CBS’ ‘Big Brother’ Is Wednesday’s Highest-Rated Primetime Title – But Not Its Most-Watched

Brandon Katz
·3 min read

A slew of highly-watched unscripted reality competition programming transformed Wednesday’s broadcast primetime ratings competition into an impressively heated battle. The night’s main combatants were CBS’ long-running “Big Brother” and NBC’s always popular “America’s Got Talent.”

The former managed to score Wednesday’s highest rating in the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic with a 0.8 score. Impressive. However, the latter secured the night’s biggest overall audience with 5.6 million total viewers. Also impressive. Everyone can be a winner in the broadcast battles depending on what each network is after.

Unsurprisingly, CBS earned the best average demo rating with a 0.5 in primetime while NBC boasted the biggest reach with 4.0 million total average viewers.

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Here’s how primetime shook out among the major broadcasters:

As mentioned, CBS was first in the ratings with an average score of 0.5 in the highly-coveted demo along with 2.6 million total average viewers, according to official live plus same-day Nielsen data. “Big Brother” put up big numbers to kick off primetime with a 0.8 demo rating and 4.0 million total viewers. It was followed by “The Challenge: USA,” which netted a 0.4 rating and 2.1 million total viewers at 9. At 10, “S.W.A.T.” closed out the night with a 0.2 demo score and 1.5 million total viewers.

NBC was second in the ratings with a 0.4 average demo rating, but first in total average viewers with 4.0 million. “AGT” launched primetime with an impressive 0.6 demo score and 5.6 million total viewers, the largest audience for any offering Wednesday night. At 9, “Password” kept the strong momentum going with a 0.4 demo rating and 4.3 million total viewers. A rerun of “Chicago P.D.” concluded the night at 10 with a 0.2 ad-friendly rating and 2.1 million total viewers.

Fox was technically third in the ratings with a 0.4 demo score and 1.9 million total viewers for “MasterChef,” which aired from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. However, Fox doesn’t air primetime programming at 10.

ABC was fourth in the ratings as it mostly aired a block of “Abbott Elementary” reruns ahead of the show’s highly anticipated second-season return this fall. The 8 p.m. rerun netted a 0.4 demo rating and 2.0 million total viewers and was followed by additional episodes at 8:30 p.m. (0.3, 1.4 million), 9 (0.3, 1.3 million) and 9:30 (0.3, 1.2 million). At 10, “Press Your Luck” scrounged up a 0.3 demo score and 1.6 million total viewers.

The CW was fifth in the ratings with a 0.02 average demo score and 301,000 total viewers. “Mysteries Decoded” notched a 0.1 demo rating and 430,000 total viewers. From there, The CW trotted out two episodes of “Wellington Paranormal” at 9 (0.0, 194,000) and 9:30 (0.0, 150,000). Like Fox, The CW doesn’t air primetime programming at 10.

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Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision was first in the ratings with a 0.3 average demo rating and 1.0 million total average viewers. “Mexicana y El Guero” started primetime off with a 0.2 demo rating and 916,000 total viewers. “La Herencia, Un Legado de Amor” followed with a 0.3 rating and 1.1 million total viewers. “Mujer de Nadie” closed out the night with a 0.3 demo rating and 990,000 total viewers.

Telemundo was second in the ratings with a 0.25 average demo rating and 900,00 total average viewers. “Top Chef: VIP” aired from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and cooked up a 0.3 demo rating and 998,000 total average viewers. At 9, “Amor Valiente” sauntered its way to a 0.2 demo rating and 801,000 total viewers.