NBC Weekly Ratings Release: December 2 - 8, 2019

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Dec. 10, 2019 — NBC has averaged a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.8 million viewers overall for the primetime week of Dec. 2-8, according to “live plus same day” figures from Nielsen Media Research. That places NBC #2 for the week in adults 18-49 behind only Fox, which was boosted by high-rated football coverage on both Thursday and Saturday nights. NBC’s Seahawks-Rams “Sunday Night Football” ranked as the #1 primetime telecast of the week in adults 18-49 and among non-sports programs, NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and Monday’s “The Voice” tied for #6, while Tuesday’s “Voice” tied for #10 and “How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming” tied for #12.

In total viewers, Monday’s “Voice” was the week’s #3 entertainment telecast, while “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” ranked #6 and was the #1 Christmas special of the week and of the past year.

Season to date, NBC’s ranks #1 as the most-watched network in total viewers, marking the first time since 1999 that NBC has led in total viewers at this point in the season.

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 11 Averages
Adult 18-49 Rating, “live plus same day,” Dec. 2-8
FOX…2.1      NBC…1.3      CBS…1.0
ABC…0.8      CW…0.3

Total Viewers
FOX…7.9 million      CBS…6.6 million      NBC…5.8 million
ABC…4.4 million      CW…0.8 million

NBC highlights for the week of Dec. 2-8:

Monday
NBC won Monday night among the Big 4 networks in total viewers and tied for #1 among those nets in adults 25-54.

“The Voice” (1.1 rating in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) delivered its most-watched Monday telecast since Oct. 28 (8.2 million), to score as the #1 entertainment show of the night in total viewers. “Voice” maintained 100% week to week in 18-49 (1.1 vs. 1.1) and grew +10% in total viewers (8.0 million vs. 7.3 million).

The premiere of the multi-night crafting event “Making It” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.8 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) maintained the 0.5 rating NBC scored in the timeslot for each of the prior seven weeks. Delayed Viewing: Season 1 of the series more than doubled with digital and linear delayed viewing (from a 0.9 rating in “live plus same day” Nielsens to a 2.0 with all delayed viewing tallied to date). In total viewers, the show has grown by more than +50% (4.0 million to 6.1 million).

Tuesday
NBC won Tuesday in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34.
An encore telecast of the 1966 animated classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1.1 rating in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall from 8-8:30 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, jumping +57% versus the special’s prior telecast in 18-49 (1.1 vs. 0.7 last Christmas, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018 from 8-8:30 p.m.) and +2.2 million persons or +74% in total viewers (5.2 million vs. 3.0 million).

“How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming” (0.9 rating in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall from 8:30-9 p.m. ET) finishedas the #3 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 behind only “The Grinch” and “The Voice” and tied for #1 in the timeslot in adults 18-49.

“The Voice” (1.0 rating in 18-49, 6.4 million viewers overall from 9-10:01 p.m. ET), despite moving to the 9-10 p.m. time period, ranked #1 in the hour in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, adults 18-34 and total viewers and was the #2 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 behind only “The Grinch.”

Night 2 of the multi-night crafting event “Making It” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) retained100% versus the prior night’s season premiere in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5 Monday from 10:01-11 p.m.) and finished within 0.1 of a rating point of #1 in the timeslot among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49.

Wednesday
“The 87th Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center” (1.1 rating in 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) scored as the most-watched primetime Christmas special on the Big 4 networks in the year since the 2018 “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” telecast (8.4 million on Nov. 28, 2018), topping Monday’s encore of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (5.7 million) and Thursday’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” (5.0 million). It was the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in total viewers ahead of all shows on those nets, including “The Masked Singer.” Night 3 of the multi-night crafting event “Making It” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) retained 100% of the show’s Monday and Tuesday 18-49 ratings, making it the first alternative series this fall to maintain its premiere rating through the show’s second and third episodes. In the 10 p.m. hour, “Making It” tied for #1 among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49.

Thursday
An encore telecast of “A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special” (0.6 rating in 18-49, 3.1 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) was up +0.1 of a rating point or +20% versus the special’s year-ago Thursday encore in 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.5 on Dec. 13, 2018 from 9-11 p.m.) and +1.0 million persons or +48% in total viewers (3.1 million vs. 2.1 million), and was also up +0.1 of a rating point or +20% versus NBC’s timeslot average last season in 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.5, L+SD excluding sports). The “SNL” special matched NBC’s highest in-season 18-49 rating in the timeslot, excluding sports, since April 7 (0.7) and scored the net’s best in-season total-viewer result in the slot excluding sports since Feb. 28 (3.4 million).

Night 4 of the multi-night crafting event “Making It” (0.4 rating in 18-49, 1.7 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) tied with the timeslot’s ABC and CBS competition in men 18-34 (0.2 each). Through four episodes, “Making It” maintained a steady rating among men 18-34 (0.2) and women 18-34 (0.3).

Friday
“The Blacklist” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 3.7 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) maintained 100% of NBC’s average in the timeslot last season in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5, L+SD non-sports) and was up +17% in total viewers (3.7 million vs. 3.1 million). Despite the prior week’s preemption, “Blacklist” retained 100% of its previous telecast in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5 on Nov. 22).

“Dateline NBC” (0.5 rating in 18-49, 0.9 in adults 25-54, 3.6 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET) delivered the show’s most-watched edition since Oct. 11 (3.7 million), while equaling the show’s high for a Friday edition in adults 25-54 since June 7 (1.0). Week to week, “Dateline” maintained 100% in adults 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5 from 10-11 p.m.) while increasing by +29% in adults 25-54 (0.9 vs. 0.7) and +26% in total viewers (3.6 million vs. 2.9 million).

Sunday
NBC Sports coverage of Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams “Sunday Night Football” (5.3 rating in 18-49, 17.9 million viewers overall from 8:23-11:07 p.m. ET) won the night in all key ratings measures – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers. Despite a 21-3 halftime score, the Seahawks-Rams telecast averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 18.3 million viewers.