You’ll be excused if you didn’t even realize that the 2019-2020 TV season ended on Wednesday night; since the world has been on lockdown and the pandemic has dramatically changed the look and feel of primetime over the past few weeks, everything seems a bit off kilter. But the season did end with a good old fashioned huge ratings event: The Season 3 finale of “The Masked Singer,” a show that almost felt of another time by its end.

“The Masked Singer” kicked off its most recent season as Fox’s post-Super Bowl program on February 2; by the time it ended 18 weeks later, the world was a very different place. “The Masked Singer” remained a powerhouse, however: Even if the post-Super Bowl special isn’t included, the competition series is easily the year’s top-rated entertainment series among adults 18-49.

Meanwhile, on the total viewer side, with “The Big Bang Theory” retired, another CBS staple recaptures the most-watched entertainment series crown: “NCIS,” now in its 17th season, is tops, with 15.3 million viewers.

Of course, ultimately it’s NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” that once again dominated in all measures — both adults 18-49 (6.0 rating) and total viewers (20 million). Nothing else comes close. It’s why the NFL — and the networks — are so anxious to have sports back and running by fall.

As we’ve written before, ratings just aren’t as critical as they used to be, given the multiple ways people now consume content — and the long tail of that consumption. But they remain the most common way to compare the linear performance of shows both on broadcast and cable.

Here’s a final look at some of the hits and misses of 2019–2020, followed by our complete list of the 100 most-watched shows of the season, according to both adults 18-49 and total viewers, using the most recent live+7 ratings (which include seven days’ worth of DVR and video on-demand usage).

WINNERS

Fox: Not a bad first year for the now-independent Fox network. Yep, the Super Bowl helped tremendously, as did Thursday Night Football. But that was the point, right? Fox’s strategy, now that it has uncoupled from 20th Century Fox assets, has been to rethink what it is to be a broadcast network in an age where it’s tough to be a broadcast network. And thanks to sports, and “The Masked Singer” — which the network owns and produces — it’s been a solid season. This is Fox’s first 18-49 No. 1 finish in eight years, and it’s the only major English-language network to be up year-over-year in the demo and total viewers. (Univision is also up among the major Spanish nets.) According to the network, even its programming on Hulu is up 32% year-over-year. “The Masked Singer” was so hot that its spinoff, “The Masked Singer: After the Mask,” also ranked higher thank shows that probably cost ten times to produce.

“90 Day Fiancé”: Before people were talking about “Tiger King,” it was TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé” franchise that had taken the crown as TV’s most popular guilty pleasure. Three — yes, three! — different editions of “90 Day Fiancé” made the top 100 list this year, including “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days,” “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way,” and the original series. And if TLC doesn’t already have enough to celebrate, another one of its guilty pleasures, “Dr. Pimple Popper,” manages to sneak on to the total viewers chart.

Sports: The NFL, of course, dominates as usual, with Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football all leading the 18-49 ranker (and with the exception of “NCIS” sneaking in there, also the total viewer list). But look at what made a last minute jump to No. 5 on this year’s 18-49 list: ESPN’s Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance.” That gave ESPN two series in the top five, easily making it cable’s dominant force on the chart. A consolation prize, perhaps, for ESPN right now, given how it’s struggling to figure out how to program a sports network in a country with no sports.

Dick Wolf: Everything’s coming up Dick Wolf. His “FBI: Most Wanted” is the season’s most-watched new series, and in total viewers, he clocks four out of the eight most-watched scripted series in primetime. His three “Chicago” shows for NBC and two “FBI” shows for CBS remain durable franchises.

LOSERS

Comedy: It’s tough out there for laffers. CBS’ “Young Sheldon” is the most-watched comedy in primetime, ranked No. 9 with 11.4 million viewers — down from 14.6 million last year. There are only five comedies total in the 2+ top 50 ranker. Among adults 18-49, the performance is also weak: The top-rated comedy, Modern Family, is just outside the top 10 — and that show has just left the airwaves for good. We also listed “comedy” as a loser last year, and the prognosis has only worsened.

“The Walking Dead”: Sorry, zombies. “The Walking Dead” continues to be the top-rated cable entertainment program. But remember when it used to be TV’s top-rated show, period? Now, sadly, the slide continues, and it’s just out of the top 10, with a 1.9 rating — compared to a 3.2 last year, 5.3 rating in 2017-2018, a 8.0 in 2016-2017, and yes, a 9.6 in 2015-2016.

“Tommy”: With several renewals and cancelations still pending, CBS’ “Tommy,” starring Edie Falco, earns the distinction of being the most-watched show (7.7 million) to be canceled so far from this past season.

THE 100 TOP-RATED SERIES OF 2019-2020 (ADULTS 18-49)

Rank PROGRAM (NETWORK) RATING /SHARE 18-49 VIEWER (000)
1. NFL Sunday Night Football (NBC) 6.0/26 7,819
2. NFL Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL) 4.5/22 5,799
3. NFL Monday Night Football (ESPN) 4.1/21 5,370
4. The Masked Singer (Fox) 3.2/16 4,138
5. The Last Dance (ESPN) 2.9/15 3,811
This Is Us (NBC) 2.9/13 3,713
7. The Bachelor (ABC) 2.4/12 3,120
8. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 2.3/12 3,028
9-1-1 (Fox) 2.3/11 2,983
10. Chicago PD (NBC) 2.0/11 2,605
11. The Walking Dead (AMC) 1.9/8 2,499
Survivor (CBS) 1.9/10 2,495
Chicago Fire (NBC) 1.9/9 2,480
Modern Family (ABC) 1.9/9 2,473
Lego Masters (Fox) 1.9/9 2,416
16. The Good Doctor (ABC) 1.8/9 2,386
9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox) 1.8/9 2,325
The Voice (NBC) 1.8/8 2,308
19. Chicago Med (NBC) 1.7/8 2,240
NCIS (CBS) 1.7/8 2,207
American Idol-Monday (ABC) 1.7/8 2,183
New Amsterdam (NBC) 1.7/9 2,147
23. Young Sheldon (CBS) 1.6/9 2,100
American Horror Story (FX) 1.6/8 2,090
The Conners (ABC) 1.6/8 2,086
The Voice-Tuesday (NBC) 1.6/8 2,082
A Million Little Things (ABC) 1.6/8 2,020
28. Station 19 (ABC) 1.5/8 2,002
American Idol (ABC) 1.5/7 1,974
Manifest (NBC) 1.5/8 1,938
31. The Masked Singer: After the Mask (Fox) 1.4/7 1,870
Law & Order: SVU (NBC) 1.4/7 1,866
Criminal Minds (CBS) 1.4/7 1,861
America’s Got Talent Champions (NBC) 1.4/7 1,839
FBI (CBS) 1.4/7 1,814
Saturday Night Football (ABC) 1.4/8 1,793
Prodigal Son (Fox) 1.4/6 1,790
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days (TLC) 1.4/6 1,758
39. The Rookie (ABC) 1.3/7 1,720
Mom (CBS) 1.3/6 1,646
The Resident (Fox) 1.3/6 1,644
The Goldbergs (ABC) 1.3/6 1,636
The Neighborhood (CBS) 1.3/6 1,624
44. The Good Place (NBC) 1.2/6 1,598
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) 1.2/7 1,576
Seal Team (CBS) 1.2/6 1,574
Empire (Fox) 1.2/6 1,548
60 Minutes (CBS) 1.2/6 1,544
Last Man Standing (Fox) 1.2/6 1,539
S.W.A.T. (CBS) 1.2/6 1,536
Bull (CBS) 1.2/6 1,533
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way (TLC) 1.2/5 1,531
Ellen’s Game of Games (NBC) 1.2/6 1,515
Family Guy (Fox) 1.2/5 1,499
Blue Bloods (CBS) 1.2/6 1,497
56. Hawai’i Five-0 (CBS) 1.1/6 1,469
The Simpsons (Fox) 1.1/5 1,468
90 Day Fiancé (TLC) 1.1/5 1,456
Superstore (NBC) 1.1/6 1,434
Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo) 1.1/5 1,416
Dancing with the Stars (ABC) 1.1/5 1,413
Evil (CBS) 1.1/6 1,411
Stumptown (ABC) 1.1/6 1,410
NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) 1.1/6 1,410
For Life (ABC) 1.1/6 1,393
How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) 1.1/6 1,389
The Blacklist (NBC) 1.1/6 1,378
Fox College Football: Big 12 Prime (Fox) 1.1/6 1,378
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) 1.1/5 1,372
Curse of Oak Island (History) 1.1/5 1,372
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation S3 (MTV) 1.1/5 1,371
Bob’s Burgers (Fox) 1.1/5 1,365
73. Below Deck Mediterranean (Bravo) 1.0/5 1,350
Magnum P.I. (CBS) 1.0/6 1,344
Mayans M.C. (FX) 1.0/6 1,337
Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS) 1.0/5 1,333
Deputy (Fox) 1.0/5 1,331
The Unicorn (CBS) 1.0/5 1,307
Shark Tank (ABC) 1.0/5 1,304
Single Parents (ABC) 1.0/5 1,303
Songland (NBC) 1.0/5 1,288
Below Deck (Bravo) 1.0/4 1,285
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation S3B (MTV) 1.0/5 1,280
American Housewife (ABC) 1.0/6 1,277
Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo) 1.0/5 1,268
Emergence (ABC) 1.0/5 1,256
Man with a Plan (CBS) 1.0/5 1,254
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Thu. (ABC) 1.0/6 1,250
Love & Hip Hop Atlanta 9 (VH1) 1.0/5 1,239
The Challenge: Total Madness (MTV) 1.0/5 1,238
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC) 1.0/5 1,233
Will & Grace (NBC) 1.0/5 1,231
MacGyver (CBS) 1.0/5 1,231
94. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) 0.9/5 1,228
Schooled (ABC) 0.9/5 1,227
Good Girls (NBC) 0.9/5 1,222
Broke (CBS) 0.9/5 1,215
Bless This Mess (ABC) 0.9/5 1,212
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (Bravo) 0.9/5 1,197
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) 0.9/4 1,190
Teen Mom II S9B (MTV) 0.9/4 1,183
Love & Hip Hop Hollywood 6 (VH1) 0.9/4 1,172
All Rise (CBS) 0.9/4 1,169
24 Hours to Hell and Back (Fox) 0.9/4 1,156
Mixed-ish (ABC) 0.9/4 1,153
The Challenge: War of Worlds (MTV) 0.9/4 1,138
Basketball Wives 8 (VH1) 0.9/4 1,137
Love & Hip Hop 10 (VH1) 0.9/4 1,131
Keeping Up with the Kardashians (E!) 0.9/4 1,130
WWE Friday Night Smackdown (Fox) 0.9/5 1,128
Vanderpump Rules (Bravo) 0.9/4 1,107
Bluff City Law (NBC) 0.9/4 1,105
Source: Nielsen, Preliminary Live+7 Days, Prime, Original telecasts only. Season through 5/10/2020. Programs with 2 or more telecasts.

TOP 100 SHOWS OF 2019-2020, TOTAL VIEWERS

America’s most-watched series of the 2019-2020 season are …

Rank Title (Network) VIEWERS (000)
1. NFL Sunday Night Football (NBC) 19,993
2. NCIS (CBS) 15,336
3. NFL Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL Network) 15,048
4. NFL Monday Night Football (ESPN) 12,750
5. FBI (CBS) 12,552
6. Blue Bloods (CBS) 11,962
7. Chicago Fire (NBC) 11,699
8. This Is Us (NBC) 11,549
9. Young Sheldon (CBS) 11,449
10. Chicago PD (NBC) 11,228
11. Chicago Med (NBC) 11,220
12. The Good Doctor (ABC) 10,824
13. The Masked Singer (Fox) 10,783
14. Bull (CBS) 10,607
15. 60 Minutes (CBS) 10,459
16. 9-1-1 (Fox) 10,416
17. The Voice (NBC) 10,367
18. FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) 10,204
19. The Voice-Tuesday (NBC) 9,728
20. New Amsterdam (NBC) 9,700
21. Hawai’i Five-0 (CBS) 9,684
22. NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) 9,583
23. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 9,386
24. Survivor (CBS) 9,229
25. 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox) 9,085
26. America’s Got Talent Champions (NBC) 8,922
27. Magnum P.I. (CBS) 8,914
28. NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) 8,913
29. Station 19 (ABC) 8,550
30. American Idol — Monday (CBS) 8,536
31. Mom (CBS) 8,524
32. American Idol (ABC) 8,336
33. The Rookie (ABC) 8,185
34. Seal Team  (CBS) 8,020
35. Criminal Minds (CBS) 8,006
36. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) 7,998
37. The Bachelor (ABC) 7,934
38. The Conners (ABC) 7,729
39. Manifest (NBC) 7,698
40. The Neighborhood (CBS) 7,694
41. Tommy (CBS) 7,685
42. All Rise (CBS) 7,643
43. God Friended Me (CBS) 7,616
44. Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS) 7,538
45. MacGyver (CBS) 7,500
46. Man with a Plan (CBS) 7,468
47. A Million Little Things (ABC) 7,262
48. S.W.A.T. (CBS) 7,255
49. Modern Family (ABC) 7,099
50. The Unicorn (CBS) 7,095
51. Broke (CBS) 6,916
52. The Blacklist (NBC) 6,913
53. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Thu. (ABC) 6,879
54. Madam Secretary (CBS) 6,737
55. The Last Dance (ESPN) 6,709
56. The Resident (Fox) 6,704
57. Carol’s Second Act (CBS) 6,594
58. Law & Order: SVU (NBC) 6,455
59. Last Man Standing (Fox) 6,403
60. Deputy (Fox) 6,340
61. Evil (CBS) 6,287
62. Bluff City Law (NBC) 6,239
63. Stumptown (ABC) 5,963
64. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC) 5,849
65. Prodigal Son (Fox) 5,830
66. America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) 5,702
67. Emergence (ABC) 5,669
68. Lego Masters (Fox) 5,598
69. Lincoln Rhyme (NBC) 5,574
70. The Masked Singer: After the Mask (Fox) 5,559
71. The Walking Dead (AMC) 5,373
72. Ellen’s Game of Games (NBC) 5,314
73. The Goldbergs (ABC) 5,311
74. Saturday Night Football (ABC) 5,191
75. Shark Tank (ABC) 4,928
76. Songland (NBC) 4,918
77. Undercover Boss (CBS) 4,915
78. Dateline Friday (NBC) 4,866
79. Bless This Mess (ABC) 4,722
80. Curse of Oak Island (History) 4,650
81. American Housewife (ABC) 4,500
82. For Life (ABC) 4,360
83. 20/20 (ABC) 4,350
84. How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) 4,225
85. 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days (TLC) 4,047
86. Empire (Fox) 4,043
87. Fox College Football: Big 12 Prime (Fox) 4,030
88. 48 Hours (CBS) 4,022
89. Will & Grace (NBC) 4,010
90. Council of Dads (NBC) 4,008
91. Kids Say the Darndest Things (ABC) 3,966
92. Schooled (ABC) 3,929
93. The Baker and the Beauty (ABC) 3,887
94. Mixed-ish (ABC) 3,820
95. Superstore (NBC) 3,816
96. Black-ish (ABC) 3,719
97. Dateline Mystery (NBC) 3,715
98. Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC) 3,658
99. Single Parents (ABC) 3,646
100. The Good Place (NBC) 3,563
Source: Nielsen, Preliminary Live+7 Days, Prime, Original telecasts only. Season through 5/10/2020. Programs with 2 or more telecasts.

THE MOST-WATCHED BROADCAST NETWORKS OF 2019-2020 (BY TOTAL VIEWERS)

  1. CBS (7,676,000; down 14%)
  2. NBC (6,628,000; down 9%)
  3. Fox (6,391,000; up 17%)
  4. ABC (5,458,000; down 3%)
  5. Univision (1,461,000; up 6%)
  6. Ion (1,282,000; down 2%)
  7. Telemundo (1,107,000; down 8%)
  8. The CW (1,040,000; down 22%)
  9. Me TV (740,000; up 5%)
  10. Unimas (523,000; up 40%)

THE TOP-RATED BROADCAST NETWORKS OF 2019-2020 (BY ADULTS 18-49)

1. Fox (1.7; up 14%)
2. NBC (1.4; down 16%)
3. ABC (1.1; down 11%)
t. CBS (1.1; down 31%)
5. Univision (0.5; up 6%)
6. Telemundo (0.4; down 10%)
7. The CW (0.3; down 29%)
t. Ion (0.3; down 2%)
9.Unimas (0.2; up 46%)
10. Bounce TV (0.1; up 15%)

Source: Nielsen, NPM (09/23/2019-04/26/2020, Live+7 and 04/27/2020-05/10/2020, Live+SD) vs. (09/24/2018-04/28/2019, Live+7 and 04/29/2019-05/12/2019, Live+SD) Mon-Sat 8pm-11pm/Sun 7pm-11pm.





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