Nielsen Pocketpiece: Week Ending September 27, 1987

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece for the week ending September 27, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their audience composition in VPVHs. To convert VPVHs to ratings, use the Pocketpiece calculator linked in the sidebar. The second half of the report is a grid which organizes the broadcast ratings by date and includes top-level weekly data for basic cable, superstations, PBS, independents, and pay cable.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: Week Ending September 20, 1987

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece for the week ending September 20, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their audience composition in VPVHs. To convert VPVHs to ratings, use the Pocketpiece calculator linked in the sidebar. The second half of the report is a grid which organizes the broadcast ratings by date and includes top-level weekly data for basic cable, superstations, PBS, independents, and pay cable.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: Week Ending September 13, 1987

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece for the week ending September 13, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their audience composition in VPVHs. To convert VPVHs to ratings, use the Pocketpiece calculator linked in the sidebar. The second half of the report is a grid which organizes the broadcast ratings by date and includes top-level weekly data for basic cable, superstations, PBS, independents, and pay cable.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: Week Ending September 6, 1987

Note: this is the first Pocketpiece report compiled with data from the Nielsen people meter. Prior to this, Household data was captured via the Nielsen audimeter and demographic information was collected via diaries. The change to the people meter allowed Nielsen to measure demographic information in real-time which enabled the Pocketpieces to begin to be put out weekly rather than biweekly. Because this is the first weekly Pocketpiece, I've included scans from every page of the report rather than just the ratings-only pages.

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece for the week ending September 6, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their audience composition in VPVHs. To convert VPVHs to ratings, use the Pocketpiece calculator linked in the sidebar. The second half of the report is a grid which organizes the broadcast ratings by date and includes top-level weekly data for basic cable, superstations, PBS, independents, and pay cable.

Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report: August 24 - 30, 1987

Below is a Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report (FWH) covering the week between the 2nd August 1987 and the Aug. 31-Sep. 6, 1987 Pocketpieces. Nielsen's Pocketpiece reports only covered 48 weeks out of the year, so there are 4 weeks in which only the FWH report was released. They include an alphabetical list of most programs that aired and and their HH rating information.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: August 1987 - 2nd Report

Note: this is the very last of the bi-weekly NTI Pocketpieces. There is a Fast Weekly Household Report for Aug. 24-30, 1987 and then the Pocketpieces become weekly beginning with Aug. 31-Sep. 6, 1987.

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of August 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending August 16, 1987 and August 23, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: August 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of August 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending August 2, 1987 and August 9, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Weekly Nielsen Ratings: 1968-69 TV Season

Below is a collection of scans of the Nielsen pocketpieces covering the the 1968-69 TV season. It features the complete primetime broadcast Nielsen ratings for all programs airing from September 2, 1968 through August 24, 1969. The weeks of Dec. 23-29, 1968, Apr. 21-27, 1969, Jun. 23-29, 1969 and Aug. 25-31, 1969 were black weeks and not measured by Nielsen. The grids report both the "Total Audience" and the "Average Audience" but Average Audience is the standard Nielsen metric that should be used.

AFC and NFC Championship Ratings (1977-present)

Below are the Nielsen ratings for every NFL AFC and NFC Championship game back to the 1977-78 season. There are several columns of data in the chart below, including HH data (presented in ratings form & viewership form), P18-49 and P25-54 demo ratings, and average viewership for every game. Additional data prior to 1977-78 will be added over time as more Pocketpieces are scanned.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: July 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of July 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending July 19, 1987 and July 26, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: July 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of July 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending July 5, 1987 and July 12, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Another Super Bowl Ratings Explainer

In this new era of TV audience measurement it can be difficult, if not impossible, to understand and contextualize all of the numbers coming out and figure out what exactly it all means. The Super Bowl is no exception to this, and due to the size of its audience and its influence on the culture, we see more ratings discussion about this one game than probably anything else on TV (maybe WWE aside).

Paulsen over at Sports Media Watch put together a great article "What is the Most-Watched Super Bowl" which dives into some of the measurement changes and ratings nuances over the years, and I definitely recommend giving it a read to see just how difficult it is to truly figure out what the most-watched Super Bowl of all-time is. Here, though, I want to limit the scope to just the last 8 years of Super Bowl ratings and explain where these numbers are coming from.

Super Bowl Ratings (1967-present)

UPDATED FOR SUPER BOWL LVIII: Below are the Nielsen ratings for every Super Bowl back to Super Bowl I in 1967. There are several columns of data in the chart below, including HH data (presented in ratings form & viewership form), average viewership, and total viewership for every game. Average viewership is the standard viewership metric while total viewership refers to the number of unique people who watched at least 6 minutes of the broadcast. Beginning with Super Bowl XII in 1978, demo ratings are available for A18-34, A18-49, A25-54, M18-49, and M18-34. A second chart includes local market ratings for both competing cities beginning in 1986, streaming numbers beginning in 2012, median age data beginning in 1992, and Spanish simulcast viewership beginning in 2014.

Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report: June 22 - 28, 1987

Below is a Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report (FWH) covering the week between the 2nd June 1987 and 1st July 1987 Pocketpiece. Nielsen's Pocketpiece reports only covered 48 weeks out of the year, so there are 4 weeks in which only the FWH report was released. They include an alphabetical list of most programs that aired and and their HH rating information.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: June 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of June 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending June 14, 1987 and June 21, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: June 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of June 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending May 31, 1987 and June 7, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: May 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of May 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending May 17, 1987 and May 24, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: May 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of May 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending May 3, 1987 and May 10, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen SVOD Ratings: Movies Archive (first charted in 2024)

Below is an archive of Nielsen streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings organized by program title (A-Z). This post in particular includes only programs that are listed as "movies" that made their first chart appearance in 2024. There are other archives posted with "original" programs, "acquired" programs and for "movies" that first charted in other years. These tables include every single week of SVOD data that Nielsen has put out this year since the week ending Jan. 7, 2024. The first sheet is an index which lists of all of the available movies with data, how many weeks each has appeared in the Nielsen chart, as well as both the most-recent week they've appeared and the first week they appeared. Unlike the archives for original and acquired programs, there are simply too many movies for there to be a tab for each one individually, so they are sorted by distribution platform and then organized alphabetically within each platform tab. 

Nielsen SVOD Ratings: Netflix Originals (first charted in 2024)

Below is an archive of Nielsen streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings organized by program title (A-Z). This post in particular includes only Netflix programs that had their first appearance on the charts in 2024. There are simply too many different Netflix programs to include all of the originals in one table, so they are being divided by the year they first appeared on the chart. There are other posts for Netflix "originals" that first charted in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and there are additional posts for "acquired" programs, "movies," and for "original" programs from other platforms. The first sheet is an index which lists of all of the available shows with data, how many weeks each has appeared in the Nielsen chart, as well as both the most-recent week they've appeared and the first week they appeared. Each show page can be accessed by clicking its hyperlink at the top of the sheet. (This is not the prettiest organization in the world, but it's the best that can be done as of right now).

Top Streaming (SVOD) Ratings: Week Ending January 14, 2024

Below are the weekly streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings for the week ending January 14, 2024. The chart below includes the top 10 original programs, top 10 movies, and top 10 acquired programs from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ measured on total minutes of watch-time. The data represents only viewing within the U.S. and comes from Nielsen Media Research.

Top Streaming (SVOD) Ratings: Week Ending January 7, 2024

Below are the weekly streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings for the week ending January 7, 2024. The chart below includes the top 10 original programs, top 10 movies, and top 10 acquired programs from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ measured on total minutes of watch-time. The data represents only viewing within the U.S. and comes from Nielsen Media Research.

Top Streaming (SVOD) Ratings: 2023

Below are the top streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings for 2023, spanning the range from Dec. 26, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2023. The chart below includes the top 10 original programs, top 10 movies, and top 10 acquired programs from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max/Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ measured on total minutes of watch-time. The data represents only viewing within the U.S. and comes from Nielsen Media Research.

Top Streaming (SVOD) Ratings: Week Ending December 31, 2023

Below are the weekly streaming/video-on-demand (SVOD) ratings for the week ending December 31, 2023. The chart below includes the top 10 original programs, top 10 movies, and top 10 acquired programs from Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ measured on total minutes of watch-time. The data represents only viewing within the U.S. and comes from Nielsen Media Research.

Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report: April 20 - 26, 1987

Below is a Nielsen Fast Weekly Household Report (FWH) covering the week between the 2nd April 1987 and 1st May 1987 Pocketpiece. Nielsen's Pocketpiece reports only covered 48 weeks out of the year, so there are 4 weeks in which only the FWH report was released. They include an alphabetical list of most programs that aired and and their HH rating information.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: April 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of April 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending April 12, 1987 and April 19, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: April 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of April 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending March 29, 1987 and April 5, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: March 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of March 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending March 15, 1987 and March 22, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: March 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of March 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending March 1, 1987 and March 8, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: February 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of February 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending February 15, 1987 and February 22, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: February 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of February 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending February 1, 1987 and February 8, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: January 1987 - 2nd Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 2nd half of January 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending January 18, 1987 and January 25, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.

Nielsen Pocketpiece: January 1987 - 1st Report

Below is a full Nielsen pocketpiece covering the 1st half of January 1987. It features the complete Nielsen ratings for all television programs airing in the weeks ending January 4, 1987 and January 11, 1987. The first half of the report includes a full alphabetical list of all programs that aired and their two-week average HH rating/impression. The second half of the report provides HH ratings information for individual telecasts each day.