The War of 18-49, News & Sports Series: 20/20, 60 Minutes, Sunday Night Football and more!

Continuing our massive data dump of War of 18-49 tables for broadcast series that don't have their own posts... here are the (often incomplete) records for currently airing news and sports series.






News and Sports Series

Please note that I have left the traditional A18-49+ labels on these tables, but in the case of this low-priority programming they are often not appropriate. For example, even using the "for Friday" labels, 48 Hours grades as a "flop" every year, while America's Funniest Home Videos is graded with weeknight labels even though the Sunday 7:00 is realistically more like a Friday timeslot. Also, I know, AFHV is not actually "news," I just categorize it that way since it is scheduled similarly. There are some other caveats with individual shows listed below.

Jump to a show: 20/20 | 48 Hours | 60 Minutes | America's Funniest Home Videos | CFB on Fox | Dateline Fri | Saturday Night Football | Sunday Night Football | Thursday Night Football
 

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20/20 (ABC, 1977-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
25	2001-02	Wed 10:00, Fri 10:00	3.38	-5%	1.7	4.8
26	2002-03	Friday 10:00	2.79	-17%	1.9	3.9
27	2003-04		2.96	+6%	1.5	4.2
28	2004-05		2.77	-6%	2.0	3.9
29	2005-06		2.60	-6%	1.8	3.4
30	2006-07		2.38	-9%	1.2	3.1
31	2007-08		1.83	-23%	1.2	2.9
32	2008-09		1.93	+5%	1.2	3.5
33	2009-10		1.63	-16%	0.9	2.8
34	2010-11		1.49	-9%	1.0	2.0
35	2011-12		1.43	-4%	0.9	2.1	detail
36	2012-13		1.45	+2%	0.9	1.8	detail
37	2013-14		1.46	+1%	0.9	1.9	detail
38	2014-15		1.27	-14%	0.8	1.7	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
25	2001-02	78	marginal	1.32		39	111	104	72
26	2002-03	63	solid(Fri)	1.06	-19%	43	88	57	59
27	2003-04	73	solid(Fri)	1.23	+16%	37	104	69	74
28	2004-05	68	solid(Fri)	1.14	-7%	49	96	74	49
29	2005-06	64	solid(Fri)	1.08	-6%	44	84	71	71
30	2006-07	63	solid(Fri)	1.06	-1%	32	82	58	58
31	2007-08	55	flop	0.93	-12%	36	88	48	57
32	2008-09	64	solid(Fri)	1.08	+16%	40	116	57	53
33	2009-10	58	flop	0.97	-10%	32	99	82	46
34	2010-11	58	flop	0.98	+1%	39	79	63	59
35	2011-12	60	solid(Fri)	1.02	+3%	38	89	51	51
36	2012-13	69	solid(Fri)	1.16	+14%	43	85	85	66
37	2013-14	78	hit(Fri)	1.31	+13%	48	101	69	85
38	2014-15	75	hit(Fri)	1.27	-3%	48	101	95	65
AVERAGE (2001-15):		66	solid(Fri)

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48 Hours (CBS, 1989-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
13	2001-02	Fri 10:00, Wed 10:00	2.53	-26%	1.3	4.7
14	2002-03	Fri 8:00, Wed 10:00	2.49	-2%	1.8	4.1
15	2003-04	Sat 8:00, Wed 10:00	2.37	-5%	1.5	3.5
16	2004-05	Saturday 10:00	2.12	-11%	1.6	3.1
17	2005-06		2.08	-2%	1.4	3.0
18	2006-07		2.07	-0%	1.2	2.8
19	2007-08		1.64	-21%	0.8	2.4
20	2008-09		1.61	-2%	1.2	2.2
21	2009-10		1.34	-16%	1.0	1.7
22	2010-11		1.20	-11%	0.8	1.7
23	2011-12		1.16	-4%	0.9	1.3	detail
24	2012-13		1.00	-13%	0.7	1.3	detail
25	2013-14		0.83	-17%	0.5	1.2	detail
26	2014-15		0.82	-2%	0.6	1.1	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
13	2001-02	59	flop	0.99		30	109	70	86
14	2002-03	56	flop	0.94	-4%	41	93	43	66
15	2003-04	58	flop	0.98	+4%	37	86	42	57
16	2004-05	52	flop	0.87	-11%	39	76	61	39
17	2005-06	51	flop	0.86	-1%	34	74	49	39
18	2006-07	55	flop	0.93	+7%	32	74	64	48
19	2007-08	50	flop	0.83	-10%	24	72	45	42
20	2008-09	53	flop	0.90	+8%	40	73	60	50
21	2009-10	48	flop	0.80	-11%	36	60	50	53
22	2010-11	47	flop	0.80	-1%	31	67	51	43
23	2011-12	49	flop	0.82	+3%	38	55	51	42
24	2012-13	48	flop	0.80	-3%	33	62	43	38
25	2013-14	44	flop	0.74	-7%	27	64	53	42
26	2014-15	49	flop	0.82	+10%	36	65	59	54
AVERAGE (2001-15):		51	flop

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60 Minutes (CBS, 1968-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
34	2001-02	Sunday 7:00	3.22	+0%	1.9	5.0
35	2002-03		2.94	-9%	1.9	5.2
36	2003-04		3.03	+3%	1.7	5.6
37	2004-05		3.14	+3%	1.7	5.4
38	2005-06		3.03	-4%	1.8	5.6
39	2006-07		2.75	-9%	1.6	4.9
40	2007-08		2.56	-7%	1.4	5.0
41	2008-09		2.73	+7%	1.5	6.3
42	2009-10		2.37	-13%	1.1	4.0
43	2010-11		2.27	-4%	1.4	4.0
44	2011-12		2.29	+1%	1.2	4.8	detail
45	2012-13		2.11	-8%	1.2	4.9	detail
46	2013-14		1.96	-7%	1.0	4.0	detail
47	2014-15		1.73	-12%	0.8	3.9	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
34	2001-02	75	marginal	1.26		44	116	70	60
35	2002-03	66	flop	1.12	-11%	43	118	75	45
36	2003-04	75	marginal	1.26	+13%	42	138	64	47
37	2004-05	77	marginal	1.29	+3%	42	132	51	42
38	2005-06	75	marginal	1.25	-3%	44	138	116	44
39	2006-07	73	marginal	1.23	-2%	42	130	61	48
40	2007-08	77	marginal	1.30	+6%	42	151	82	48
41	2008-09	91	marginal	1.53	+17%	50	209	73	50
42	2009-10	84	marginal	1.42	-7%	39	142	114	39
43	2010-11	89	marginal	1.50	+6%	55	157	122	63
44	2011-12	97	marginal	1.63	+8%	51	203	97	63
45	2012-13	100	solid	1.68	+3%	57	233	81	57
46	2013-14	104	solid	1.75	+4%	53	212	74	69
47	2014-15	103	solid	1.73	-1%	48	232	208	59
AVERAGE (2001-15):		85	marginal

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America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, 1990-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
12	2001-02	Friday 8:00	2.70	+9%	2.1	3.6
13	2002-03		3.28	+21%	2.5	4.3
14	2003-04	Sunday 7:00	2.63	-20%	2.2	3.2
15	2004-05		2.75	+5%	1.9	3.5
16	2005-06		2.82	+2%	2.1	3.5
17	2006-07		2.61	-7%	1.8	3.4
18	2007-08		2.36	-9%	1.7	2.9
19	2008-09		2.15	-9%	1.6	2.8
20	2009-10		2.03	-6%	1.6	2.7
21	2010-11		1.77	-13%	1.4	2.2
22	2011-12		1.60	-10%	1.1	2.2	detail
23	2012-13		1.49	-7%	1.3	1.8	detail
24	2013-14		1.40	-6%	1.0	1.6	detail
25	2014-15		1.33	-5%	0.9	1.7	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
12	2001-02	63	solid(Fri)	1.05		49	84	58	60
13	2002-03	74	solid(Fri)	1.25	+18%	57	97	63	68
14	2003-04	65	flop	1.09	-12%	54	79	59	69
15	2004-05	67	flop	1.13	+4%	47	86	47	54
16	2005-06	69	flop	1.17	+3%	52	86	64	59
17	2006-07	69	flop	1.16	-0%	48	90	72	58
18	2007-08	71	marginal	1.20	+3%	51	88	78	51
19	2008-09	71	marginal	1.20	+0%	53	93	86	53
20	2009-10	72	marginal	1.21	+1%	57	96	78	71
21	2010-11	69	flop	1.17	-3%	55	87	75	63
22	2011-12	68	flop	1.14	-3%	47	93	63	63
23	2012-13	71	marginal	1.19	+4%	62	85	71	81
24	2013-14	74	marginal	1.25	+5%	53	85	64	85
25	2014-15	79	marginal	1.33	+6%	54	101	71	83
AVERAGE (2001-15):		70	marginal

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CFB on Fox (Fox, 2012-14)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
1	2012-13	Saturday 8:00	1.06		0.6	1.6	detail
2	2013-14		0.79	-25%	0.5	1.2	detail
3	2014-15		0.82	+4%	0.4	2.1	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
1	2012-13	50	flop	0.84		28	76	28	33
2	2013-14	42	flop	0.71	-17%	27	64	58	37
3	2014-15	49	flop	0.82	+16%	24	125	24	42
AVERAGE:		47	flop

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Dateline (NBC, 1992-15) (Friday editions only)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
10	2001-02	Friday (various)	3.43	+7%	2.5	4.3
11	2002-03		3.14	-8%	1.6	3.9
12	2003-04		2.86	-9%	2.1	4.6
13	2004-05		2.36	-18%	1.7	3.1
14	2005-06		2.37	+0%	1.4	3.8
15	2006-07		2.10	-11%	1.6	3.2
16	2007-08		1.96	-7%	1.4	3.2
17	2008-09		1.46	-26%	1.1	2.1
18	2009-10		1.54	+6%	1.3	2.0
19	2010-11		1.42	-8%	0.7	1.9
20	2011-12		1.32	-7%	0.8	2.0	detail
21	2012-13		1.29	-2%	0.8	2.0	detail
22	2013-14		1.26	-2%	1.0	1.5	detail
23	2014-15		1.16	-8%	0.9	1.5	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
10	2001-02	80	hit(Fri)	1.34		58	100	98	67
11	2002-03	71	solid(Fri)	1.19	-11%	36	88	75	36
12	2003-04	70	solid(Fri)	1.19	-1%	52	114	69	54
13	2004-05	58	flop	0.97	-18%	42	76	76	69
14	2005-06	58	flop	0.98	+1%	34	94	52	47
15	2006-07	56	flop	0.94	-4%	42	85	85	45
16	2007-08	59	flop	1.00	+6%	42	97	57	42
17	2008-09	48	flop	0.81	-18%	37	70	37	43
18	2009-10	55	flop	0.92	+13%	46	71	53	53
19	2010-11	56	flop	0.94	+2%	28	75	63	43
20	2011-12	56	flop	0.94	-0%	34	85	85	68
21	2012-13	61	solid(Fri)	1.03	+10%	38	95	43	52
22	2013-14	67	solid(Fri)	1.13	+9%	53	80	69	69
23	2014-15	69	solid(Fri)	1.16	+3%	54	89	83	54
AVERAGE (2001-15):		62	solid(Fri)

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Saturday Night Football (ABC, 2006-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
1	2006-07	Saturday 8:00	2.90	+8%	1.8	5.0
2	2007-08		2.22	-24%	1.3	4.1
3	2008-09		2.72	+22%	1.2	4.7
4	2009-10		2.37	-13%	1.4	4.0
5	2010-11		1.98	-16%	1.2	2.7
6	2011-12		2.23	+13%	0.9	3.4	detail
7	2012-13		2.15	-4%	0.7	5.1	detail
8	2013-14		1.80	-16%	0.6	3.1	detail
9	2014-15		1.93	+7%	0.9	4.2	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
1	2006-07	77	hit(Fri)	1.29		48	133	80	133
2	2007-08	67	solid(Fri)	1.13	-13%	39	124	54	124
3	2008-09	90	hit(Fri)	1.52	+35%	40	156	63	96
4	2009-10	84	hit(Fri)	1.41	-7%	50	142	96	142
5	2010-11	78	hit(Fri)	1.31	-7%	47	106	63	106
6	2011-12	95	hit(Fri)	1.59	+21%	38	144	114	80
7	2012-13	102	hit(Fri)	1.72	+8%	33	242	142	71
8	2013-14	96	hit(Fri)	1.61	-6%	32	165	165	90
9	2014-15	115	hit(Fri)	1.93	+20%	54	250	113	184
AVERAGE:		79	hit(Fri)

We're starting with the beginning of Saturday Night Football as a season-long franchise in 2006. ABC aired some college games in primetime before that (about four per year in my records), but 2006 was the year it ramped up to 10+ per season.

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Monday/Sunday Night Football (ABC/NBC, 1970-15)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
32	2001-02	Monday 9:00, ABC	6.84	-26%	4.2	8.4
33	2002-03		7.34	+7%	6.2	8.5
34	2003-04		6.79	-7%	5.0	8.0
35	2004-05		6.61	-3%	4.5	8.1
36	2005-06		6.41	-3%	4.3	9.1
1	2006-07	Sunday 8:30, NBC	6.66	+4%	4.7	8.8
2	2007-08		6.34	-5%	4.7	8.6
3	2008-09		6.38	+1%	3.9	9.0
4	2009-10		7.82	+23%	5.9	14.6
5	2010-11		8.26	+6%	6.7	10.7
6	2011-12		8.36	+1%	5.2	10.9	detail
7	2012-13		8.16	-2%	6.7	11.0	detail
8	2013-14		7.90	-3%	5.6	10.3	detail
9	2014-15		7.64	-3%	6.1	10.2	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
32	2001-02	159	big hit	2.67		98	195	195	172
33	2002-03	166	big hit	2.79	+4%	140	192	188	156
34	2003-04	168	big hit	2.82	+1%	123	197	190	168
35	2004-05	162	big hit	2.72	-3%	110	199	174	150
36	2005-06	158	big hit	2.65	-3%	106	224	190	128
1	2006-07	177	big hit	2.97	+12%	125	234	207	125
2	2007-08	191	big hit	3.22	+8%	142	260	223	178
3	2008-09	212	megahit	3.57	+11%	130	299	180	180
4	2009-10	278	megahit	4.67	+31%	210	519	306	217
5	2010-11	325	megahit	5.47	+17%	264	421	421	271
6	2011-12	354	megahit	5.95	+9%	220	461	461	415
7	2012-13	387	megahit	6.52	+10%	318	522	460	498
8	2013-14	419	megahit	7.05	+8%	297	547	547	494
9	2014-15	454	megahit	7.64	+8%	363	607	607	392
AVERAGE (2001-15):		258	megahit

These numbers combine the two main broadcast primetime football franchises, Monday Night Football on ABC (2001-05) and Sunday Night Football on NBC (2006-present). We may add some more cable numbers later and be able to separate Monday and Sunday, but this combo is it for now.

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Thursday Night Football (CBS, 2014)

Seas	Year	Timeslot	Avg	y2y	Lo	Hi	Results	Grade
1	2014-15	Thursday 8:30	5.91		4.5	7.5	detail

Seas	Year	A18-49+	Label	Now15	y2y	Lo	Hi	Premiere	Finale
1	2014-15	352	megahit	5.91		268	446	446	398
AVERAGE:		352	megahit

For now, these numbers are the combined deliveries of the simulcast on CBS and NFL Network.