Dateline NBC celebrated its 25th anniversary back in September with a rooftop party, just days before the new season premiere. The Dateline crew has reason to continue that 25th anniversary celebration. The program beat its ABC newsmagazine rival 20/20 on Fridays last season, (Sept. 21, 2015 – Sept. 18, 2016) and it’s leading 20/20 this season to-date in total viewers and the younger news demo of 25-54 viewers.
The ratings below include episodes from Sept. 23, 2016 (the start of the 2016-2017 broadcast season) through Nov. 11, 2016. Because Dateline airs for two hours on Fridays (9 -11 p.m.) while 20/20 remains an hour (10 – 11 p.m.), we’ll show full program averages for the two as well as the head-to-head 10 p.m. hour averages.
Full Program Averages (Sept. 23 – Nov. 11, 2016)
Net | Show Name | 9/23 | 9/30 | 10/7 | 10/14 | 10/21 | 10/28 | 11/4 | 11/11 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2+ | |||||||||
NBC | Dateline – Fri (9 – 11 p.m.) | 4.628 | 4.755 | 4.215 | 4.889 | 5.361 | 4.378 | 4.845 | 4.713 |
ABC | 20/20 – Fri (10 – 11 p.m.) | 3.351 | 3.895 | 3.558 | 3.555 | 4.031 | 3.487 | 3.768 | 5.207 |
Diff % | 38% | 22% | 18% | 38% | 33% | 26% | 29% | -9% |
Net | Show Name | 9/23 | 9/30 | 10/7 | 10/14 | 10/21 | 10/28 | 11/4 | 11/11 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P25-54 | |||||||||
NBC | Dateline – Fri (9 – 11 p.m.) | 1.670 | 1.737 | 1.369 | 1.724 | 1.800 | 1.560 | 1.681 | 1.690 |
ABC | 20/20 – Fri (10 – 11 p.m.) | 1.204 | 1.454 | 1.302 | 1.356 | 1.469 | 1.163 | 1.407 | 1.858 |
Diff % | 39% | 19% | 5% | 27% | 23% | 34% | 19% | -9% |
Dateline won seven consecutive episodes to kick off the 2016-2017 broadcast season, defeating 20/20 in total audience and in the news demo by double-digits percent each Friday. The Oct. 21 episode, “Secrets in the Smokey Mountains,” is the program’s most-watched of the season to-date.
20/20 was able to break the streak on November 11, beating Dateline across the board while hitting a new season-high in total viewers (5.2 million) and adults 25-54 (1.9 million) in the process. The episode focused on President-elect Trump, and featured interviews with Lara Trump, wife of the President-elect’s son Eric.
20/20’s Trump episode didn’t really have a significant impact on Dateline’s ratings. Dateline’s performance in the demo was actually up on Nov. 11 compared to Nov. 4. The shows really have two distinct audiences despite a similarity in genre and time period.
We are also seeing that with the exception of the Sept. 23 episode and this past Friday’s episode, the margin of victory for Dateline over 20/20 is larger in total audience than it is in the news demo.
Head-to-Head 10 p.m. Averages (Sept. 23 – Nov. 11, 2016)
Dateline is dominating this season across its 2-hour span, but what does the gap look like when the programs go head-to-head at 10 p.m.? Are viewers leaving Dateline after the first hour, or are they staying?
Net | Show Name | 9/23 | 9/30 | 10/7 | 10/14 | 10/21 | 10/28 | 11/4 | 11/11 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P2+ | |||||||||
NBC | Dateline-Fri (10 – 11 p.m.) | 5.103 | 4.929 | 4.307 | 5.092 | 5.717 | 4.661 | 5.007 | 4.966 |
ABC | 20/20 – Fri (10 – 11 p.m.) | 3.351 | 3.895 | 3.558 | 3.555 | 4.031 | 3.487 | 3.768 | 5.207 |
Diff % | 52% | 27% | 21% | 43% | 42% | 34% | 33% | -5% |
Net | Show Name | 9/23 | 9/30 | 10/7 | 10/14 | 10/21 | 10/28 | 11/4 | 11/11 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P25-54 | |||||||||
NBC | Dateline-Fri (10-11 p.m.) | 1.867 | 1.833 | 1.433 | 1.803 | 1.953 | 1.673 | 1.780 | 1.779 |
ABC | 20/20-Fri (10 – 11 p.m.) | 1.204 | 1.454 | 1.302 | 1.356 | 1.469 | 1.163 | 1.407 | 1.858 |
Diff % | 55% | 26% | 10% | 33% | 33% | 44% | 27% | -4% |
Dateline viewers aren’t leaving. If anything, the program has been seeing a larger total audience and a larger news demo audience in the program’s second hour than during the 9 p.m. hour. People are staying with the show after the first hour, which gives the program something of a built-in advantage over 20/20.