By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Now that football season is almost finished, the dominant nights in broadcast television are coming into focus.
As illustrated in the Nielsen company's ratings for last week, that would be CBS' night of drama on Tuesday and Dick Wolf's trilogy of "Chicago" series Wednesday on NBC.
Even though it has been on the air since 2003, CBS' "NCIS" continues a remarkable streak of popularity. With nearly 11.4 million viewers on the night it aired last Tuesday, it was the only television show aside from the Grammys to pass the 10 million mark last week, at least before delayed viewing is counted in.
Paired with "FBI," it makes for a strong one-two punch of action for CBS on Tuesdays. The newer "FBI: Most Wanted" has some distance to go before reaching that level.
Wolf is a proven television hitmaker, and NBC does very well on Wednesdays with his three dramas that focus on a Chicago hospital, police department and fire department. All three finished among Nielsen's top 10 shows last week.
The third season premiere of "Station 19"on ABC did slightly better than the series it spun off from, "Grey's Anatomy."
The Grammys took the week's number one ratings slot, reaching nearly 18.7 million viewers on CBS Sunday–but down about a million from each of the last two years.
CBS won the week in primetime, averaging 7.2 million viewers. ABC eked out a second place showing, averaging 4 million viewers, while NBC had 3.9 million. Fox had 2.4 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.3 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 690,000.
News dominated the cable ratings last week with President Donald Trump's impeachment hearings. Fox News Channel averaged 3.32 million ratings in primetime, MSNBC had 1.96 million, ESPN had 1.22 million, TLC had 1.2 million and CNN had 1.18 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.1 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 7.9 million viewers and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.9 million.
For the week of Jan. 20-26, the top 20 shows, their networks and viewerships:
1. "Grammy Awards," CBS, 18.69 million.
2. "NCIS," CBS, 11.37 million.
3. "FBI," CBS, 9.25 million.
4. "Chicago Med," NBC, 8.44 million.
5. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 8.19 million.
6. "Grammy Awards Red Carpet," CBS, 7.19 million.
7. "America's Got Talent Champions," NBC, 7.05 million.
8. "Station 19," ABC, 7.02 million.
9. "Chicago PD, NBC, 6.92 million.
10. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 6.81 million.
11. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 6.67 million.
12. "This Is Us," NBC, 61 million.
13. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 6.6 million.
14. "Bob Hearts Abishola," CBS, 6.51 million.
15. "The Bachelor," ABC, 6.29 million.
16. "Bull," CBS, 6.05 million.
17. "911: Lone Star," Fox, 5.95 million.
18. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 5.86 million.
19. "All Rise," CBS, 5.81 million.
20. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 5.6 million.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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