Premiere Week Ratings, Sept. 23-29, 2019

NBC RANKS #1 FOR PREMIERE WEEK IN 18-49 FOR A RECORD 8TH YEAR IN A ROW & WINS WEEK 1 IN TOTAL VIEWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS

NBC'S TOTAL-VIEWER WIN BREAKS A 10-YEAR CBS PREMIERE WEEK WINNING STREAK

COWBOYS-SAINTS "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" FINISHES #1 FOR THE WEEK

RANKING IN THE TOP 20 IN 18-49 EXCLUDING SPORTS ARE "THIS IS US," BOTH NIGHTS OF "THE VOICE," "NEW AMSTERDAM" & ALL THREE "CHICAGO" DRAMAS; "US" IS THE WEEK'S #1 SCRIPTED SHOW

THE "VOICE" SEASON PREMIERE IS UP +55% VS. LAST SEASON'S FINALE, HITS THE SHOW'S HIGH SINCE MARCH 18; "BLUFF CITY" TOPS NBC'S MAY SWEEP TIMESLOT AVERAGE

"THIS IS US" IS #1 TUESDAY NIGHT, "THE VOICE" IS #2, "NEW AMSTERDAM" MATCHES ITS HIGH SINCE LAST NOVEMBER

L+3: THROUGH THE SEASON'S FIRST FOUR NIGHTS, "THIS IS US" WAS THE ONLY BIG 4 SHOW TO GROW BY MORE THAN A FULL 18-49 RATING POINT IN L+3, WHILE "NEW AMSTERDAM" SEWED UP THE BIGGEST TOTAL-VIEWER LIFT AT +4.6 MILLION

"CHICAGO" DRAMAS ARE THE #2-3-4 SHOWS OF THE NIGHT IN TOTAL VIEWERS, "MED" NEARLY MATCHES "MASKED SINGER" FROM 8-9 P.M. IN VIEWERS

L+3: "P.D." CAPTURES WEDNESDAY'S TOP L+3 LIFTS ON THE BIG 4 IN 18-49 AND TOTAL VIEWERS

ON THURSDAY, "SUPERSTORE" JUMPS +33% VS. LAST SEASON'S FINALE, "GOOD PLACE" & "SVU" MAINTAIN 100%, "PERFECT HARMONY" RETAINS 92% OF ITS TOTAL-VIEWER LEAD-IN

"DATELINE" GROWS +50% WEEK TO WEEK, EQUALS ITS 18-49 HIGH SINCE JUNE 7

WITH A TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY OF 24.7 MILLION VIEWERS, SUNDAY'S COWBOYS-SAINTS MATCHUP IS THE MOST-WATCHED NBC "SNF" WEEK 4 TELECAST EVER

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Oct. 1, 2019 - NBC has won the opening week of the 2019-20 primetime television season in total viewers and adults 18-49, according to "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research.

It's the first time NBC has won Premiere Week in total viewers in 18 years (since taking the week in 2001), and breaks a 10-year winning streak for CBS, which last lost a premiere week in 2008 to ABC.

The NBC win in adults 18-49 marks the eighth year in a row NBC has finished #1 or tied for #1 during Premiere Week in primetime's key demographic. It's the longest streak of Premiere Week #1 finishes in people meter history, dating back to 1987. Prior to this current NBC streak, the longest had been by ABC with five in a row from 2005 through 2009.

NBC's schedule was led by the week's #1 primetime program in 18-49 and total viewers, the Cowboys-Saints "Sunday Night Football" telecast. Among non-sports Big 4 primetime shows, Tuesday's "This Is Us" Ranked #2 (and was the week's #1 scripted series), Monday's "The Voice" finished #4, Tuesday's "Voice" tied for #5, "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D." tied for #12 and "Chicago Med" and "New Amsterdam" tied for #16.

With four nights in the books in terms of "live plus three day" Nielsen ratings, the biggest lifts of the week to date are from "This Is Us" in 18-49 (+1.11 ratings points, 1.84 to 2.95) and "New Amsterdam" in total viewers (+4.6 million, from 5.9 million to 10.5 million).

Extending back into the summer, this is the fourth week in a row NBC has ranked #1 in adults 18-49 and total viewers.

Weekly ratings are "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted.

Week 1 Averages

Adult 18-49 Rating, "live plus same day," Sept. 23-29
NBC... 1.8
Fox... 1.7
CBS... 1.0
ABC... 0.9
CW... 0.1

Total Viewers
NBC... 7.5 million
CBS... 6.9 million
Fox... 5.8 million
ABC... 4.7 million
CW... 0.6 million

NBC highlights for the week of Sept. 23-29:

NOTE: Primetime results are based on "fast affiliate time period" data from Nielsen Media Research. All ratings are "live plus same day" unless otherwise indicated.

Monday

NBC won the opening night of the new season among the Big 4 networks in adults, men and women 18-49, adults, men and women 25-54 and total viewers.

The premiere of "The Voice 17" (1.7 rating in 18-49, 8.9 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) jumped +55% above last spring's finale in 18-49 (1.7 vs. 1.1 from 9-11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21) and +20% in total viewers (8.9 million vs. 7.4 million), to score the show's highest 18-49 rating since March 18 in 18-49 (1.7) and biggest overall viewership since March 25 (9.0 million). Delayed Viewing / Digital / Social: The Sept. 23 "Voice" increased by +22% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.73 to a 2.11) and +1.7 million viewers overall (8.9 million to 10.6 million) after just three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Through last season, "The Voice" reached more than 94 million viewers who watched at least of portion of the series on digital or linear platforms. "The Voice 15" was the #1 Most-Social Broadcast Primetime Series across TV in the Fall of 2018, garnering 9.3 million Total Interactions. (Source: Nielsen Social SCR , 09/24/18-12/18/18, Primetime Daypart, Linear Window, Broadcast Series Only. Twitter [Organic + Owned], Facebook [owned only], Instagram [owned only].)

The series premiere of "Bluff City Law" (0.8 rating in 18-49, 4.6 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) was up +0.2 of a point or +33% versus where NBC concluded last season in the timeslot in 18-49 (0.8 vs. 0.6 during the May sweep) and +20% in total viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.8 million). "Bluff" equaled NBC's best performance in the hour in 18-49, excluding sports, since March 11 in 18-49 (0.9) and hit a non-sports timeslot high in total viewers since March 25 (5.1 million). L+3: "Bluff City Law" grew by +28% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.81 to a 1.04) and +2.2 million persons or +47% in total viewers (4.6 million to 6.8 million) after just three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting.

Tuesday

NBC won the night in adults 18-49, with "This Is Us" and "The Voice" the #1-2 shows of the night.

The Tuesday premiere of "The Voice 17" (1.6 rating in 18-49, 8.3 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) jumped +45% versus where the show ended last season with its May 21 finale in 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.1 from 9-11 p.m.) and is up +12% in total viewers (8.3 million vs. 7.4 million), to win the timeslot in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. It's the show's highest Tuesday 18-49 and total-viewer results since March 5 (1.9 in 18-49, 10.2 million viewers). L+35+Digital: The Sept. 24 "Voice" increased by +19% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.56 to a 1.86) and +1.5 million viewers overall (8.3 million to 9.8 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Last season, Tuesday's "The Voice" grew by +68% going from its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 to "live plus 35 days plus digital" results, increasing to a 2.46 rating, while adding +3.1 million viewers, growing to 11.5 million persons in L+35+Digital. Social: Last season, "The Voice" was the #2 most-viewed (short form video) Broadcast Primetime Series of the 2018-19 TV season, amassing 980.7 million views across YouTube and Facebook (Source: ListenFirst Media. LF // TV UNIVERSE // EPISODIC universe; 9/24/18-5/22/19. ListenFirst Video Views [YouTube + Facebook]; Prime Time Daypart; in-season TV shows, Broadcast, TV-Shows).

The fourth season debut of "This Is Us" (1.8 rating in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall from 9-10:08 p.m. ET) ranked as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. "Us" dominated the 9 p.m. hour, winning in adults 18-49 by a margin of +80% in 18-49 (1.8 vs. 1.0 for Fox's #2 "The Resident"), while maintaining 100% of where the show concluded last season with its final four telecasts in 18-49 (1.8 vs. 1.8 from March 12 through April 2). L+3:"This Is Us" increased by +60% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.84 to a 2.95) and +3.8 million viewers overall (7.9 million to 11.7 million) after just three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Through the opening four nights of the season, "TIU" was the only Big 4 show to grow by more than a full 18-49 rating point in L+3 versus L+SD. Social: "This Is Us" was NBC's most social show across all dayparts last week. Upscale: Last season, "This Is Us" generated a highly valuable and elusive audience, generating last season's #1 most-educated audience among Big 4 dramas (141 index).

The second season debut of "New Amsterdam" (1.0 rating in 18-49, 5.9 million viewers overall from 10:08-11 p.m. ET) was up +11% versus where the show concluded last season with its May 14 season finale in 18-49 (1.0 vs. 0.9) and +7% in total viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.544 million), to win the hour among the ABC-CBS-NBC dramas in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 over the sixth season debut of "NCIS: New Orleans" and the series premiere of "Emergence." "New Amsterdam" equaled its highest 18-49 rating since Nov. 27, 2018 (1.1). L+3:"New Amsterdam" grew by +92% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.99 to a 1.90) and +4.6 million viewers overall (5.9 million to 10.5 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Through the opening four nights of the season, the +4.6 million L+3 lift for "New Amsterdam" is the biggest for any Big 4 show versus L+SD. The 92% increase in 18-49 was the biggest Tuesday night on the Big 4 networks. Social: "New Amsterdam's" Season 2 premiere was up +60% versus last season's premiere in social interactions, with 100,000 total interactions, making this the show's most-social episode ever by a wide margin. L+35+Digital: "New Amsterdam" grew last season by +253% going from its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 to "live plus 35 days plus digital" Nielsens, increasing to a 3.75 rating, while adding +9.0 million viewers, growing to 14.9 million persons in L+35+Digital.

Wednesday

The fifth season premiere of "Chicago Med" (1.0 rating in 18-49, 7.5 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) ranked as the #2 show of the night in total viewers behind only the season premiere of "The Masked Singer," and nearly matched "Masked" in the 8-9 p.m. hour, finishing within 68,000 persons of the timeslot lead (7.528 million vs. 7.596 million). L+3:"Med" grew by +50% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.03 to a 1.54) and +2.6 million viewers overall (7.5 million to 10.1 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Social: "Chicago Med's" Total Activity reached its highest level since last October with a Crossover episode. The season premiere was up +81% versus last season's average for Total Interactions.L+35+Digital: Last season, "Chicago Med" increased by +117% going from its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 to "live plus 35 days plus digital" results, growing to a 2.60 rating, while adding +4.9 million viewers, increasing to 13.1 million persons in L+35+Digital.

The eighth season debut of "Chicago Fire" (1.1 rating in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall from 9-10 p.m. ET) maintained +100% versus where "Fire" concluded last season with its May 22 finale (1.1 vs. 1.1) and 98% in total viewers (7.3 million vs. 7.5 million) and was the #3 show of the night in total viewers behind only the season premiere of "The Masked Singer" and "Chicago Med." L+3:"Fire" increased by +56% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.12 to a 1.75) and +3.0 million viewers overall (7.3 million to 10.3 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Social: "Chicago Fire's" Total Activity reached a high for the series under Nielsen's current methodology (234,000), topping last season's premiere by +32%. L+35+Digital: Last season, "Chicago Fire" generated a +138% increase going from its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 to "live plus 35 days plus digital" Nielsens, increasing to a 2.86 rating, while adding +5.6 million viewers, increasing to 13.7 million persons in L+35+Digital.

The seventh season debut of "Chicago P.D." (1.1 rating in 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) won the timeslot among ABC, CBS and NBC in total viewers and adults 25-54, beating ABC's series premiere of "Stumptown" and CBS' final hour of the "Big Brother" finale. "P.D." equaled its highest 18-49 rating since the Feb. 20 "Fire-P.D." Crossover (1.4) and was up versus where "P.D." concluded last season with its May 22 finale by +22% (1.1 vs. 0.9). "P.D." was the #4 show of the night in total viewers behind only "The Masked Singer," "Chicago Med" and "Chicago Fire." L+3:"P.D." increased by +68% in 18-49 rating (from a 1.09 to a 1.83) and +3.6 million viewers overall (6.5 million to 10.1 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. The "P.D." gains of +0.74 of a point in 18-49 and +3.6 million viewers are the biggest for any Big 4 Wednesday telecast. Social: "Chicago P.D.'s" season premiere was the third most-social episode of the series and was up +28% from last season's average. L+35+Digital: Last season, "Chicago P.D." grew by +167% going from its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 to "live plus 35 days plus digital" Nielsens, increasing to a 2.92 rating, while adding +6.3 million viewers, increasing to 13.4 million persons in L+35+Digital.

Thursday

The fifth season premiere of "Superstore" (0.8 rating in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall from 8-8:30 p.m. ET) grew +33% versus last season's finale in 18-49 (0.8 vs. 0.6 on May 16) and by +46% in total viewers (2.859 million vs. 1.952 million). L+3:"Superstore" increased by +49% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.75 to a 1.12) and +903,000 viewers overall (2.9 million to 3.8 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Digital: Versus last year's season premiere, "Superstore's" 3-Day digital viewership is up +24%. Social: "Superstore's" total Interactions are up +21% from last season's premiere. L+35+Digital: Last season, "Superstore" more than tripled its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 after 35 days of linear and digital delayed viewing, growing to a 2.76 rating, and added +3.5 million viewers, increasing to 6.6 million persons.

The premiere of "Perfect Harmony" (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall from 8:30-9 p.m. ET) retained 92% of its total-viewer lead-in from "Superstore" in a timeslot where NBC comedies last season averaged 74%, to deliver NBC's best total-viewer result in the timeslot with comedy since Nov.15, 2018 (2.7 million with "The Good Place"). L+3: "Perfect Harmony" grew by +47% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.53 to a 0.78) and +1.3 million persons or +48% in total viewers (2.6 million to 3.9 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting.

The fourth season premiere of "The Good Place" (0.7 rating in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall from 8:30-9 p.m. ET) built on its lead-in by +40% in adult 18-49 rating, maintaining 100% the show's Jan. 24 season finale in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.7 from 9:30-10 p.m.) and growing in total viewers (2.421 million vs. 2.417 million). L+3:"The Good Place" grew by +71% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.66 to a 1.13) and +1.3 million viewers overall (2.4 million to 3.7 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Digital: "The Good Place" has generated a series-high 3-Day digital viewership, up +22% versus its year-ago season-premiere 3-Day activity. Social: "The Good Place" was the most social comedy on all of television last week. L+35+Digital: Last season, "The Good Place" nearly quadrupled its next-day "live plus same day" rating in 18-49 after 35 days of linear and digital delayed viewing, increasing to a 3.30 rating, and grew by +4.8 million viewers, increasing to 7.5 million persons.

The debut of "Sunnyside" (0.4 rating in 18-49, 1.8 million viewers overall from 9:30-10 p.m. ET) finished within 0.1 of a point of its "Good Place" lead-in in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and women 18-34. L+3: "Sunnyside" was up by +47% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.43 to a 0.63) and +776,000 persons in total viewers (1.8 million to 2.5 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Social: "Sunnyside" is the second highest broadcast comedy premiere by Total Activity so far this season and is NBC's most social broadcast comedy premiere in two years.

The record-breaking 21st season premiere of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (0.7 rating in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) ranked #1 among the hour's ABC-CBS-NBC dramas in adults 18-49, while retaining 100% of last season's finale results in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.7) and growing +7% in total viewers (3.8 million vs. 3.6 million). L+3:"SVU" increased by +89% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.75 to a 1.42) and more than +2.5 million viewers overall (3.8 million to 6.4 million) after three days of DVR and VOD time-shifting. Digital: "Law & Order: SVU" has delivered a series-high 3-Day digital viewership, up +74% versus its year-ago season-premiere 3-Day activity. Social: "SVU's" 21st Season premiere set a new series high with 190,000 Total Interactions. That tops the previous high of 113,000 from April 2018. Engagement was up +223% over last season's average. L+35+Digital: Last season, "SVU" grew by +74% in 18-49 rating going from L+SD to L+7 (from a 1.25 to a 2.17) and +2.9 million viewers overall (5.9 million to 8.8 million).

Friday

An encore of the Sept. 23 premiere of "Bluff City Law" averaged a 0.4 rating in 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET.

"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) jumped by +0.2 of a rating point or +50% week to week in adults 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.4), by +29% in adults 25-54 (0.9 vs. 0.7) and +1.1 million persons or +43% in total viewers (3.6 million vs. 2.5 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 new high in total viewers since that same June 7 telecast (3.7 million viewers). "Dateline" tied for #1 in the timeslot in adults 18-49 and was the #1 newsmagazine of the night on the Big 4 in adults 25-54 and total viewers. L+7: Last season, Friday's "Dateline" grew by +51% in 18-49 rating (from a 0.57 to a 0.86) and more than +1.2 million viewers overall (3.5 million to 4.7 million) going from L+SD to L+7.

Sunday

NBC Sports coverage of Dallas Cowboys-New Orleans Saints "Sunday Night Football" (7.8 rating in 18-49, 24.1 million viewers overall from 8:23-11:18 p.m. ET) dominated the night beating the combined Big 4 competition in all key ratings measures.

With a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 24.7 million viewers, according to viewership figures released by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics - marking the most-watched Week 4 NBC "SNF" game ever, and helping "Sunday Night Football" to its best start through Week 4 since 2016.

The Cowboys-Saints TAD of 24.7 million viewers across NBC TV, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital platforms, represents a +35% increase over last year's Week 4 game (18.2 million for Ravens-Steelers) and makes this the most-watched regular-season game on NBC in nearly three years (since Dec. 11, 2016, 26.7 million for Cowboys-Giants).