U.S. Television Ratings
Survivor has consistently been one of the top 20 most watched shows through its first 18 seasons and from seasons 21 to 23.
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of the United States version of Survivor on CBS.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Survivor: Borneo doesn't have a ranking because it aired in the summer of 2000. It would have ranked #2 in the 1999–2000 U.S. television season, assuming it would have attained the exact same viewership numbers as it did in the summer of 2000.
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Premiered | Ended | TV season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale viewers (in millions) |
Reunion viewers (in millions) |
|||||
| Survivor: Borneo | Wednesday 8:00 pm | May 31, 2000 | 15.51 | August 23, 2000 | 51.69 | 36.70 | 1999–2000 | #2 | 28.30 |
| Survivor: The Australian Outback | Thursday 8:00 pm |
January 28, 2001 | 45.371 | May 3, 2001 | 36.35 | 28.01 | 2000–2001 | #1 | 29.80 |
| Survivor: Africa | October 11, 2001 | 23.84 | January 10, 2002 | 27.26 | 19.05 | 2001–2002 | #8 | 20.69 | |
| Survivor: Marquesas | February 28, 2002 | 23.19 | May 19, 2002 | 25.87 | 17.89 | #6 | 20.77 | ||
| Survivor: Thailand | September 19, 2002 | 23.05 | December 19, 2002 | 24.08 | 20.43 | 2002–2003 | #4 | 21.21 | |
| Survivor: The Amazon | February 13, 2003 | 23.26 | May 11, 2003 | 22.29 | 17.65 | #9 | 19.97 | ||
| Survivor: Pearl Islands | September 18, 2003 | 21.50 | December 14, 2003 | 25.23 | 21.87 | 2003–2004 | #7 | 20.72 | |
| Survivor: All-Stars | February 1, 2004 | 33.531 | May 9, 2004 | 24.76 | 23.92 | #3 | 21.49 | ||
| Survivor: Vanuatu | September 16, 2004 | 20.06 | December 12, 2004 | 19.72 | 15.23 | 2004–2005 | #10 | 19.64 | |
| Survivor: Palau | February 17, 2005 | 23.66 | May 15, 2005 | 20.80 | 15.48 | #5 | 20.91 | ||
| Survivor: Guatemala | September 15, 2005 | 18.41 | December 11, 2005 | 21.18 | 15.21 | 2005–2006 | #8 | 18.30 | |
| Survivor: Panama | February 2, 2006 | 19.20 | May 14, 2006 | 17.07 | 11.65 | #11 | 16.82 | ||
| Survivor: Cook Islands | September 14, 2006 | 18.00 | December 17, 2006 | 16.42 | 13.53 | 2006–2007 | #13 | 15.75 | |
| Survivor: Fiji | February 8, 2007 | 16.68 | May 13, 2007 | 13.63 | 11.43 | #15 | 14.83 | ||
| Survivor: China | September 20, 2007 | 15.35 | December 16, 2007 | 15.10 | 12.22 | 2007–2008 | #8 | 15.18 | |
| Survivor: Micronesia | February 7, 2008 | 14.02 | May 11, 2008 | 12.92 | 10.84 | #11 | 13.61 | ||
| Survivor: Gabon | September 25, 2008 | 13.05 | December 14, 2008 | 13.77 | 11.74 | 2008–2009 | #15 | 13.81 | |
| Survivor: Tocantins | February 12, 2009 | 13.63 | May 17, 2009 | 12.94 | 11.59 | #19 | 12.86 | ||
| Survivor: Samoa | September 17, 2009 | 11.66 | December 20, 2009 | 13.97 | 11.68 | 2009–2010 | #26 | 12.34 | |
| Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains | February 11, 2010 | 14.15 | May 16, 2010 | 13.46 | 10.65 | #25 | 12.60 | ||
| Survivor: Nicaragua | Wednesday 8:00 pm |
September 15, 2010 | 12.23 | December 19, 2010 | 13.58 | 11.19 | 2010–2011 | #11 | 13.61 |
| Survivor: Redemption Island | February 16, 2011 | 11.17 | May 15, 2011 | 13.30 | 10.97 | #18 | 12.59 | ||
| Survivor: South Pacific | September 14, 2011 | 10.74 | December 18, 2011 | 13.07 | 9.92 | 2011–2012 | #18 | 12.77 | |
| Survivor: One World | February 15, 2012 | 10.79 | May 13, 2012 | 10.34 | 7.72 | #29 | 11.64 | ||
| Survivor: Philippines | September 19, 2012 | 11.37 | December 16, 2012 | 11.46 | 8.77 | 2012–2013 | #21 | 11.85 | |
| Survivor: Caramoan | February 13, 2013 | 8.94 | May 12, 2013 | 10.16 | 8.13 | #28 | 10.82 | ||
^1 The season premieres of Survivor: The Australian Outback and Survivor: All-Stars each aired after a Super Bowl. Survivor seasons (competitions) broadcast in winter/spring have had episodes moved to Wednesdays at 8:00 pm to avoid conflicts with broadcasts of the first two weeks of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. For Survivor: Marquesas and every competition beginning with Survivor: The Amazon, the finale was broadcast Sunday at 8:00 pm. In addition, for the spring Survivor season (second competition of the television season), this finale has almost always coincided with Mother's Day in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Survivor (U.S. TV Series)
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