nobody held up well against it. Big Sky saw its three-week run of 0.7's come to a crashing halt, with a drop to 0.5 in week four following The Bachelorette (1.2/1.1).
  

• It was a dreadful night on CBS, where NCIS (0.7), FBI (0.6) and FBI: Most Wanted (0.5) were all down multiple tenths vs. their last episodes two weeks ago. NBC finished out season one of Transplant with the last two hours (0.4/0.4) after The Voice (0.7).
  

Spotted Ratings, Monday 12/7/20

FINALS UPDATE: Monday Night Football (1.5, +0.3), All Rise (0.5) and The Voice (0.8) adjusted up while I Can See Your Voice (0.8, -1.2) and Cosmos: Possible Worlds (0.2, -0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• NBC brought another Canadian import medical drama into the mix with the premiere of Nurses (0.4) at 10/9c after The Voice (0.8/0.7). While it had little help from a weak Voice showing, Nurses came in below all the episodes of previous occupant Weakest Link.
  

• A heavy week for the NFL in broadcast primetime began with ABC simulcasting Monday Night Football (1.2, also aired on its normal ESPN home), while Fox had a COVID-delayed game in the late afternoon leading into a new I Can See Your Voice (2.0, includes some game coverage).
  

• CBS was original in the first two hours (0.7/0.6/0.4) and even or down a tenth.
  

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 12/6/20

FINALS UPDATE: NFL Overrun (5.0, +1.1), 60 Minutes (1.7), Football Night in America p2 (2.0), Sunday Night Football (4.6, +0.8) and The Simpsons (0.6) adjusted up while Football Night in America p3 (2.6, -0.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On ABC, Supermarket Sweep continued its post-Thanksgiving slump with another 0.6, though Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (0.5) rebounded by a tenth. Fox had a quiet cartoon night with The Simpsons dropping back to 0.5, while the other three (0.4/0.5/0.6) matched their last non-NFL ratings.
  

• CBS used its national NFL lead-in on 60 Minutes (1.9/1.2) and a Dolly Parton Christmas special (0.7/0.6).
  

SpotVault - SEAL Team (CBS) - 2020-21 Ratings

SEAL Team

Wednesdays, 9/8c, CBS

Status: ENDING after this season (confirmed on 5/18/2021)

SpotVault - Magnum P.I. (CBS) - 2020-21 Ratings

Magnum P.I.

Fridays, 9/8c, CBS

Status: RENEWED for next season (confirmed on 4/15/2021)

SpotVault - MacGyver (CBS) - 2020-21 Ratings

MacGyver

Fridays, 8/7c, CBS

Status: ENDING after this season (confirmed on 4/7/2021)

SpotVault - Blue Bloods (CBS) - 2020-21 Ratings

Blue Bloods

Fridays, 10/9c, CBS

Status: RENEWED for next season (confirmed on 4/15/2021)

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/4/20

FINALS UPDATE: WWE SmackDown! (0.6) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS Friday returned with 0.5's across the board for MacGyver, Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods. Mac was two tenths behind its winter 2020 season premiere, while Magnum and Blue were down just a tenth from their fall 2019 premieres (but well below their COVID-fueled highs from the spring).
  

• That left Shark Tank (0.6) as the top Friday program again, even as it declined for the second straight episode. Fox's WWE SmackDown! (0.5) also dropped for a second consecutive week.
  

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/3/20

FINALS UPDATE: Station 19 (0.9) and Mom (0.7) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers posted.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/2/20

FINALS UPDATE: Christmas in Rockefeller Center (1.2) and Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes (0.9) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS' SEAL Team returned with a two-hour premiere (0.5/0.5) following The Amazing Race (0.7). While this was down about a third from last sesaon's premiere and tied last season's low, it did look a little better than any of the November episodes of S.W.A.T.
  

• Fox rolled to victory with two hours of The Masked Singer (1.5/1.6), while NBC was a respectable second with holiday staple Christmas in Rockefeller Center (1.2/1.1) and a Radio City Rockettes special (0.8). Rockefeller was on par with or above the year-ago telecast (1.1), perhaps getting a little indirect help from NBC's late Wednesday afternoon NFL game.
  

• On ABC, the 8/7c comedies The Goldbergs (0.7) and American Housewife (0.6) were steady, the 9/8c hour of The Conners (0.6) and Black-ish (0.4) inched down, and For Life (0.3) fell apart after last week's uptick.
  

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 12/1/20

FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelorette (1.2), Let's Make a Deal Special (0.6), FBI: Most Wanted (R) (0.4), The Voice (0.8), Weakest Link (R) (0.6), Transplant (0.5) and Cosmos: Possible Worlds (0.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's Big Sky (0.7) continued to hang on, posting its third straight 0.7 following The Bachelorette (1.2/1.1).
  

• CBS got a nice showing from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1.1), within a tenth of last year's performance on the year-ago evening (1.2), and it led into a Let's Make a Deal primetime special (0.5). NBC's The Voice (0.7) took a hard hit in its first live results show.
  

Spotted Ratings, Monday 11/30/20

FINALS UPDATE: CMA Country Christmas (0.7), The Good Doctor (0.6) and The Neighborhood (0.8) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's third Disney singalong special (1.2) was holiday themed and came within striking distance of the last one in May (1.36). Pending football preemptions, this seemed to help out the rest of the programming, as CMA Country Christmas (0.8) was preliminarily above last year's edition (0.67) and The Good Doctor (0.7) rose from last week.
  

• On CBS, The Neighborhood (0.9) was up but may be affected by a West Coast preemption, while the rest of the night (0.6/0.5/0.5) was steady. NBC was even-ish with The Voice (0.9/0.8) and a bit better than usual with Weakest Link (0.6).