By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Judging by the ratings, NBC will be happy to invite old friend Will Ferrell back to “Saturday Night Live” whenever he wants.
The late-night comedy show reached 7.47 million viewers for this past weekend’s show with Ferrell as host, the Nielsen company said. It was the most-watched episode of “Saturday Night Live” this season. Chris Stapleton was the musical guest on the night before he won three Grammy Awards.
The news wasn’t so good for the Grammys, which saw its audience slip to 19.8 million viewers for CBS on Sunday. That’s down 24 percent from last year.
Music’s big night was missing some of its biggest stars, with popular mainstream artists Adele, Beyonce and Taylor Swift not a part of the broadcast. Bruno Mars was the top winner with six Grammys.
The two network feel-good series, ABC’s “The Good Doctor” and NBC’s “This is Us,’ showed their strength with original episodes and finished among Nielsen’s top five for the week.
CBS easily won the week in prime time, averaging 8.5 million viewers. ABC had 4.6 million viewers, NBC had 4.2 million, Fox had 3 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Telemundo had 1.6 million, the CW had 1.3 million and ION Television had 1.1 million.
Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.79 million viewers in prime time as it celebrates 16 consecutive years atop the cable news ratings. MSNBC had 1.8 million, HGTV averaged 1.63 million, USA had 1.57 million and History had 1.48 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.6 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 9.3 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.9 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Jan. 22-28. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “Grammy Awards,” CBS, 19.8 million.
2. “NCIS,” CBS, 13.97 million.
3. “Bull,” CBS, 11.08 million.
4. “The Good Doctor,” ABC, 9.61 million.
5. “This is Us,” NBC, 9.38 million.
6. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.31 million.
7. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 8.62 million.
8. “Ellen’s Game of Games,” NBC, 7.57 million.
9. “Kevin Can Wait,” CBS, 7.37 million.
10. “Grammy Awards Red Carpet,” CBS, 6.96 million.
11. “The Big Bang Theory,” 6.9 million.
12. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.85 million.
13. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.848 million.
14. “Man With a Plan,” CBS, 6.74 million.
15. “911,” Fox, 6.57 million.
16. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 6.54 million.
17. “The Bachelor,” ABC, 6.37 million.
18. “The Amazing Race,” CBS, 6.18 million.
19. “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 6.17 million.
20. “The Goldbergs,” ABC, 6.09 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
Stakes Are High In Next Week’s Presidential Debate–For Harris, Trump and ABC News
Hours after ABC News released the rules for next Tuesday's presidential debate, resolving a final dispute in Donald Trump's favor, the former president was on the attack — against ABC News.
"I think a lot of people will be watching to see how nasty they are, how unfair they are," he said Wednesday on a Fox News town hall.
It was an unsubtle reminder that Trump and Kamala Harris aren't the only ones with a lot at stake next week. The same is true for ABC News and moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, in what is the only scheduled debate between the presidential contenders this fall.
Multiple outlets will televise and stream it. But unlike in past years, when presidential debates were organized by a bipartisan commission, this is solely an ABC News production. It won't include a live audience.
"This is a huge opportunity for ABC News," said Ben Sherwood, former ABC News president and now publisher & CEO of the Daily Beast. "It's like getting to host, moderate and produce the Super Bowl of politics. It gives the network luster at a time broadcast television is in decline."
That is, of course, if things go well.
ABC sees it as a 'huge responsibility'
The ABC debate was set last spring, when President Joe Biden was the likely Democratic nominee. When he dropped out, it was unclear if the debate would go on. Harris and Trump eventually gave the go-ahead, although the Republican's repeated criticism of ABC last month raised questions about it again.
It all had little effect on ABC's planning, said Rick Klein, the network's Washington bureau chief. "It truly wasn't a lot of turmoil on our end of things," he said.
Biden and Trump debated on June 27 — what seems a lifetime ago. That event was put on by... Read More