A couple live NFL broadcasts and the first 5 games of this year’s World Series dominated the broadcast ratings for the sports-heavy week of Oct. 21.
Once again, “Sunday Night Football” gave NBC the week’s no. 1 broadcast in both the adults 18-49 (5.7 rating) and total viewer (18.32 million) charts, despite being down a bit from the previous week’s “SNF” game. FOX’s “Thursday Night Football” broadcast placed second in both charts with a 4.0 rating and 13.77 million viewers.
FOX’s broadcasts of the first 5 games of the World Series were all among the week’s 10 highest-rated and most-watched broadcasts as well. Of the week’s non-sports shows, NBC’s “This is Us” generated the highest 18-49 demo rating (1.6).
In the network standings, FOX beat the rest of the broadcast networks in the adults 18-49 demo for the fourth consecutive week, with a 2.6 average rating. NBC placed second in the demo with a 1.4, while FOX topped the week in the total viewers measure (10.94 million).
Here are the network standings for the week of Oct. 21-27, 2019 and the season so far.
| Oct. 21-27 | ABC | CBS | CW | FOX | NBC | TEL | UNI |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share (rank) | 0.9/4 (3t) | 0.9/4 (3t) | 0.3/1 (7) | 2.6/13 (1) | 1.4/7 (2) | 0.4/2 (5t) | 0.4/2 (5t) |
| Viewers in millions (rank) | 4.30 (4) | 6.54 (2) | 0.88 (7) | 10.94 (1) | 6.45 (3) | 1.28 (5) | 1.16 (6) |
| Season to date | ABC | CBS | CW | FOX | NBC | TEL | UNI |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share (rank) | 1.1/5 (3t) | 1.1/5 (3t) | 0.3/1 (7) | 2.2/11 (1) | 1.8/9 (2) | 0.4/2 (5t) | 0.4/2 (5t) |
| Viewers in millions (rank) | 5.48 (4) | 7.78 (3) | 1.04 (7) | 7.94 (1) | 7.85 (2) | 1.22 (6) | 1.32 (5) |
Current week ratings are live + same-day. Season-to-date ratings are “most current,” a combination of Live +7 and same-day ratings.
Here are the program rankings:
Top 25 broadcast shows (including ties) in adults 18-49 for Oct. 21-27, 2019
| Rank | Show | Net | Day | Time | 18-49 rating |
18-49 viewers (000s)
|
| 1 | SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | NBC | Sun. | 8:23 PM | 5.7 | 7,377 |
| 2 | THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | FOX | Thurs. | 8:23 PM | 4.0 | 5,168 |
| 3 | SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | NBC | Sun. | 8:14 PM | 3.6 | 4,627 |
| 4 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 1 – S | FOX | Tues. | 8:04 PM | 3.1 | 4,001 |
| 5 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 2 – S | FOX | Weds. | 8:03 PM | 3.0 | 3,866 |
| 6 | FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 3 | NBC | Sun. | 7:54 PM | 2.9 | 3,796 |
| 7 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 3 – S | FOX | Fri. | 8:01 PM | 2.8 | 3,679 |
| 8 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 5 – S | FOX | Sun. | 8:02 PM | 2.7 | 3,434 |
| 9 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 4 – S | FOX | Sat. | 8:04 PM | 2.3 | 2,924 |
| 10 | THURSDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | FOX | Thurs. | 8:06 PM | 2.1 | 2,764 |
| 11 | SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | ABC | Sat. | 7:37 PM | 1.8 | 2,339 |
| 12 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | Sun. | 7:41 PM | 1.7 | 2,259 |
| 13 | FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 2 | NBC | Sun. | 7:29 PM | 1.6 | 2,107 |
| THIS IS US | NBC | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 1.6 | 2,038 | |
| 15 | 911 | FOX | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 1.5 | 1,963 |
| 16 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,744 |
| THE VOICE – MON | NBC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,686 | |
| THE VOICE – TUE | NBC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,673 | |
| SURVIVOR | CBS | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,654 | |
| GREAT PUMPKIN, C. BROWN – S | ABC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,641 | |
| 21 | CHICAGO FIRE | NBC | Weds. | 9:00 PM | 1.2 | 1,610 |
| CHICAGO MED | NBC | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 1.2 | 1,519 | |
| 23 | CHICAGO PD | NBC | Weds. | 10:00 PM | 1.1 | 1,487 |
| YOUNG SHELDON | CBS | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 1.1 | 1,445 | |
| NCIS | CBS | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 1.1 | 1,436 |
Top 25 broadcast shows in total viewers for Oct. 21-27, 2019
| Rank | Show | Net | Day | Time |
Viewers (000s)
|
| 1 | SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | NBC | Sun. | 8:23 PM | 18,323 |
| 2 | THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | FOX | Thurs. | 8:23 PM | 13,773 |
| 3 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 1 – S | FOX | Tues. | 8:04 PM | 12,283 |
| 4 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 3 – S | FOX | Fri. | 8:01 PM | 12,220 |
| 5 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 2 – S | FOX | Weds. | 8:03 PM | 12,014 |
| 6 | SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | NBC | Sun. | 8:14 PM | 11,872 |
| 7 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 5 – S | FOX | Sun. | 8:02 PM | 11,390 |
| 8 | NCIS | CBS | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 11,354 |
| 9 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | Sun. | 7:41 PM | 11,217 |
| 10 | FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 4 – S | FOX | Sat. | 8:04 PM | 10,219 |
| 11 | FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 3 | NBC | Sun. | 7:54 PM | 9,517 |
| 12 | FBI | CBS | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 8,878 |
| 13 | YOUNG SHELDON | CBS | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 8,665 |
| 14 | THURSDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | FOX | Thurs. | 8:06 PM | 8,301 |
| 15 | THE VOICE – TUE | NBC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 8,080 |
| 16 | THE VOICE – MON | NBC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 8,046 |
| 17 | CHICAGO FIRE | NBC | Weds. | 9:00 PM | 7,877 |
| 18 | CHICAGO MED | NBC | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 7,842 |
| 19 | THIS IS US | NBC | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 7,073 |
| 20 | BLUE BLOODS | CBS | Fri. | 10:00 PM | 6,909 |
| 21 | SURVIVOR | CBS | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 6,836 |
| 22 | SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | ABC | Sat. | 7:37 PM | 6,754 |
| 23 | HAWAII FIVE-0 | CBS | Fri. | 8:00 PM | 6,683 |
| 24 | NCIS: NEW ORLEANS | CBS | Tues. | 10:00 PM | 6,650 |
| 25 | CHICAGO PD | NBC | Weds. | 10:00 PM | 6,647 |
All program ratings are live + same-day.
Source: The Nielsen Company.