NBC Weekly Ratings Release: Oct. 28 - Nov. 3, 2019

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Nov. 5, 2019 — NBC has finished #2 for the primetime ratings week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3 in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers, behind only World Series-boosted Fox, according to “live plus same day” figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Patriots-Ravens “Sunday Night Football” finished #1 for the primetime week in adults 18-49. Excluding sports, NBC delivered six of the week’s top 10 primetime shows on the Big 4 networks in the 18-49 demo – “This Is Us,” #2; Monday’s “The Voice,” tied for #3; “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and Tuesday’s “Voice,” tied for #5; and “Chicago P.D.,” tied for #10.

Excluding both news and sports (“60 Minutes”), the #1 show of the week in 18-49 is “This Is Us” (with a 1.4 rating) and in total viewers it’s Monday’s “Voice” (8.2 million viewers). 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 6 Averages
Adult 18-49 Rating, “live plus same day,” Oct. 28-Nov. 3
FOX…2.6      NBC…1.6      CBS…0.9
ABC…0.7      CW…0.2

Total Viewers
FOX…9.8 million      NBC…7.1 million      CBS…6.1 million
ABC…3.8 million      CW…0.8 million

Season-to-Date Averages
Adult 18-49 Rating, “Most Current”
FOX…2.3      NBC…1.8      ABC…1.1
CBS…1.1      CW…0.3

Total Viewers
FOX…8.4 million      NBC…8.0 million      CBS…7.9 million
ABC…5.5 million      CW…1.1 million

NBC highlights for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3:

Monday
NBC won Monday night among the Big 4 networks in total viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 (tie).

“The Voice” (1.3 rating in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 entertainment show of the night in total viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 (tie), retaining 100% week to week in 18-49 (1.3 vs. 1.3) and growing +2% in total viewers (8.181 million vs. 8.046 million) for the show’s second straight week of viewer growth “Bluff City Law” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 3.6 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) retained 100% week to week in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5) and grew +2% in total viewers for a second week in a row, with a +2% increase (3.6 million vs. 3.5 million), to deliver the show’s most-watched telecast since Oct. 7 (3.7 million).

Tuesday
NBC was the night’s #1 non-sports network in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, total viewers and every other key measure, with “This Is Us” the #1 non-sports shows in adults 18-49 and “The Voice” tying for #2.

“The Voice” (1.2 rating in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) tied as the #2 entertainment show of the night in adults 18-49, behind only “This Is Us,” and won the timeslot among entertainment shows in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34 and all key other key demos (excludes Fox’s World Series coverage), including a +20% margin of victory in adults 18-49 (1.2 vs. 1.0 for ABC’s comedies). “Voice” was up by +33% versus the sixth Tuesday episode of the prior cycle in 18-49 (1.2 vs. 0.9 on April 30 at 9 p.m.) and +1.6 million persons in total viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.3 million).

“This Is Us” (1.4 rating in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall from 9-10:01 p.m. ET) was the #1 entertainment show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, to dominate the 9-10 p.m. hour among non-sports shows with a +75% margin of victory in adults 18-49 (1.4 vs. 0.8 for ABC’s comedies). “Us” won the timeslot among the Big 4 networks, excluding sports, in every key ratings measure. L+7: The season’s first five episodes of “This Is Us” have delivered television’s #1-2-3-4-5 biggest L+7 lifts in 18-49 rating so far this season (a +1.51 increase for the Sept 24 season premiere, a +1.42 gain for the Oct. 1 telecast, a +1.50 for Oct. 8, a 1.55 for Oct. 15 and a +1.46 for Oct. 22). The biggest lift for any other show on television this season is the +1.21 for the Sept. 23 season premiere of “The Good Doctor.” Social: “This Is Us” was the most social scripted primetime show Tuesday night, with 215,000 Total Interactions, an increase of +20% over last season’s sixth episode (179,000) (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/29/19, Percent Share, Primetime, All Series).

“New Amsterdam” (0.8 rating in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) won the hour among the ABC-CBS-NBC dramas in every key ratings measure (excludes Fox’s World Series coverage), including a tie in men 25-54, and posted a +60% margin of victory among those dramas in adults 18-49 (0.8 vs. 0.5 for ABC’s “Emergence” and CBS’ “NCIS: New Orleans” encore). Social: “New Amsterdam” was up +16% week over week and up +142% over last season’s average.

Wednesday
NBC ranked as the night’s #1 entertainment network among the Big 4 in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, total viewers and all other key measures (including a tie in men 18-34).

“Chicago Med” (1.2 rating in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET), on a night of high-rated competition from Fox’s World Series Game 7 coverage, matches the show’s highest 18-49 rating for a non-crossover episode since the Feb. 20 (1.3) and delivers its most-watched non-crossover since May 15 (7.982 million). “Med” tied as the #1 entertainment show of the night in adults 18-49 and was the #1 non-sports show outright in total viewers, while retaining 100% week to week in 18-49 (1.2 vs. 1.2) and growing +1% in total viewers (8.0 million vs. 7.8 million). Social: “Chicago Med” grew +34% week over week in Total Interactions. “Med” had the most commented-on YouTube video of the week for all primetime broadcast dramas, with a dramatic clip from this week’s episode of Natalie telling Will to get out of her life after he revealed to her that Phillip lied about the proposal acceptance (Source: ListenFirst Media, LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC, 10/28/19-11/3/19, ListenFirst Content Comments [YouTube], Brand Type: TV Shows, Primetime, Broadcast, Drama).

“Chicago Fire” (1.2 rating in 18-49, 7.4 million viewers overall from 9-10 p.m. ET) tied as the #1 entertainment show of the night in adults 18-49 and was the #2 non-sports show in total viewers. Week to week, “Fire” maintained 100% in 18-49 to equal the show’s highest rating, excluding crossovers, since Feb. 20. In the timeslot, “Fire” ranked finished #1 excluding sports among the Big 4 nets in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, total viewers and all other key measures. Social: “Chicago Fire” was the second most social scripted primetime program of Wednesday, with 150,000 Total Interactions, a +50% increase from the prior week’s 100,000 and a +31% increase from last season’s average 114,000 (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/30/19, Percent Share, Primetime, All Series). “Fire” had the week’s first and third most commented-on Facebook posts for all primetime broadcast dramas, with the most commented-on post being a link to an article revealing Dawson is returning for the winter finale and the third-most being a still of Casey from this week’s episode (Source: ListenFirst Media, LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC, 10/28/19-11/3/19, ListenFirst Content Comments [Facebook], Brand Type: TV Shows, Primetime, Broadcast, Drama).

“Chicago P.D.” (1.1 rating in 18-49, 6.3 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) ranked #1 in the timeslot among the ABC, CBS and NBC dramas in 10 of 10 key measures – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers (including a tie in men 18-34). In 18-49, “P.D.” beat the timeslot’s ABC and CBS competition combined (1.1 vs. a combined 1.0). “P.D.” maintained 100% week to week in 18-49 (1.1 vs. 1.1) to match the show’s highest 18-49 rating for a non-crossover episode since Feb. 6 (1.2).

Thursday
“Superstore” (0.7 rating in 18-49, 3.1 million viewers overall from 8-8:30 p.m. ET) grew +8% week to week in total viewers (3.1 million vs. 2.9 million) to deliver the show’s most-watched episode since April 11 (3.4 million). Social: Last week’s “Superstore” garnered 68,000 Total Interactions, an increase of +206% from the prior week’s episode (22,000) and +82% from last season’s average (37,000), making it the series’ most social 30-minute episode ever (the one-hour Season 4 finale had 117,000 Total Interactions).

“Perfect Harmony” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall from 8:30-9 p.m. ET) equaled the show’s series high in 18-49 and generated its most-watched episode since the series premiere (2.7 million on Sept. 26). “Perfect Harmony” grew +0.1 of a point or +25% week to week in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.4) and +19% in total viewers (2.4 million vs. 2.0 million).

“The Good Place” (0.6 rating in 18-49, 2.2 million viewers overall from 9-9:30 p.m. ET) maintained 100% week to week in 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.6) and increased by +15% in total viewers (2.2 million vs. 1.9 million), growing to its most-watched episode since the Sept. 26 season opener (2.4 million). Social: “The Good Place” was the most social scripted primetime comedy of the week, with 203,000 Total Interactions, up +124% from prior week’s episode (113,000) and up +90% from last season’s sixth episode (96,000) (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/28/19-11/3/19, Percent Share, Primetime, Comedy Series). Ted Danson had the most engaging post on Thursday night from a primetime comedy series, generating 55,000 Total Interactions with an Instagram post of Michael and Bad Janet side-by-side (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/31/19, Percent Share, Comedy Series).

“Will & Grace” (0.6 rating in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall from 9:30-10 p.m. ET) built on last week’s season premiere by +20% in 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.5) and by +15% in total viewers (2.6 million vs. 2.3 million), increasing versus its lead-in in total viewers by +19% in a timeslot where NBC comedies last year averaged a 14% decline versus lead-in. “W&G” also retained 100% of its lead-in in adults 18-49 in a half-hour where NBC comedies last season averaged a 79% retention of lead-in. Social: “Will & Grace” was the second most social scripted primetime comedy of Thursday night, with 96,000 Total Interactions, up +3% from last season’s average of 93,000 (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/31/19, Percent Share, Primetime, Comedy Series).

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (0.7 rating in 18-49, 4.0 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) equaled the show’s high since Sept. 26 during Premiere Week in 18-49 (0.8) and grew in total viewers for a third week in a row to deliver its most-watched episode since March 21 (4.3 million). “SVU” was up +17% week to week in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.6) and +6% in total viewers (4.0 million vs. 3.7 million).

Friday
“The Blacklist” (0.6 rating in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) hit a new season high in adults 18-49 and matched the show’s series high for a Friday telecast, while equaling NBC’s highest 18-49 rating in the timeslot with regular programming since March 2, 2018 (0.7 with “Blindspot”). In total viewers, it was the most-watched “Blacklist” since the show’s Oct. 4 season premiere (4.1 million). Social: With 44,0000 Total Interactions, “The Blacklist” was up +14% versus the prior week’s 39,000.

“Dateline NBC” (0.6 rating in 18-49, 0.9 in adults 25-54, 3.6 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 newsmagazine of the night in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers. Week to week, “Dateline” grew +0.2 of a point or +50% in adults 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.4), +29% in adults 25-54 (0.9 vs. 0.7) and +17% in total viewers (3.6 million vs. 3.0 million), to equal the show’s highs for a Friday edition in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 since June 7 (0.7 in 18-49, 1.0 in 25-54) and hit a high in total viewers since Oct. 11 (3.7 million viewers).

L+7: “Dateline” is growing this season by +51% going from L+SD to L+7 Nielsens in 18-49 rating (from a 0.55 to a 0.83) and by more than +1.2 million viewers overall (3.4 million to 4.7 million).

Sunday
NBC Sports coverage of New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens “Sunday Night Football” (6.7 rating in 18-49, 22.0 million viewers overall from 8:23-11:21 p.m. ET) won win the night over the combined Big competiton the night in all key ratings measures. The game averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 22.6 Million Viewers, marking the fifth “SNF” game to top 22 million this season, up from two at this point last year.

The Nov. 3 game was the most-watched Ravens’ Sunday night game on NBC (and among all night of the week, ranks second behind only the 2013 NFL Kickoff Game versus the Denver Broncos featuring Peyton Manning among all 15 Ravens games on NBC since 2006.

The 22.6 million viewers for the Patriots-Ravens game is the third-best Week 9 delivery in 14 seasons of the NBC “Sunday Night Football” package.