FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (R)
(1.5, +0.4),
The Neighborhood (R)
(0.6),
Sunday Night Football (4.5, +0.5),
The OT (2.7, +0.4) and
The Orville (1.5, +0.2) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (0.7, -0.8) and
Football Night in America p3 (2.5, -1.0) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Numbers to come. Fox previewed season two of The Orville after The OT, before it moves to its regular timeslot on Thursday. Expect an upward adjustment in finals, since it aired right after football in all time zones and the West Coast viewing is not included in these prelims.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
It's time for my
ninth annual look back at the year's top 10
moments in
TV ratings! As
always, the criteria are pretty subjective, but I go for a blend of 1)
relatively isolated incidents that are impressive for their sheer
enormity/cultural impact and 2)
moments that exemplify much larger trends in TV this year. Please let me
know about my most egregious rankings and omissions. Happy New Year!
FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (R)
(0.5) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: NBA Basketball (2.7, +0.6) adjusted up while
Black-ish (R)
(0.9) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (2.0, +0.2) and
Sunday Night Football (5.4, +0.8) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (0.4, -1.4),
Football Night in America p3 (2.1, -2.0) and
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (0.7, -0.2) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments. (The
Survivor reunion did not adjust from the 10:30 half-hour rating.)
WHAT MATTERS:- The season finale of Survivor had a 1.5 from 8:00 to 10:00 and a 1.2 in the 10:00 hour. Because of how total viewers are broken out, the preliminary table separates them this way, but the final rating for the reunion will probably look more like the 10:30 rating (1.0) in finals. This should be down a bit in Plus from last year's fall finale (1.9 finale, 1.2 reunion), but perhaps up from the last spring finale (1.4 finale, 0.9 reunion).
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- The two-hour season finale of The Voice (1.7) was down three tenths from last fall's 2.0 finale.
FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (1.5),
America's Got Talent Special (1.1) and
9-1-1 (R)
(0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC dominated with part one of The Voice's fall finale (1.5/1.6), down 20%ish from the year-ago evening. At 10/9c was an America's Got Talent special (1.2), which also served in part as a preview for the upcoming winter edition.
- Like most comedies that have aired deep into December, CBS' The Neighborhood (1.0) and Happy Together (0.7) ended on a down note. It would be a new series low for HT. The Great Christmas Light Fight finished on ABC with a 0.7.
FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (2.5) and
Sunday Night Football (5.4, +0.5) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (2.0) and
Football Night in America p3 (2.8, -1.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- With a big national NFL lead-in, CBS went forward with its regular lineup of 60 Minutes (2.4), God Friended Me (1.1/1.0) and NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9/0.8). Compared to the last CBS NFL lead-in three weeks ago, the 7:00 NFL half-hour (6.3) was up eight tenths and 60 Minutes (2.9/1.9) was up three tenths in both preliminary half-hours, but the dramas were not much different.
- There were lots of specials elsewhere; Fox looks about even year-to-year with the three-hour Miss Universe competition (0.9/1.2/1.3). ABC was even or a tick down year-to-year with its annual showing of The Sound of Music (0.5/0.8/0.9/0.8). And the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball (0.2) made its way to the CW Sunday.
FINALS UPDATE: Fresh Off the Boat (0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- In one last comedy duel before the holiday hiatus, Fox's Last Man Standing (1.0) and The Cool Kids (0.8) came out on top as usual, but ABC's Fresh Off the Boat (0.6) was the only one that managed a steady night week-to-week in the rounded numbers; its lead-out Speechless (0.4) also inched down.
- Later in the ABC evening, things got super-ugly as Child Support (0.3) somehow found another new low, but it was a season high night for NBC's Dateline (0.8) in its return to two-hour episodes. CBS went with I Love Lucy (0.6) and Dick Van Dyke (0.5) holiday specials, while the CW had a Hollywood Christmas Parade special (0.2).
FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (5.0, +1.6) adjusted up while
Young Sheldon (R)
(1.0) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC kept just one hour of comedy around for the second Thursday in December, and was not rewarded; Superstore (0.7) fell to a new season low, while I Feel Bad (0.4) couldn't improve at all in a special 8:30 edition. CBS also had a single comedy hour at 9/8c, which saw Mom (1.2) build on Sheldon repeats (1.1/1.1), but Murphy Brown was down to its first 0.7 at 9:30.
- Week two of ABC's The Great American Baking Show (0.6) and the CW's Supernatural (0.4) and Legacies (0.3) were all down a tenth from last week. And Fox got a big showing from its last Thursday Night Football of the season (3.2/3.5/3.4); it could be a 5.0ish in finals.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fall finale night was a mixed bag for ABC, with The Goldbergs (1.1) preliminarily on the downturn but the other comedies American Housewife (1.0), Modern Family (1.4) and Single Parents (0.9) all up a notch. A Million Little Things posted another 0.7 at 10/9c, in its last episode before a move to Thursday after Grey's Anatomy in the new year.
- Following a steady Survivor (1.5), CBS was on the upswing with dramas SEAL Team (1.0) and Criminal Minds (0.8). It would be the first trip into the ones all season for SEAL.
- NBC had holiday special editions of Ellen's Game of Games (1.2) and Little Big Shots (0.8), and the CW was even with the fall finales of Riverdale (0.4) and All American (0.2).
FINALS UPDATE: The Rookie (0.8) and
Supergirl (0.8) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was fall finale night on ABC, which got one-tenth rebounds for comedies The Conners (1.4), The Kids Are Alright (0.9) and Splitting Up Together (0.7), and CBS, which was up a notch with NCIS (1.3) but down a notch at 10/9c with NCIS: New Orleans (0.8).
- NBC had another week of special programming after The Voice (1.4); this time, a one-hour Darci Lynne special (0.8) and Hollywood Game Night (0.5) did considerably worse than last week's SNL.
- And the CW finished up its three night crossover with Supergirl (0.7) hitting season high levels on a special night. Though this was basically the same as a normal The Flash rating, Black Lightning (0.4) still managed an uptick at 9/8c.
FINALS UPDATE: Arrow (0.8) adjusted up while
The Neighborhood (1.1, -0.2),
Happy Together (0.8, -0.2),
Magnum P.I. (0.8, -0.2) and
Bull (0.8, -0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.9, +0.6) and
The Flash (0.7) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (0.5, -1.2) and
Football Night in America p3 (2.3, -2.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- With a big Dallas Cowboys game in the late afternoon that stretched into the 7:30 half-hour, Fox got an even bigger NFL boost than usual for The Simpsons (2.8), Bob's Burgers (1.8), Family Guy (1.5) and Rel (0.8). The NFL also had a good night on NBC, where Sunday Night Football (5.4/5.5/5.1) should uptick back to 6.0ish after finals.
- CBS' God Friended Me (0.8), NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9) and Madam Secretary (0.6) aired without the NFL lead-in, and looked similar to the same situation three weeks ago (LA a little better). ABC's Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.6) couldn't pick up any steam on finale night, and Shark Tank (0.7) was also even.
- The CW began a three-night superhero crossover with The Flash (0.6) taking a turn on Sunday. It was toward the low end ratings-wise by Flash standards, but better than anything Supergirl has done on the night this season. With a new lead-in, Charmed remained at 0.3.
FINALS UPDATE: Hell's Kitchen (0.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (3.1, +0.9) adjusted up while
Mom (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was fall finale night for the two biggest Wednesday lineups, NBC's One Chicago (1.2/1.2/1.1) and Fox's Empire (1.5) and Star (1.2). Fire and Empire were both preliminarily down a notch, while PD and Star were each up a notch; notably, it was the best rating for Star since mid-October.
- ABC's comedy anchors The Goldbergs (1.2) and Modern Family (1.3) were even, but :30 comedies American Housewife (0.9) and Single Parents (0.8) each lost a tenth. That's a new low for Single Parents. After upticking last week, A Million Little Things was back down to 0.7.
- CBS' regular lineup returned with Survivor (1.5) inching down, while SEAL Team (0.8) and Criminal Minds (0.7) returned to normal after good showings on Thanksgiving Eve. And after ekeing out 0.3 for four weeks in a row, the CW's All American was finally back at 0.2, for the first time since its second week.
FINALS UPDATE: NCIS: New Orleans (0.9) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- On the first Tuesday after This Is Us and New Amsterdam wrapped for the fall, NBC was down from last week in both their timeslots with a two-hour Saturday Night Live Christmas special (1.1/0.9). Last year, the SNL Christmas special aired on December 21 and got a 1.2.
- Despite weaker competition, ABC's lineup lost a tenth across the board with The Conners (1.3), The Kids Are Alright (0.8), Black-ish (0.8), Splitting Up Together (0.6) and The Rookie (0.7). CBS' NCIS (1.2), FBI (1.0) and NCIS: New Orleans (0.8) all matched their last originals two weeks ago, and Fox was also even with The Gifted (0.7) and Lethal Weapon (0.7). The CW's The Flash (0.7) was the lone upticker.
FINALS UPDATE: Arrow (0.5) adjusted up while
The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.8, -0.3),
The Good Doctor (1.1, -0.3) and
The Neighborhood (1.0) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- In its first NBC telecast since May 2009, Deal or No Deal (1.0) returned for a holiday special after The Voice (1.5), before it begins a new run of originals on CNBC. It at least showed more spark than in the dying days of its NBC run; this episode should finish above the league average, which DoND didn't do in its last 50 or so airings in the late aughts.
- CBS mixed an hour of The Big Bang Theory repeats (0.8/0.8) in between originals of 8/7c comedies The Neighborhood (1.1) and Happy Together (0.8) and 10/9c drama Bull (0.7). ABC (pending preemptions due to Monday Night Football) had the fall finale of The Good Doctor (1.4). The CW (0.4/0.3) was even.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.4, +0.6) and
The OT (3.1, +0.5) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (1.1, -0.2),
Garth: Live at Notre Dame! (1.2),
NCIS: Los Angeles (R)
(0.5),
Football Night in America p2 (1.3, -0.6),
Football Night in America p3 (2.4, -1.6) and
NFL Overrun (4.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Without the national NFL lead-in, CBS sat out its dramas and got a strong showing from a two-hour Garth Brooks special (1.3/1.2). With the late afternoon NFL help, Fox's comedies (1.6/1.2/1.2/0.6) looked quite similar to their last eps with the big lead-in two weeks ago.
- ABC took over the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (0.9) after a long run on CBS, putting it on Sunday at 10/9c. The result was another 40% year-to-year decline for a special that has already been on a sharp downturn. (It got a 3.4 just four years ago!) Earlier in the night, America's Funniest Home Videos (0.8) inched down, while Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.6) and Shark Tank (0.7) were even.
- NBC was a little lower than usual with Sunday Night Football (5.0/5.0/4.6), while the CW was on the upswing with Supergirl (0.4) and Charmed (0.3).
FINALS UPDATE: Pac-12 Championship (1.0) adjusted up while
MacGyver (0.7) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: S.W.A.T. (0.8) and
Thursday Night Football (6.4, +1.9) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The CBS and NBC comedies in the 8:00 hour both had the week off; CBS' Sheldon shows were in repeats (1.2/1.1), while NBC went much lower with a LEGO Jurassic World special (0.5/0.4).
- Both networks had their regular originals in the last two hours, which was bad news for NBC as Will and Grace (0.6), I Feel Bad (0.4) and Law and Order: SVU (0.7) all fell to new lows. CBS held up a bit better, relatively speaking, with Mom (1.1), Murphy Brown (0.8) and S.W.A.T. (0.7), though it was still a new low for Mom.
- Elsewhere, Fox (3.8/4.8/5.0) is headed for its biggest Thursday Night Football of the season by a massive margin; expect over a 6.0 in finals, which could beat the last Sunday Night Football. ABC was in full holiday special mode with Frozen (0.9) and Toy Story (0.8) specials from past seasons, plus a new two-hour Disney-themed special (0.9/0.6). And the CW's Supernatural (0.4) and Legacies (0.3) were even.
FINALS UPDATE: Empire (1.6) adjusted up while
Riverdale (0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC Wednesday was back for the first time in three weeks, and up against NBC's special Christmas programming which has historically led to some bad nights. This year, all four comedies (1.2/1.0/1.3/0.9) were down a tenth from three weeks ago, up against the two-hour Christmas in Rockefeller Center special (1.3) which was down noticeably from last year's 1.7. However, A Million Little Things went up to 0.8 at 10/9c, and managed a head-to-head tie against NBC's John Legend/Chrissy Teigen special (0.8).
- Elsewhere, Survivor (1.6/1.5) went to two hours and had its highest ratings in three weeks, but there wasn't much interest in a Magnum P.I. repeat at 10/9c (0.5). 8/7c dramas Empire (1.5) and Riverdale (0.5) were both on the uptick after a week off, while their respective lead-outs Star (1.1) and All American (0.3) were even.
FINALS UPDATE: This Is Us (2.1) and
The Gifted (0.7) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The post-Thanksgiving upswing for broadcast continued into Tuesday, at least to some extent. NBC got another night of growth for The Voice (1.5) and a return to the twos for the This Is Us fall finale (2.0), while New Amsterdam (1.1) was even.
- ABC's The Conners (1.4) and The Kids Are Alright (0.9) matched last week's lows, but Black-ish (0.9), Splitting Up Together (0.7) and The Rookie (0.8) were all up a notch. Fox's Lethal Weapon (0.7) also pulled off an uptick.
- Repeats continued on CBS, starting with holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1.7) at 8/7c which was down two tenths from last year. The CW (0.6/0.3) matched last week.
FINALS UPDATE: The Great Christmas Light Fight (0.9, -0.2) and
The Good Doctor (1.0, -0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC brought in traditional end-of-year filler The Great Christmas Light Fight (1.1), joined by an original of The Good Doctor (1.2). As usual, ABC ratings will likely adjust down due to Monday Night Football preemptions. Last year's season of Light Fight went 1.0 -> 0.9 -> 0.9.
- NBC was on the upswing with The Voice (1.6) and saw a third straight 1.1 for the fall finale of Manifest. Fox was even with The Resident (0.9) but got a nice uptick from 9-1-1 (1.4). The CW's Arrow (0.4) inched up. CBS was all repeats, leading off with The Big Bang Theory (1.0).
FINALS UPDATE: NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9) and
Sunday Night Football (6.1, +0.7) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (2.0),
Football Night in America p2 (2.1, -0.3),
Football Night in America p3 (3.2, -1.4) and
The Simpsons (0.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- With a national NFL lead-in, CBS' 60 Minutes (2.1), God Friended Me (1.0), NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9/0.8) and Madam Secretary (0.6) looked pretty similar to the last time CBS had the NFL help two weeks ago. These shows started just 3 minutes after their listed times on the East Coast.
- The mothership's season may have ended, but spin-off Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.6) kept on going after Thanksgiving, and was unable to take advantage of an above-average lead-in from America's Funniest Home Videos (0.9). Shark Tank (0.7) was back from a week off and down a tenth.
- On Fox, only The Simpsons (0.9) and Bob's Burgers (0.9) were original, while the CW saw Charmed take another drop to its first 0.2.
FINALS UPDATE: CFB on Fox (0.9, +0.2) adjusted up while
Dreamworks Trolls Holiday (0.6),
The Wall (R)
(0.4) and
College Basketball Overrun (0.6, -0.2) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (6.6, +0.9) adjusted up while
MasterChef Junior Special (1.7, -0.2) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Single Parents (R)
(0.6) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was the last reasonably full night of entertainment programming before Thanksgiving weekend, and some TV viewers got an early start on the break. ABC's comedies The Conners (1.4), The Kids Are Alright (0.9), Black-ish (0.8) and Splitting Up Together (0.6) were all down again (two tenths in Black-ish's case), while The Rookie managed to hold at 0.7.
- NBC was down two tenths with both The Voice (1.4) and This Is Us (1.8), but like on ABC, the freshman 10/9c drama held up better: New Amsterdam (1.1) preliminarily matched last week.
- CBS was down two tenths with NCIS (1.2) and one with FBI (1.0) and NCIS: New Orleans (0.8). The CW's The Flash (0.6) and Black Lightning (0.3) were even, while Fox went with repeats (0.3/0.4).
FINALS UPDATE: Dancing with the Stars (1.1, -0.2) and
The Good Doctor (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Opposite the biggest game of the season on Monday Night Football, The Voice (1.4) took a major decline on NBC. This is the time of year when that often happens (it lost three tenths week-to-week on the same night a year ago), but this was more than usual. It would be kinda crazy if Manifest (1.1) could pull off its first even week-to-week against that backdrop, but stay tuned for finals. (It had a very high 1.1 last week and dropped in most other demos, so it seems very unlikely to be steady in the un-rounded numbers.)
- Nobody else was affected too much, though Fox's The Resident (0.9) may finally end its streak of 1.0's. CBS was even-ish with The Neighborhood (1.1), Happy Together (0.9) and Magnum P.I. (0.8) while Bull was in repeats (0.6). The CW's Arrow inched back down to 0.3.
- ABC's Dancing with the Stars (1.3) and The Good Doctor (1.2) will likely adjust down due to MNF preemptions.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.8, +0.5) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (1.4, -0.5) and
Football Night in America p3 (2.6, -1.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week eight. Just a quick look at some ABC comedies this week!
FINALS UPDATE: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.2) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a relatively big night for the ABC comedies, as Fresh Off the Boat (0.7) and Speechless (0.6) are each eyeing new season highs. That didn't help Child Support (0.4) a bit at 9/8c, though 20/20 (0.5) did inch up at 10/9c.
- Fox's Last Man Standing (1.1) and The Cool Kids (0.9) gave back last week's gains (plus dropped another tenth in LMS' case), but CBS was on the uptick with Hawaii Five-0 (0.8) and Blue Bloods (0.9).
FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (5.0, +1.6) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fall finale night brought upticks to all three prongs of TGIT: Grey's Anatomy (1.7), Station 19 (1.2) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.8). It was a particularly above-average night for S19, the show's highest rating this season other than the Grey's crossover in early October.
- CBS was even with the Sheldon comedies (2.3/1.8) but up in the last two hours with Mom (1.3), Murphy Brown (0.9) and S.W.A.T. (0.8). NBC dropped where CBS gained, as the net was steady with Superstore (0.9) and The Good Place (0.8) but saw Will and Grace (0.7) and Law and Order: SVU (0.8) fall to new lows.
- And the CW got another 0.3 out of Legacies, as its Supernatural lead-in ticked up to 0.4. Thursday Night Football (3.0/3.7/3.4) had another pretty big night, likely matching or slightly exceeding last week.
WHAT MATTERS:- The CMA Awards took a steep decline on ABC, down by 35% from last year's 3.2. It was a new low for the ceremony by a mile, nearly a point below the 2.9 from two years ago.
- But the ceremony was still big enough to maybe contribute to some drops on the other broadcasters; CBS (1.4/0.8/0.7) gave back its gains from last week, while NBC's Chicago PD (1.0) and Fox's Empire (1.4) preliminarily inched down. On the CW, All American hung in there at 0.3 yet again, a tenth below its Riverdale lead-in.
WHAT MATTERS:- Back after a week of election preemptions, ABC's Tuesday lineup looked less like the Halloween-boosted one of two weeks ago, and more like what they did three weeks ago... if not even worse. The Conners (1.5) and The Kids Are Alright (1.0) both hit new lows, while Black-ish (1.0) lost just one tenth and Splitting Up Together (0.7) fell two tenths to tie its week two rating. The Rookie dropped to 0.7 for the first time at 10/9c.
- On NBC, New Amsterdam (1.1) took a hit at 10/9c, while The Voice (1.6) and This Is Us (2.0) were even to narrowly down.
- CBS had the best return from preemption, with NCIS (1.4) and FBI (1.1) both rising from two weeks ago.
- And Fox's The Gifted and Lethal Weapon were back down to 0.6, after growing with no entertainment competition a week ago. The CW's The Flash (0.6) is eyeing a new season low, though it's already adjusted up from 0.6 to 0.7 twice this season.
FINALS UPDATE: Arrow (0.4) and
Legends of Tomorrow (0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Week seven brought a sixth consecutive drop for Manifest (1.1), putting it an even halfway down from its 2.2 premiere in September. Its lead-in The Voice (1.7/1.6) was also down. Manifest still eked out a win in the 10/9c hour, as ABC was even-ish with The Good Doctor (1.0) and its lead-in Dancing with the Stars (1.0/0.9).
- CBS saw a rebound for The Neighborhood (1.1) but stayed at 0.8 for everything else. Fox (0.6/0.6) went into repeats and the CW dramas (0.5/0.4) are pending a New York City preemption for Monday Night Football.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (6.5, +0.6) and
Family Guy (1.1) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (2.0, -0.4),
God Friended Me (1.0),
Football Night in America p2 (1.7, -0.6),
Football Night in America p3 (3.2, -1.6) and
The Simpsons (0.9) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- With The Alec Baldwin Show finally gone on ABC, the net gave the last two hours of the night to Robin Roberts specials on Michelle Obama (0.7) and country music (0.4), making for a block that didn't look too different from Shark Tank and Alec. They had a rough lead-in from Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.6), which fell to a new low at 8/7c.
- The NFL was back on CBS to boost 60 Minutes (2.4), God Friended Me (1.1) and NCIS: Los Angeles (0.8), though all could adjust down a bit since they started 10 minutes after the listed times. Without the NFL, Fox's animation (1.0/1.0/1.0) managed to stay out of fractional territory, but Rel fell back to a 0.5. And Sunday Night Football (5.7/6.1/5.7) was down from last week's highs but still a little better than usual. Supergirl inched down to 0.3 on the CW.
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week seven. There was very little week-to-week movement in R% on the big four this week, and a lot of it on the CW, so this week I'm just gonna run through a few CW shows.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fox Friday became even more dominant, as Last Man Standing (1.3), The Cool Kids (1.0) and Hell's Kitchen (0.8) were all up from last week. Meanwhile, CBS was down with MacGyver (0.7) and especially Hawaii Five-0 (0.7), which tied its season low, while Blue Bloods (0.8) was steady.
- ABC's comedies (0.6/0.5) were even but Child Support fell back to 0.4. NBC is eyeing an 8/7c uptick for Blindspot (0.5), as is the CW with Dynasty (0.2).
FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (4.7, +1.3) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a night full of rebounds from Halloween, as the ABC comedies (1.3/1.1/1.4/1.0) made it most to all of the way back to their ratings from two weeks ago. However, A Million Little Things fell to its first 0.7 at 10/9c. NBC's Chicago trio (1.2/1.3/1.1) and Fox's Empire (1.5) and Star (1.1) were, like the ABC comedies, somewhere between Halloween and two weeks ago.
- It was an above average night for CBS, as SEAL Team (0.9) is actually eyeing a new season high, while Survivor (1.6) and Criminal Minds (0.8) had their best numbers in a month.
- And the CW's All American is trying to hang onto a second straight 0.3, despite Riverdale (0.4) dropping in the prelims this week.
FINALS UPDATE: ABC News 2018 Midterm Election (1.2),
CBS News: Election Night (0.8),
The Vote: America's Future (1.3) and
The Flash (R)
(0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC (1.4), ABC (1.3) and CBS (0.9) all devoted a full three hours to coverage of the midterm elections.
- The CW (0.3/0.2) went into repeats, leaving Fox's The Gifted (0.7) and Lethal Weapon (0.7) as the only original entertainment programs on broadcast. Both were (unless preempted for local elections coverage) up a little.
FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (1.8) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (0.9, -0.2),
The Good Doctor (1.0, -0.3) and
Manifest (1.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Back from a week off, NBC's Manifest (1.3) lost just a tenth from last week in the prelims, which seems like an OK hold since The Voice (1.7/1.8) had a 1.9 on that night.
- ABC's The Good Doctor (1.3) pulled into a tie at 10/9c, building out of Dancing with the Stars (1.1), but expect downward adjustments for both due to Monday Night Football preemptions.
- Fox's 9-1-1 (1.2) took a hit at 9/8c, but its lead-in The Resident (1.0) kept hanging in there. The CBS comedies (1.0/0.8) and Bull (0.8) were down a notch, as was Arrow (0.3) on the CW.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (7.4, +0.7) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (1.1),
Madam Secretary (0.5),
Football Night in America p2 (1.4, -0.9),
Football Night in America p3 (3.4, -2.0),
NFL Overrun (5.5, -0.3) and
The OT (3.8, -0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC handed 8:00-10:00 over to a two-hour Mickey Mouse anniversary special (1.0) and considerably improved its ratings in that period. But it was no help at all to The Alec Baldwin Show, which made it four weeks in a row at 0.3.
- It was a huge week for the NFL, as Sunday Night Football (6.7ish) should adjust up close to season-high levels, while a big late afternoon lead-in on Fox boosted The Simpsons (1.9), Bob's Burgers (1.3) and Family Guy (1.1) to at or near season highs of their own.
- CBS saw God Friended Me (0.8) and NCIS: Los Angeles (0.7) swap ratings; the former seemingly got more help from local market NFL this week, as the 7:00 hour averaged a preliminary 1.2. The CW was even with Supergirl (0.4) and Charmed (0.3).
Here's a quick look at the big Renewology developments in week six!
FINALS UPDATE: Last Man Standing (1.2) adjusted up while
Dynasty (0.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.6),
Mom (1.2),
Superstore (0.9),
The Good Place (0.8) and
Thursday Night Football (3.2, +1.1) adjusted up while
I Feel Bad (0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: The Flash (0.7) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a promising week three for ABC's Tuesday comedies, as The Conners (1.8) pulled off an uptick while The Kids Are Alright (1.3), Black-ish (1.1) and Splitting Up Together (0.9) were all up multiple tenths. At 10/9c, The Rookie remained at 0.8.
- CBS was mostly up, though not quite as much with the NCIS twins (1.3/0.9) surrounding an even FBI (1.0). NBC was closer to even overall with The Voice (1.6) and This Is Us (2.1), while New Amsterdam (1.3) gave back part of last week's spike.
- Fox dramas The Gifted (0.6) and Lethal Weapon (0.6) were back on the air after an early end to the World Series, while the CW had a down night with The Flash (0.6) and Black Lightning (0.3).
FINALS UPDATE: Happy Together (0.9) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (0.9, -0.3) and
The Good Doctor (1.0, -0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC's Manifest took the night off, and the network did worse at 10/9c (though still OK) with a Wicked Halloween special (1.0). The Voice (1.7/1.8) was down a bit as well.
- Meanwhile, ABC was back with Dancing with the Stars (1.2) and The Good Doctor (1.3). Stay tuned for adjustments due to Monday Night Football preemptions.
- Everybody else was steady-ish: CBS inched up with Bull (0.9) at 10/9c but Happy Together was back down to a preliminary 0.8. Fox was even with The Resident (1.0) and up a notch with 9-1-1 (1.4). And the CW dramas (0.4/0.3) matched last week.
FINALS UPDATE: Shark Tank (0.7),
Sunday Night Football (4.5, +0.5) and
World Series (4.6, +0.7) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (0.6, -0.7),
Football Night in America p3 (2.2, -0.9),
NFL Overrun (5.9, -0.8) and
The OT (4.8, -1.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Sports ruled even more than usual on Sunday, with the World Series (4.4/4.5/3.7) coming to an early end on Fox and NBC narrowly edging the Series in the prelims with Sunday Night Football (4.0).
- CBS' God Friended Me (0.7) took a hard fall in its second on-time airing at 8/7c (two tenths below the 0.9 it pulled here in week two), though NCIS: Los Angeles (0.8) and Madam Secretary (0.6) held up well.
- ABC's Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.7) and Shark Tank (0.6) gave back their recent gains, tying their season lows from three weeks ago. And Charmed (0.3) dropped another tenth on the CW.
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week five.
WHAT MATTERS:- 403 days after its first season finale, NBC drama Midnight, Texas (0.4) returned for season two, and it was a couple tenths below its previous low point. (Season one ranged from 0.6 to 0.9.) If there's any silver lining, it's that it appeared to skew younger than its Blindspot (0.4) lead-in, dropping a lot in total viewers but actually growing from 0.2 to 0.3 in adults 18-34. But it derailed its lead-out Dateline (0.5) at 10/9c.
- Against a marathon Game 3 of the World Series (3.4ish prelim), the CBS dramas (0.6/0.7/0.7) were all down a tenth. ABC's comedies sat out in favor of Peanuts specials (0.9), which helped lift Child Support (0.5) by a tenth.
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.3),
Thursday Night Football (3.6, +0.9) and
Supernatural (0.4) adjusted up while
Will and Grace (0.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The CW had its third and final new drama premiere of the fall in The Originals spin-off Legacies (0.3), which matched what seems like a horribly off night from its lead-in Supernatural (0.3). Maybe Supernatural will rebound and help it out in the future, but either way it seems like a much murkier start compared with the other newbies Charmed and All American.
- On ABC, Grey's Anatomy (1.5) was back from a week off and boosted Station 19 (0.9) by a tenth, while How to Get Away with Murder remained at 0.7.
- CBS was up with The Big Bang Theory (2.2) but down in the 9/8c hour with Mom (1.2) and the now shaky Murphy Brown (0.8). NBC was even with its three staple comedies (0.9/0.8/0.9) but saw I Feel Bad return to 0.5 and Law and Order: SVU (0.9) tick down as well.
FINALS UPDATE: Survivor (1.5),
Chicago Fire (1.4) and
World Series (3.3, +0.5) adjusted up while
Single Parents (1.0) and
Chicago Med (1.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Prelims for game 2 of the World Series (2.8) were off more than half a point from Game 1. It may adjust up more since the game ended earlier (so less of the West Coast viewing is counted in the prelims), but it's hard to imagine it won't be a double digit decline vs. the 4.2 for Game 2 last year.
- The Series did nothing to faze the broadcasters on Wednesday, as the ABC comedies (1.3/1.1/1.5/1.1) were all up a tenth or two from last week and A Million Little Things (0.8) was even. NBC's Chicago trio (1.3/1.3/1.2) ticked up at 8:00 and 10:00, and CBS (1.4/0.8/0.7) was steady across the board. Even the CW was up with Riverdale (0.5) and All American (0.3). Not sure if there are any preemptions involved?
FINALS UPDATE: New Amsterdam (1.4) and
World Series (3.7, +0.3) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The Conners (1.7) took a sharp, 25-30% drop in its second week on ABC. It's likely to be an even bigger drop than week two of Roseanne last spring, which was starting from a much heftier place. The rest of the ABC night was down not quite as sharply, but still significantly; newbie The Kids Are Alright fell three tenths to 1.1, Black-ish (0.9) did well to only lose a tenth, but Splitting Up Together (0.7) was off by two and stood out as a weak link this time. At 10/9c, newbie The Rookie (0.8) lost two tenths.
- ABC probably didn't get helped by facing Game 1 of the World Series (3.4), which was up from last year's 3.0ish prelim. This one may not adjust up as much as Game 1 last year (3.9 final), since it ran deep into primetime Pacific Time (so a lot of the West Coast viewing is already baked into this number).
- Nobody else suffered too terribly against the Series; The Voice (1.6) was nicked a bit on NBC, but This Is Us (2.1) dropped just a tenth and New Amsterdam (1.3) was at least preliminarily up a tenth. CBS (1.2/1.0/0.8) was even across the board, and the CW got a rebound at 9/8c with Black Lightning (0.4), following an even The Flash (0.7).
FINALS UPDATE: Happy Together (0.9) and
The Voice (1.9) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (1.0) and
The Rookie (R)
(0.5, -0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Disney Night on Dancing with the Stars (1.1/1.0) is eyeing a nice uptick in the prelims, but some to all of that could be wiped out due to Monday Night Football preemption. The Good Doctor took the week off in favor of an encore of The Rookie's pilot (0.7), back in the timeslot Castle occupied for eight years.
- The CW brought back DC's Legends of Tomorrow (0.3) at a new series low, dropping a tenth from its Arrow (0.4) lead-in.
- Despite easier competition at 10/9c, NBC's Manifest (1.4) inched down once again, while The Voice (1.8/1.9) was close to last week. 9-1-1 (1.3) was also down a notch on Fox while The Resident clung to 1.0. CBS was also a mix of even and slightly down, with Happy Together (0.8) and Magnum P.I. (0.8) each losing a tenth while the bookends The Neighborhood (1.1) and Bull (0.8) were even.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (5.1, +0.5),
The Simpsons (1.3) and
Bob's Burgers (1.3) adjusted up while
The Alec Baldwin Show (0.3),
60 Minutes (2.3, -0.4),
God Friended Me (1.2),
Madam Secretary (0.6),
Football Night in America p2 (1.6, -0.3),
Football Night in America p3 (2.7, -1.0) and
The Simpsons (R)
(0.8, -0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS got a second straight national NFL lead-in, but this one looks much bigger than last week's and extended into the 7:30 half hour. 60 Minutes (2.7), God Friended Me (1.3), NCIS: Los Angeles (1.1/1.0) and Madam Secretary (0.7) may be subject to minor downward adjustment since they started about 7 minutes after their listed times.
- Even without the NFL lead-in, Fox also fared a lot better than last week, as is typical on Treehouse of Horror week for The Simpsons (1.2). But Bob's Burgers (1.2) and Family Guy (1.1) managed to get as much or more of a boost than Simpsons itself, though not much of the heat extended to Rel (0.6) at 9:30.
- Week two for the CW's return to Sunday drama programming saw Supergirl (0.4) and Charmed (0.4) both inch down from last week's premieres. Stay tuned for the un-roundeds, but the shows were down in the low-to-mid teens percentage-wise in total viewers.
- And ABC continued trying to crawl out of oblivion with Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.8) matching last week's final (which adjusted up from a prelim 0.7) and Shark Tank (0.8) on the uptick for a second straight week at 9/8c. With Kim Kardashian as the guest, The Alec Baldwin Show could only tie last week's preliminary 0.4 and will hope to avoid a downward adjustment this time.
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week four.
FINALS UPDATE: Last Man Standing (1.3) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- With a World Series preemption coming next week, Last Man Standing (1.2) and The Cool Kids (0.9) each took a bit of a dip in their fourth weeks, hitting new season lows. The competing comedies on ABC made up a teeny bit of ground, as Fresh Off the Boat (0.6) and Speechless (0.5) were both on the uptick.
- Things got uglier for season four of Blindspot, which fell to its first 0.4 in week two, while Midnight, Texas is poised to take over for the 9/8c hour of Dateline (0.6) next week. And on CBS, MacGyver (0.7) inched back behind the net's other two dramas (0.8/0.8).
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.1),
Superstore (0.9) and
Thursday Night Football (2.8, +0.7) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: Single Parents (0.9) and
Chicago PD (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- On ABC, it was a rough night for anchor The Goldbergs (1.1), which would be down two tenths and at a new low if it stays there. Modern Family (1.3) was down one tenth, while American Housewife (1.0), Single Parents (1.0) and A Million Little Things (0.8) all held on.
- Elsewhere, there was some separation at 8/7c as a steady Empire (1.6) pulled ahead of a down Survivor (1.4) for the nightly lead. CBS dramas SEAL Team (0.8) and Criminal Minds (0.7) were back down a notch, as was Star (1.2) on Fox and the first two of NBC's Chicago dramas (1.2/1.3/1.2).
- On the CW, Riverdale (0.4) dropped a tenth from last week's premiere, while All American hung at 0.2 in its second week. (It was down about 10% in total viewers from last week.)
FINALS UPDATE: The Conners (2.4),
The Voice (1.8) and
The Flash (0.7) adjusted up while
Black-ish (1.0) and
Splitting Up Together (0.9) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Roseanne spin-off The Conners (2.3) brought a spark to ABC Tuesday, but it fell behind the low point of the Roseanne revival (which ended on a 2.5 in May). It was unable to top The Big Bang Theory's premiere (2.5) for the top comedy episode of the season to date, though it still tied last week's TBBT for second best.
- Following The Conners was new comedy The Kids Are Alright (1.4), which got about what you would expect from a typical episode of The Middle with the big lead-in last year. Black-ish (1.1) was a little down from its late spring ratings last year, while sophomore Splitting Up Together (1.0) managed to tie its finale. At 10/9c was the launch of older-skewing Nathan Fillion drama The Rookie (1.0), which tied last year's Kevin (Probably) Saves the World premiere, beat last year's For the People premiere (0.8), and was a notch below where A Million Little Things (1.1) began on Premiere Wednesday.
- Opposite ABC's return, there was some downward movement on CBS with the NCIS twins (1.2/0.8) surrounding a steady FBI (1.0), and on NBC with The Voice (1.7) and This Is Us (2.2) down a tenth and New Amsterdam (1.2) down two. Fox's The Gifted fell to its first 0.6, and the CW's The Flash (0.6) and Black Lightning (0.3) had somewhat sizable post-premiere drops.
FINALS UPDATE: Magnum P.I. (0.9) and
Bull (0.8) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (0.9) and
9-1-1 (1.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS' Magnum P.I. took an unwelcome dip to 0.8 in week four, but comedies The Neighborhood (1.1) and Happy Together (0.9) managed to stabilize in their third airings. After adjusting up to 0.8 last week, Bull was back at a preliminary 0.7 this time.
- Things look pretty steady elsewhere on the big four with ABC's Dancing with the Stars (1.0) and The Good Doctor (1.1), NBC's The Voice (1.9) and Manifest (1.5) and Fox's The Resident (1.0) and 911 (1.5). Monday Night Football preemptions (which appear to be on ABC and Fox?) could make a minor impact.
- The CW’s rollout continued with the move of Arrow (0.4) over to Monday. It was down noticeably from last year’s premiere (0.6) but even or slightly above what it was doing late last season. It was accompanied by a low-rated Constantine special (0.2).
FINALS UPDATE: Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.8),
60 Minutes (1.9),
NCIS: Los Angeles (1.0),
Sunday Night Football (7.0, +1.0) and
Family Guy (0.9) adjusted up while
The Alec Baldwin Show (0.3),
NFL Overrun (3.5),
God Friended Me (1.0),
Football Night in America p2 (2.0, -0.6),
Football Night in America p3 (3.1, -1.9) and
The Simpsons (R)
(0.5, -0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The CW made its return to regular Sunday night programming with veteran Supergirl (0.5) leading into the series premiere of the Charmed reboot (0.5), back on the night where the original series aired the second half of its run on the WB. Charmed doesn't look like a game-changer for the network's ratings landscape, but if the goal of the game to get renewed, a CBS-produced series starting at 0.5 should have a good chance.
- ABC finished out its all-unscripted Sunday lineup with a terrible start for The Alec Baldwin Show (0.4) at 10/9c, unable to even match last year's 0.5 start in the slot for Ten Days in the Valley. The rest of the night held up OK for ABC; Shark Tank (0.7) inched up in a return to the 9/8c hour, Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.7) matched last week's premiere, and America's Funniest Home Videos (0.9) got a nice bounce in the 7/6c hour (probably benefiting from an early end to the CBS NFL coverage).
- Speaking of CBS, with that early end to the NFL 60 Minutes (2.1/1.6) was down from two weeks ago despite a Donald Trump interview. God Friended Me (1.1) was up from last week at 8/7c and down two tenths from its NFL night premiere two weeks ago, continuing to stay close to the Wisdom of the Crowd raw numbers track. NCIS: Los Angeles (0.9) also edged up.
- It was a brutal night on Fox; The Simpsons (1.0), Bob's Burgers (0.9) and Family Guy (0.8) all looked way worse than either of the first two weeks, while Rel took the I Feel Bad route and fell all the way to a horrific 0.5 at 9:30. That came against what looks like a huge game for the NFL on NBC; Chiefs/Patriots prelims are up about 10% from last week and about 20% from the year-ago evening.
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week three.
FINALS UPDATE: Speechless (0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a very encouraging third week for the new dominant show on Friday, Fox's Last Man Standing (1.4), which grew by a tenth following last week's big drop. But the gap widened with its newbie lead-out The Cool Kids (1.0), as that lost a tenth. Hell's Kitchen remained at 0.8.
- NBC brought back veteran drama Blindspot (0.5) in the 8/7c hour, where it was two tenths below last season's premiere and in line with its late spring results from last season. Expanding to two hours for a couple weeks, Dateline (0.7/0.8) fared a little better.
- ABC's disappointing new TGIF didn't get any better in week two, with Fresh Off the Boat dropping to join Speechless at 0.5, while Child Support stayed at 0.4. A Melania Trump interview on 20/20 (0.5) brought that show up a touch. On CBS, MacGyver rose to match fellow dramas Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods at 0.8.
- And Surrender Friday was back on the CW with sophomore Dynasty getting back to a 0.2 at 8/7c, but the final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend opened with the show's first-ever 0.1.
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.3) and
Thursday Night Football (4.7, +1.3) adjusted up while
Mom (1.3) and
I Feel Bad (0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- A crossover event gave a big jolt to Grey's Anatomy (1.5) spin-off and lead-out Station 19 (1.3), which posted a new series high in week two of season two. How to Get Away with Murder made it three weeks in a row at 0.8.
- It was another downward night for NBC's Thursday lineup, with Will and Grace (0.8) dipping two tenths to a new low and joining Superstore and The Good Place (each down a tenth) at 0.8. I Feel Bad got way uglier with a downward adjustment to 0.5, while Law and Order: SVU pulled itself back up to 0.9 at 10/9c.
- Meanwhile, CBS had a steady to up night, as The Big Bang Theory (2.3) and S.W.A.T. (0.8) were both up from last week. (And S.W.A.T. actually had a very high 0.8 in the prelims.)
Here's a quick catch-up on War of 18-49 pages for the summer broadcast shows that have
already existing War pages. Another edition of this for cable is coming
soon! Click the names in each one of these tables to see the now-updated
War of 18-49 page.
FINALS UPDATE: Survivor (1.6),
Chicago Fire (1.4) and
Empire (1.6) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- Night two of the CW's rollout saw the return of Riverdale (0.5) and an anemic start for 9/8c newbie All American (0.2). Riverdale was well below its breakout season two premiere from a year ago, but a 0.5 still puts it ahead of at least the last eight episodes of last season. Meanwhile, All American posted just the second 0.2 for a CDub scripted newbie premiere in the regular season, joining Life Sentence in this same timeslot seven months ago.
- It was a pretty steady night across the big four. ABC's bottom-of-the-hour comedies American Housewife (1.0) and Single Parents (1.0) both lost another tenth, but The Goldbergs (1.3) and Modern Family (1.4) were even, as was A Million Little Things (0.8) in week three at 10/9c. NBC's One Chicago lineup (1.3/1.3/1.2) actually managed to match last week's crossover, while the CBS dramas SEAL Team (0.9) and Criminal Minds (0.8) picked up a tenth from last week's premieres. And Fox was even with Empire (1.5) and up a notch with Star (1.3).
WHAT MATTERS:- After over a decade on Sunday and 15 straight years airing in late November, the American Music Awards (1.8) moved to early October, airing on a Tuesday for the first time since 2006. Preliminarily, they were down about 25% from last year's 2.4 (which matched the previous year's 2.4).
- The CW made its usual late return to the broadcast stage, with The Flash (0.8) down three tenths from last year's premiere but tying last year's finale (and beating most of the second half of last season). It was a rougher return for Black Lightning (0.4), opening on a new series low.
- On AMA's night, there were mostly even to narrowly down results on the big four. CBS' FBI (1.0) took the only multiple-tenth downturn, even as its lead-in NCIS (1.4) remained resilient, while NCIS: New Orleans (0.9) was down one tenth. NBC's trio of The Voice (1.8), This Is Us (2.3) and New Amsterdam (1.4) was even to down a tenth, while Fox's Lethal Weapon (0.7) inched down as well.
FINALS UPDATE: Bull (0.8) and
The Resident (1.0) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (1.0),
The Voice (1.9) and
Manifest (1.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- In week two for the CBS Monday comedy newbies, The Neighborhood (1.1) was down two tenths and Happy Together (0.9) was down one. The Neighborhood, for now, is still looking as good or better than most of what Kevin Can Wait did in the anchor role last year. Magnum P.I. (0.9) was even in week three, while Bull (0.7) lost a tenth.
- ABC's Dancing with the Stars (1.2/1.1) and The Good Doctor (1.2) along with NBC's The Voice (2.0) and Manifest (1.7) have what would be some encouraging results... but both networks are pending pre-emptions due to Monday Night Football. And Fox dropped a tenth for the second straight week with The Resident (0.9) and 9-1-1 (1.4).
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (6.0, +0.4),
The OT (3.6, +0.3) and
Bob's Burgers (1.3) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p2 (1.3, -0.6),
Football Night in America p3 (2.8, -1.6) and
Family Guy (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC's big fall 2018 bet on Dancing with the Stars continued to bust, as the two-hour premiere of spin-off Dancing with the Stars: Juniors (0.7) rounded out six fractional hours for the franchise this week. The carnage continued around it as well, as America's Funniest Home Videos (0.7) inched down from last week's premiere while Shark Tank (0.6) returned from almost eight months off with a new series low at 10/9c.
- On CBS, God Friended Me (0.9) had its first 8/7c airing without help from a national NFL lead-in. It was down four tenths from last week, and one tenth below last year's episode #2 of Wisdom of the Crowd, though unlike Wisdom it did do a bit better than its lead-out NCIS: Los Angeles (0.8). LA and the return of Madam Secretary (0.6) were each down two tenths year-to-year.
- Fox got its first national NFL lead-in of the year, boosting The Simpsons (1.8) and Bob's Burgers (1.2) vs. last week's premieres. Family Guy (1.2) was even, and Rel (0.7) lost a tenth at 9:30.
Here's a look at what's new and what's changed in week two.
WHAT MATTERS:- Week two brought another Friday night of dominance for Last Man Standing (1.3) and The Cool Kids (1.1), but they were down at least 25% from last week's openers. It will still be a bigger Plus from LMS than anything it ever did on ABC Friday, but it's now getting kinda close to the high end of its ABC run. Hell's Kitchen (0.8) was down a tenth.
- Fox still managed to demolish ABC's latest attempt at a TGIF lineup, as veteran comedies Fresh Off the Boat (0.6) and Speechless (0.5) couldn't even match the year-ago premiere of Once Upon a Time (0.7). There's still a decent chance they could be an improvement in the end, since Once really fell off a cliff after just a couple weeks on Friday, but this is definitely a sluggish beginning. Even worse were the last two hours, where Child Support (0.4) looked much more like the show that got mowed down by the Olympics than the one that showed promise early last winter. And it was no help to 20/20, which plummeted to 0.4 at 10/9c.
- On CBS, MacGyver matched last week's 0.7 while Hawaii Five-0 (0.8) and Blue Bloods (0.8) inched down from last week's low 0.9's.
FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (4.3, +1.2) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC filled out its Thursday comedy lineup with the returns of Superstore (0.9) at 8/7c and Will and Grace (1.0) at 9/8c, plus the 9:30 timeslot premiere of I Feel Bad (0.7). Both the anchors were up a little from their lows in the spring but looked a good bit weaker than last fall (when they mostly didn't have to face CBS comedies head-to-head). The Good Place (0.9) and Law and Order: SVU (1.0) each inched down from last week's double-length premieres.
- ABC also completed its regular fall lineup as Grey's Anatomy spin-off Station 19 (1.1) returned to its 9/8c perch from the spring. Airing after Grey's (1.6), it was actually one of Station's better showings retention-wise, though that's not saying a whole lot. At 10/9c, How to Get Away with Murder (0.8) matched last week's premiere despite a reduced lead-in.
- And on CBS, the Murphy Brown revival (1.0) tried to keep itself in the mix with a decent week two hold, while Young Sheldon (1.8) continued its rehabilitation with a nice increase at 8:30. Elsewhere on CBS, The Big Bang Theory (2.2) matched (maybe beat after finals) last week, while Mom (1.3) and S.W.A.T. (0.7) were also even.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC's Chicago trio went into crossover mode in week two, producing a little growth at 8/7c with Chicago Fire (1.3) while Chicago Med (1.3) matched last week's Fire at 9/8c and Chicago PD (1.2) was flat at 10/9c. The dramas completely flattened CBS' return to the Wednesday drama scene, as SEAL Team (0.8) could only tie its series low from last season and Criminal Minds (0.7) set a new one at 10/9c. The good news for CBS is that Survivor (1.5) still looks fairly healthy at 8/7c.
- On ABC, returnees The Goldbergs (1.3), American Housewife (1.1) and Modern Family (1.4) took small post-premiere dips, while newbie Single Parents (1.1) was down two tenths and drama A Million Little Things (0.8) fell a discouraging three tenths. AMLT will need to drop more than this to truly fall out of the running, but the trend line looks bad.
- Fox's Empire (1.5) and Star (1.2) both took 20%ish post-premiere drops, sizable but not that much more than what they did in week two last year.
FINALS UPDATE: New Amsterdam (1.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The promising new dramas on Premiere Tuesday stayed promising in week two. NBC's New Amsterdam (1.6) at least preliminarily dropped just two tenths from last week (or three tenths from last week's prelims). That would be a much smaller week-to-week drop than even its lead-in This Is Us (2.4) took, though that could change in finals; they'd have about the same drop if they end up at 2.5/1.5. After growing on Monday #2, The Voice (1.8) took a hit on Tuesday #2.
- On CBS, FBI (1.2) was down just a tenth in week two, matching the year-ago week two of Bull. The night remained surprisingly healthy in general for CBS, as NCIS (1.4) and NCIS: New Orleans (1.0) both matched last week's premieres (as well as the year-ago evening).
- Fox Tuesday took a turn in week two as The Gifted crashed to 0.7 in its second outing, while Lethal Weapon stayed at 0.8 and now built from its lead-in.
- ABC stayed off the map on the last Tuesday before the American Music Awards, churning out another two hours of the crumbling Dancing with the Stars (0.7/0.8) plus an encore of A Million Little Things (0.5).
FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.1) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (0.8) and
The Good Doctor (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS filled out its newbie-heavy Monday lineup with comedies The Neighborhood (1.3) and Happy Together (1.0) in the 8/7c hour. It's a promising start for Neighborhood, tying the highest rating that Kevin Can Wait put up at 8/7c last year (and also handily outrating Murphy Brown's premiere on Thursday). But the reduced lead-in was no help for Magnum P.I. (0.9), which went fractional in week two. Bull (0.8) was down a notch.
- On NBC, week two of Manifest (1.8) fell behind its steady lead-in from The Voice (2.0), taking a fairly standard week two drop vs. last week's 2.2 premiere. When you have a breakout start, a standard week two drop is a good thing.
- Fox's The Resident (1.0) and 9-1-1 (1.5) along with ABC's Dancing with the Stars (0.9) and The Good Doctor (1.2) took one-tenth drops from last week.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (6.1, +0.6) adjusted up while
NFL Overrun (4.0, -0.3),
60 Minutes (2.2, -0.4),
God Friended Me (1.3),
Magnum P.I. (R)
(0.7),
Football Night in America p2 (1.2, -0.7),
Football Night in America p3 (2.5, -1.7),
The Simpsons (R)
(0.5, -1.2),
Bob's Burgers (R)
(0.7, -1.2),
The Simpsons (1.4, -0.4) and
Bob's Burgers (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS premiered new drama God Friended Me (1.5/1.3) at 8:43 ET after its late afternoon national NFL window and 60 Minutes (3.1/2.0). The current prelims are for the 8:30-9:30 period, which means it will probably adjust down in finals; it should end up even with or maybe a tenth below last year's Wisdom of the Crowd premiere (1.3), including a lot more total viewers. Starting at 9:43 was the return of NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2/1.0); if it doesn't adjust down, it would be down two tenths from last season's premiere.
- Fox's Premiere Sunday is also more complicated than usual by NFL overrun, as one of its local late afternoon NFL games ran much longer than usual (into the 8:00 hour). That means The Simpsons (1.8) is probably gonna come down a good bit in finals, but the rest of the night including Bob's Burgers (1.2), Family Guy (1.2) and the timeslot premiere of Rel (0.8) should not move much.
- ABC took yet another pass during premiere week, bringing back only America's Funniest Home Videos (0.8) alongside theatrical Frozen (0.6) and a repeat of Shark Tank (0.5). NBC (5.6/5.8/5.1) was up year-to-year with Sunday Night Football at least in the prelims.
The Climate Center helps you keep up with some of this site's bigger-picture numbers on a week-to-week basis. Though most of the A18-49+ posts aren't updated until the summer, this can keep you posted on how things are developing while the season is ongoing.
The League Averages post covers the numbers that really make A18-49+ go: the 'league average,' which is an average of all ratings for original non-sports series on the big four networks during the traditional 35- or 36-week regular season. No sports, no reruns, no specials, no movies, no sustaining programming included!
The Climate Center helps you keep up with some of this site's bigger-picture numbers on a week-to-week basis. Though most of the A18-49+ posts aren't updated until the summer, this can keep you posted on how things are developing while the season is ongoing.
The Networks post looks at some of the metrics that best get at the networks' actual strength, most importantly breaking the networks' overall averages apart by category and mostly focusing on only the original non-sports series.
Happy October! Here are some observations about a selection of shows that have aired in the first five days of the TV season. If you're looking for some more reading about Renewology, here's
my update from Friday on what has changed in the model this year.
FINALS UPDATE: New Amsterdam (R)
(0.4) and
Masters of Illusion (0.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- After just a year off the air, Last Man Standing (1.8) came back on Fox with an absolute boom. It put up a higher raw number than in any of its last four ABC seasons in the same timeslot. (The only time it got higher on Friday was a 2.0 for its very first Friday episode in November 2012.) It'll easily be a series high in A18-49+, handily outrating even its great 3.6 series premiere (152 Plus) on a Tuesday in fall of 2011. It helped lead-out multi-cam comedy The Cool Kids (1.5) to an exceptional start of its own, while Hell's Kitchen (0.9) matched last fall's premiere in a move to 9/8c.
- The CBS drama trio of MacGyver (0.7), Hawaii Five-0 (0.9) and Blue Bloods (0.9) took league average-ish drops from last year's respective 0.8/1.0/1.1 premieres.
- ABC stayed out of the way, going with a Truth & Lies special (0.5/0.6) rather than its new TGIF which will debut next week, as did NBC with encores of successful drama pilots Manifest (0.5) and New Amsterdam (0.5). At 10/9c, 20/20 and Dateline tied at 0.7 (meaning 20/20 was actually above the year-ago Premiere Friday when it led out of Inhumans).
Dateline
Fridays, 10/9c, NBC
FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.9),
The Big Bang Theory (2.2) and
Thursday Night Football (4.8, +1.5) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- Not all revivals can take over the TV ratings world, and CBS proved that on Premiere Thursday with an underwhelming start for Murphy Brown (1.1) at 9:30, dropping by two tenths from its Mom lead-in (1.3). It basically looked like a high-end Life in Pieces performance from the last two years in this slot, which is not much of a compliment on opening night.
- CBS had additional problems on the opening Thursday as The Big Bang Theory (2.1) seems to have sprung a leak in its final season, dropping at least three tenths from its already mediocre premiere on Monday, and S.W.A.T. (0.7) had a poor, series low showing with its first look at the Murphy Brown lead-in. The consolation for CBS is that Young Sheldon (1.6) held up a bit better than TBBT in its return to Thursday, and Mom (1.3) looked fine in its return at 9/8c.
- NBC and ABC both combined a one-hour premiere and a two-hour premiere of veteran returnees. ABC's TGIT duo of Grey's Anatomy (1.8) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.8) along with NBC's skew-mismatched The Good Place (1.0) and Law and Order: SVU (1.1) were all down 20-30% from last season's openers. It's a familiar rate of decline for Murder, but rather steep by the standards Grey's and SVU have set in recent years.
- The Premiere Thursday winner was the NFL, as Fox had a marquee matchup for its first edition of Thursday Night Football and looks like it could be up year-to-year vs. the TNF broadcast opener on CBS last season. It may have also been a well above average night on cable news.
This is a sortable list of series and ratings averages for the 2018-19 season, including every series that has a page in the
SpotVault or
War of 18-49. For the first time, it is also a
filterable list, meaning you can boil the table down to just one network, one category of programming or only new shows. (The striped formatting looks kinda ugly when filtered, but hopefully that is worth the added functionality.)
Hello! After
an improved performance for my renew/cancel model last season, I didn't have a ton of time/motivation to change things up this summer. And yet... there is a long post ahead about the things that have changed!
FINALS UPDATE: Survivor (1.7) and
Chicago Fire (1.3) adjusted up while
Star (1.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- On Premiere Wednesday, it was ABC's turn to begin rolling out its new fall 2018 slate. Comedy Single Parents (1.3) looked maybe just a hair better than a typical episode of American Housewife in its 9:30 premiere after Modern Family (1.6), while new drama A Million Little Things (1.1) matched the year-ago second season premiere of Designated Survivor. It's a better debut night than last year's 9:30/10:00 premieres of failed The Mayor (1.2) and Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (1.0) on a Tuesday, but perhaps not by the margin ABC was hoping for. Returning comedies The Goldbergs (1.4), American Housewife (1.2 in a move to 8:30) and Modern Family (1.6) were all down 20-25% year-to-year in their season premieres.
- NBC put its three Chicago dramas together on the same night and got 1.2's across the board from Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. It was a competent trio, but the shows generally skewed older than last season (perhaps benefiting in total viewers from no CBS drama competition). It was only a small improvement in Plus on the year-ago evening which led off with The Blacklist and Law and Order: SVU.
- Fox brought back the Lee Daniels duo of Empire (1.9) and Star (1.5), combining to go 19% below their premieres on the same night, and two tenths above their May season finales. For Empire, it's a continuation of the improved year-to-year declines that we saw from this show in the spring. (Last year's premiere was down a whooping 42%, and this one will be 20%ish.)
- And after premiering SEAL Team on the opening Wednesday last year, CBS returned to its strategy of offering a 90-minute Survivor premiere (1.6) followed by a 90-minute Big Brother season finale (1.7) on Premiere Wednesday. Survivor looked healthy, within a couple tenths of last fall's premiere, while Big Brother tied its highest rating of the summer but was (like most of the Big Bro season) down 20%ish from last year's finale.
Survivor
Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS
FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.2) and
This Is Us (3.0) adjusted up while
New Amsterdam (1.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Premiere Tuesday, much like Premiere Monday, was highlighted by a strong NBC drama launch in the 10/9c hour. This time, it was medical drama New Amsterdam (1.9), going three tenths above the year-ago opener for Law and Order True Crime (1.6). While not quite a breakout on the level of Monday's Manifest, it's once again made more impressive by the fact that the lead-in was much reduced year-to-year; This Is Us (2.9) was off by about a quarter from last year's series high opener. (It was still a great return for TIU, which hasn't hit these levels on Tuesday since October of last year. The Voice (2.1) also ticked up from its somewhat mediocre start on Monday. )
- There was also, like Premiere Monday, a CBS drama premiere at 9/8c, but this one went better; Dick Wolf's FBI (1.3) actually managed to outrate the Monday opener of Magnum P.I. (1.2), and also tied Bull's highest rating in the timeslot last year. Surrounding it were NCIS (1.4) and NCIS: New Orleans (1.0), which looked fairly healthy on a year-to-year basis.
- Fox had a drama duo on premiere Tuesday, young-skewing sophomore The Gifted (0.9) and the third-season premiere of Lethal Weapon (0.8) with a new lead. It will be tough for these shows to survive into whatever New Fox is next year, but they have not taken themselves totally out of the mix at least on premiere night.
- And ABC continued its slow start to the season with another two sluggish hours of Dancing with the Stars (0.9) and a weak 20/20 special at 10/9c (0.5).
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.5) adjusted up while
Dancing with the Stars (1.0) and
The Good Doctor (1.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- For the second straight year, a new 10/9c drama popped on Premiere Monday. This time, it was NBC's turn, as Manifest (2.2) went big enough to grow on its The Voice lead-in (2.0). It's one of the biggest post-Voice premieres ever in A18-49+, perhaps even beating where This Is Us started two years ago (229), and it didn't get a ton of help from The Voice which was down 20%ish from last fall's premiere.
- Despite bringing The Big Bang Theory (2.4) and Young Sheldon (1.7) over to Monday for a week, CBS was unable to create anything like the spark it got on Sheldon's premiere night a year ago; Big Bang was down close to 40% from the 4.1 on that night, while Sheldon dropped by over half and appears headed for a new series low. The network was then left with a mediocre at best 1.2 for Magnum P.I.'s premiere at 9/8c, as that show faces the prospect of two unproven newbies as its lead-in next week, followed by a 0.9 for the timeslot premiere of Bull at 10/9c.
- Fox debuted its sophomore duo of The Resident (1.1) and 9-1-1 (1.6). The former tied its highest Monday rating from last season, while the latter had basically a typical raw number from season one. There's definitely an opportunity for this to be a big growth night vs. last year's Lucifer and The Gifted (which premiered at 1.1/1.5 last year).
- And the new 10/9c drama that popped a year ago, The Good Doctor (1.4), was taken down a peg by the increased competition in its hour. Even if it doesn't adjust down (and it's pending a Monday Night Football preemption) it would be down over a third from its year-ago premiere, and three tenths below its season finale in March. Dancing with the Stars (1.1) will be down at least three tenths from last fall's 1.4 on premiere Monday (it opened with a 1.6 the previous week).
Young Sheldon
Thursdays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS
The Voice
Mondays, 8/7c, NBC
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.4),
Sunday Night Football (6.4, +0.7),
The OT (3.7, +0.2) and
9-1-1 (2.6, +0.4) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (R)
(1.0),
NCIS: Los Angeles (R)
(0.4),
Football Night in America p2 (1.5, -0.6),
Football Night in America p3 (2.9, -1.4),
NFL Overrun (4.9, -0.3),
Family Guy (R)
(0.8) and
Rel (R)
(0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fox used its second late afternoon NFL lead-in of the season for a Sunday preview of sophomore drama 9-1-1 (2.5/2.0), which moves to its new Monday 9/8c timeslot starting tonight. Like Rel from two weeks ago, this show aired live in all time zones and thus should adjust up in finals. It's abundantly clear that this show moved the needle much, much more than Rel; its 2.5 in the 8:00 half-hour was 47% above last week's Rel prelim, even though the NFL 7:30 prelim was down about 20% (3.5 vs. a 4.4 two weeks ago).
- Elsewhere on the eve of the new season, ABC finished up its summer of game shows with new season lows for Celebrity Family Feud (0.6) and a double dose of The $100,000 Pyramid (0.6/0.5). NBC had a slightly down Sunday Night Football (5.5/6.0/5.2) and CBS' Big Brother (1.3) had its last Sunday airing of the summer.
FINALS UPDATE: 20/20 (0.5) adjusted up while
Masters of Illusion (R)
(0.1) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Young Sheldon (R)
(1.1),
Big Brother (1.5),
S.W.A.T. (R)
(0.5, -0.2),
The Good Place (R)
(0.4, -0.2),
The Good Place (R)
(0.4, -0.2) and
Law and Order: SVU (R)
(0.5, -0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Numbers to come. CBS and NBC preliminaries are pending local Thursday Night Football preemptions.
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.5),
America's Got Talent (2.1) and
MasterChef (1.0) adjusted up while
SEAL Team (R)
(0.4) and
I Feel Bad (1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC used its two-hour America's Got Talent finale (2.0) for a double-episode preview of Thursday-bound sitcom I Feel Bad (1.2/0.8). Talent was down a steep 33% from last season's 3.0 finale, while I Feel Bad was at least preliminarily down 23% vs. last year's 1.3 hour of The Good Place. But if Talent adjusts up and/or IFB adjusts down (and Talent ran two minutes into the 10:00 hour), the year-to-year declines will end up similar.
- Fox's MasterChef (0.9/1.1) also finished its season, down two tenths/one tenth from last year's final two hours (though the half-hours (0.9/1.0/1.1/1.2) suggest one or both hours could be close to adjusting up). CBS' Big Brother (1.4) will continue into Premiere Wednesday next week.
FINALS UPDATE: Castaways (0.4) and
America's Got Talent (2.3) adjusted up while
NCIS: New Orleans (R)
(0.5),
The Paley Center Salutes This Is Us (0.8),
The Flash (R)
(0.2) and
Legends of Tomorrow (R)
(0.2) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Primetime Emmy Awards (2.4, +0.3) adjusted up while
Castaways (0.5),
Castaways (0.4, -0.2) and
The Good Doctor (R)
(0.3, -0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
- It was NBC's turn with the Primetime Emmy Awards, which meant the show couldn't air in its usual Sunday slot thanks to the NFL, though it did air much closer to the start of the season compared with the last several late-August ceremonies on NBC. The preliminary hours (2.2/2.3/1.9) were virtually identical to last year's 2.2/2.3/2.0 on CBS, which later adjusted up to a 2.5.
- With the Monday reality staples wrapped for the summer, there was not much audience elsewhere on broadcast. Two hours of Castaways on ABC (0.6) were preliminarily close to a special on the Manson cult on Fox (0.6/0.7). CBS dramas Salvation (0.4) and Elementary (0.5) wrapped for the season.
FINALS UPDATE: Sunday Night Football (7.0, +0.8) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (R)
(2.2, -0.4),
NCIS: Los Angeles (R)
(0.6),
Football Night in America p2 (2.0, -0.4),
Football Night in America p3 (3.6, -1.2) and
Bob's Burgers (R)
(0.4, -0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Back from a week off and up against week two of the NFL, Celebrity Family Feud (0.9) and The $100,000 Pyramid (0.7) each fell to new season lows. (They still made for an improvement on the same night a year ago, when Pyramid fell to a 0.5 at 10/9c against the NFL and the Emmys.)
- CBS' lineup, including 60 Minutes (3.2/1.9) and Big Brother (1.8/1.5), started 7 minutes after their listed times due to overrun from the national late-afternoon NFL window. With the Dallas Cowboys in primetime, NBC's Sunday Night Football (6.3/6.5/5.8) was preliminarily down a touch from last week's Sunday opener.
FINALS UPDATE: American Ninja Warrior (R)
(0.5) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (R)
(1.1),
Young Sheldon (R)
(1.0),
Big Brother (1.6),
S.W.A.T. (R)
(0.5),
The Good Place (R)
(0.5),
The Good Place (R)
(0.4),
The Good Place (R)
(0.4),
The Good Place (R)
(0.4) and
Law and Order: SVU (R)
(0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.5) and
America's Got Talent (1.6) adjusted up while
American Housewife (R)
(0.6),
Modern Family (R)
(0.6),
Castaways (0.3) and
SEAL Team (R)
(0.4) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Castaways (0.4) and
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Presents NBC Fall 2018 (0.7) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Bachelor in Paradise (1.1, -0.3),
The Good Doctor (R)
(0.4, -0.2),
Penn and Teller: Fool Us (R)
(0.2),
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (R)
(0.2) and
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (R)
(0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC (Los Angeles/Oakland) and CW (New York) preliminary ratings are pending Monday Night Football preemptions.
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.6),
Sunday Night Football (7.5, +0.9) and
Rel (1.9, +0.2) adjusted up while
60 Minutes (R)
(0.8),
Hawaii Five-0 (R)
(0.4),
Football Night in America p2 (1.2, -1.2),
Football Night in America p3 (3.4, -2.2),
NFL Overrun (5.6),
The OT (4.2, -0.2) and
Family Guy (R)
(0.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fox got off to an early start with its 2018-19 entertainment slate, using its first late afternoon NFL lead-in (with a 4.4 rating in the 7:30 half-hour) to preview upcoming sitcom Rel (1.7); it'll return in its regular 9:30/8:30c slot in three weeks. This looks to be down quite a bit from last year's preview of The Orville, which had a 2.3 prelim for the full 8:00 hour, including a 2.6 in the 8:00 half-hour, leading out of an even lower preliminary 7:30 NFL rating (4.2).
- NBC had its first Sunday night NFL game of the season, averaging a preliminary 6.6ish from 8:30 to 11:00. That's down in the 15-20% range from last year's opening Sunday, which had an 8.0 prelim (later adjusting up to 9.1).
- And ABC saw a severe year-to-year decline from the Miss America Competition (0.7). It was down four tenths vs. last year's 1.1.
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.5) and
Sunday Night Football (6.7) adjusted up while
Football Night in America p3 (2.8, -1.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The NFL regular season kicked off on NBC, a little later than the scheduled start time due to a rain delay. Preliminary ratings in the 9:00 (7.0) and 10:00 (6.1) hours were down in the general vicinity of 10% from the kickoff game last year (which had 7.6/6.9 in those preliminary hours).
FINALS UPDATE: Big Brother (1.6),
America's Got Talent (1.5) and
World of Dance (1.1) adjusted up while
The Goldbergs (R)
(0.6),
American Housewife (R)
(0.5) and
SEAL Team (R)
(0.4) adjusted down.
The Breakdown
The Breakdown is a comprehensive look at the broadcast networks' performance in the most recent season, comparing the season's historical-adjusted ratings with the previous season (and the historical averages).
FINALS UPDATE: Castaways (0.4),
Bull (R)
(0.5),
Making It (0.7),
The Flash (R)
(0.1) and
The Outpost (R)
(0.1) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Mom (R)
(0.6) and
American Ninja Warrior (1.1) adjusted up.
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Here are War of 18-49 records for currently airing CW scripted series that are not yet four years old (and thus don't have stand-alone War pages).
