RATINGS: NBC Wins The Week Of July 22-28 In Total Viewers

NBC has tied for #1 for the primetime ratings week of July 22-28 in adults 18-49 and won the week in total viewers, according to "live plus same day" viewership figures from Nielsen Media Research.

It's the sixth week in a row NBC has finished #1 or tied for #1 in total viewers and fourth time in five weeks NBC has earned at least a share of the 18-49 lead.

"America's Got Talent" continued its streak this summer of ranking as television's #1 most-watched entertainment show every week it's aired, while last week also tying as the #1 program of the week in the key adult 18-49 demo.

In 18-49, Tuesday's "Bring the Funny" ranked #6 among primetime shows on the Big 4 networks, Monday's "American Ninja Warrior" tied for #7, Wednesday's "Ellen's Game of Games" encore tied for #10 and Monday's "Dateline NBC" tied for #14. "Talent," "Ninja," "Bring the Funny" and "Dateline" also finished in the top 10 in total viewers.

Season to date, NBC ranks #1 among ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in adults 18-49, adults 25-54, adults 18-34 (tie), all key adult-female demos and men 25-54 (tie).

Excluding sports, NBC leads the season by +0.2 of a rating point, the biggest lead for any network at this point in the season in seven years, since FOX also led by 0.2 at this point during the 2011-12 season. In total viewers, excluding sports, NBC is running within 1.173 million persons of #1 CBS, NBC's closest position to #1 in total viewers at this point in the season, excluding sports, in 16 years, since trailing by 564,000 persons at this time in 2002-03.

Weekly ratings are "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date ratings are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Week 44 Averages

Adult 18-49 Rating, "live plus same day," July 22-28

ABC...0.6

NBC...0.6

CBS...0.4

Fox...0.4

CW...0.2

Total Viewers

NBC...3.4 million

ABC...3.1 million

CBS...2.8 million

Fox...1.6 million

CW...0.6 million

Season-to-Date Averages

Adult 18-49 Rating, "Most Current"

NBC...1.5

CBS...1.3

Fox...1.3

ABC...1.2

CW...0.4

Total Viewers

CBS...8.0 million

NBC...6.7 million

ABC...5.4 million

Fox...4.8 million

CW...1.2 million

NBC highlights for the week of July 22-28:

Monday

"American Ninja Warrior" (0.8 rating in 18-49, 4.7 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) grew +4% week to week in total viewers (4.7 million vs. 4.5 million) to hit a three-week high, best since July 1 (4.749 million). "Ninja" doubled CBS' rival "Love Island" in 18-498 (0.8 vs. 0.4) and total viewers (4.7 million vs. 1.9 million).

L+35+Digital+Encores: Within 35 days, "American Ninja Warrior" has been growing this summer by +179% in adults 18-49 and +7.2 million viewers overall versus its next-day "live plus same day" Nielsens, to a 2.64 rating in 18-49 and 11.8 million viewers overall in L+35+digital+encores.

"Dateline NBC" (0.6 rating in adults 18-49, 1.0 in adults 25-54, 4.0 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) reported a Monday season high in total viewers while ranking #1 in the timeslot among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49, adults, 25-54 and total viewers.

Tuesday

NBC won Tuesday night in 10 of 10 key ratings categories, easily beating the other Big 4 networks combined in 18-49 and total viewers. "America's Got Talent" and "Bring the Funny" were the #1-2 shows of the night on the Big 4 networks in every key ratings measure.

"America's Got Talent" (1.7 rating in 18-49, 10.1 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) equaled its season high in 18-49, scoring as the night's #1 program in all key ratings categories. L+35+Digital: "America's Got Talent" is growing by +179% versus its next-day "live plus same day" Nielsens after 35 days of digital and linear delayed viewing, growing all the way to a 4.18 rating, while adding +9.2 million viewers, increasing to 19.0 million persons in L+35+Digital. Social: "AGT" is the #1 most-social broadcast series this summer, having amassed 18 million total interactions to-date in 24/7 metrics.

"Bring the Funny" (0.9 rating in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) won the 10 p.m. hour among ABC, CBS and NBC in 10 of 10 key ratings measures and ranked as the #2 Big 4 telecast of the night in each of those categories. In its third week on the air, "BTF" maintained 100% of the prior week's 18-49 rating. L+7+Digital: "Bring the Funny" is increasing by +95% versus its next-day "live plus same day" Nielsens after seven days of digital and linear delayed viewing, growing to a 2.06 rating, while adding +3.8 million viewers, growing to 9.2 million persons in L+7+Digital.

Wednesday

An encore "Ellen's Game of Games" (0.7 rating in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) tied for #1 in the timeslot in 18-49 versus the original competition of ABC's "Press Your Luck" and Fox's "Masterchef," while defeating CBS' original "Love Island." Vesus the prior week's rebroadcast, "Games" was up +17% in 18-49 (0.7 vs. 0.6) and +3% rise in total viewers (3.3 million vs. 3.2 million).

A 9 p.m. rebroadcast of "Songland" (0.5 rating in 18-49, 1.9 million viewers overall from 9-10 p.m. ET) maintained 100% of the prior week's encore in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5) and outrated Fox's original "First Responders Live" in the timeslot in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.4).

"The InBetween" averaged a 0.3 rating in 18-49 and 2.2 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET). L+35+Digital: "The InBetween" is increasing by +163% versus its next-day "live plus same day" Nielsens after 35 days of digital and linear delayed viewing, growing to a 1.36 rating, while adding +3.2 million viewers, increasing to 6.7 million persons in L+35+Digital.

Thursday

An encore of "The Wall" (0.5 in 18-49, 3.1 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) beats "Love Island" in total viewers by +41% (3.1 million vs. 2.2 million) and ties the CBS original in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.5).

"Hollywood Game Night" (0.5 rating in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall from 9-10 p.m. ET) has maintained a steady 0.5 in 18-49 with each of its three original telecasts so far this summer. This week's "HGN" outrated ABC's timeslot-rival "Family Food Fight" in 18-49 (0.5 vs. 0.4) and total viewers (2.4 million vs. 1.9 million) and tied Fox's "Spin the Wheel" in the demo (0.5 vs. 0.5).

A rebroadcast of "Law & Order: SVU" (0.4 rating in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall) was up versus the previous week's encore by +0.1 of a point or +33% in 18-49 (0.4 vs 0.3) and +15% in total viewers (2.4 million vs. 2.1 million).

Friday

NBC tied for #1 among the Big 4 networks Friday night in adults 18-49.

An encore telecast of "American Ninja Warrior" (0.4 rating in 18-49, 2.2 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) tied as the #1 show of the night on the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 and led the timeslot among those nets in 18-49 and 25-54.

"Dateline NBC" (0.4 rating in 18-49, 0.6 in adults 25-54, 2.7 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) tied as the #1 show of the night in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. Head to head in the 10 p.m. hour, "Dateline" outrated "20/20" in 25-54 (0.6 vs. 0.5) and total viewers (2.7 million vs. 2.2 million). L+7: Through the traditional September-to-May 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.