Over 20 Billion Minutes of ‘Dateline’ Watched During Season Across Network TV & Digital Platforms
Also Tops ‘20/20’ Across the Board for May Sweep Period
May 24, 2021 – Dateline NBC is the #1 most-watched Friday newsmagazine for the 2020-2021 broadcast primetime season with 4.106 million total viewers, topping ABC’s 20/20 in total viewers for the second consecutive season.
Named the “True-Crime King” by The New Yorker this morning, Dateline saw 20 billion minutes watched on the network alone, with 2.5 billion minutes of Dateline’s full episodes consumed on digital platforms.
Additionally, Dateline tops 20/20 across the board for the May sweep period. Dateline averages 3.949 million total viewers, ahead of 20/20 by +15% (+521,000) and 1.063 million A25-54 viewers, ahead of 20/20 by +4%. The broadcast also averages 753,000 A18-49 viewers, leading 20/20 by +1% (+9,000). This marks the newsmagazine’s 5th straight across-the-board win in the May sweep period.
This past season, Dateline debuted two new podcasts, Mommy Doomsday and Killer Role, hosted by correspondent Keith Morrison, with both series topping the Apple Podcasts charts. In February, NBC also greenlit a straight-to-series inspired by the story featured in the Dateline podcast series, The Thing About Pam. Two-time Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger will star and executive produce the series, in collaboration with Blumhouse Television, NBC News Studios and Zellweger’s Big Picture Co.
Additionally this season, Natalie Morales made her debut as an official Dateline correspondent, NBC’s streaming service Peacock premiered a Dateline 24/7 channel and Dateline launched its first ever multi-night true-crime series, The Widower.
2020-2021 Primetime Season Highlights
- Dateline averages 4.106 million total viewers
- Viewers watched 20 billion minutes of the newsmagazine on the network alone
- Source: Nielsen, L+7, 9/21/2020-5/21/2021. Based on average P2+ impressions and durations. All broadcast Dateline titles and episodes included.
- 2.5 billion minutes of Dateline’s full episodes were consumed on digital platforms.
- Digital Source: Adobe Analytics and Partner Dashboards. 9/21/2020-5/21/2021.
| Total Viewers | A18-49 | A25-54 | |
| DATELINE | 4,106 | 807 | 1,115 |
| 20/20 | 4,073 | 863 | 1,185 |
Source: Nielsen, L+7, 9/21/2020-5/21/2021, Regular titles only, Excludes repeats.
May Sweep Highlights
- Dateline averages 3.949 million total viewers, ahead of 20/20 by +15% (+521,000)
- The broadcast average 1.063 million A25-54 viewers, ahead of 20/20 by +4%
- Dateline averages 753,000 A18-49 viewers, leading 20/20 by +1% (+9,000).
- This marks the newsmagazine’s 5th straight across the board win in the May sweep period.
| Total Viewers | A18-49 | A25-54 | |
| DATELINE | 3,949 | 753 | 1,063 |
| 20/20 | 3,428 | 744 | 1,020 |
Source: Nielsen, L+7, 4/29/2021-5/21/2021. Regular titles only, Excludes repeats
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For More Information:
Dominique Cuce
NBC News
Dateline NBC is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in its 29th season. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Natalie Morales, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, Dateline is the #1 Friday newsmagazine and reaches more than 17 million people every week through its broadcast, and millions more through its social media platforms and podcasts. Additionally, Dateline closed out the 2020-2021 primetime season as the #1 Friday newsmagazine. David Corvo is the senior executive producer, and Liz Cole is the executive producer.
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