The Breakdown: ABC Sunday in 2016-17 (America's Funniest Home Videos, Once Upon a Time, Secrets and Lies and more!)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Sunday schedule in 2016-17...

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 4/30/17

FINALS UPDATE: America's Funniest Home Videos (1.2) and Chicago Justice (1.1) adjusted up while Little Big Shots (R) (0.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• In a rare twist, it was a mostly even or up Sunday for broadcast TV. The highlight was NBC's Little Big Shots (1.5) picking up by two tenths from its recent level. Chicago Justice held at 1.0 while Shades of Blue was up to 0.8 for the first time in over a month.

• Fox's animated anchors The Simpsons (1.0) and Family Guy (1.2) were both up in their returns from hiatus, but nothing at the bottoms of the hours saw any benefit; Bob's Burgers (0.7) inched down while live-actioners Making History (0.6) and The Last Man on Earth (0.8) were both even.

• ABC had another NBA-boosted high-end America's Funniest Home Videos (1.1), and this time it spilled into upticks for Once Upon a Time (0.9), Match Game (0.8) and the American Crime (0.4) finale.

• CBS actually had the worst night by merely breaking even across the board with 60 Minutes (0.8), NCIS: Los Angeles (1.0), Madam Secretary (0.7) and Elementary (0.5).

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 4/23/17

FINALS UPDATE: America's Funniest Home Videos (1.1), Little Big Shots (1.3), Bob's Burgers (0.8) and The Last Man on Earth (0.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Little Big Shots (1.2) was back from its Easter break, and will have to hope for some finals help to avoid a new low. Chicago Justice (1.0) was on the uptick, while Shades of Blue stuck at 0.7.

• On ABC, it was a nice night for America's Funniest Home Videos (1.0), which typically seems to benefit from the network's late-afternoon NBA playoff games at this time of year. Once Upon a Time (0.8) and Match Game (0.7) were also up a notch from last week's Easter results, but American Crime (0.3) fell to tie its low (from the night that got Time After Time pulled).

• Fox was back to originals, but the animated anchors were still off. That meant another original double-dip for Bob's Burgers (0.7 at 7:30/0.9 at 8:00), an even Making History (0.6), a repeat of Family Guy (0.8) and a sinking The Last Man on Earth (0.7).

• And the CBS dramas NCIS: Los Angeles (1.0), Madam Secretary (0.7) and Elementary (0.5) all tied season lows.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 4/16/17

FINALS UPDATE: Bob's Burgers (R) (0.4) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On Easter Sunday, NBC's Little Big Shots went into repeat mode in the 8:00 hour (0.8), but its lead-out dramas Chicago Justice (0.9) and Shades of Blue (0.7) held up OK, with Justice inching back down to tie its low from two weeks ago.

• ABC had a special on Disney nature documentaries (0.6) in the 7/6 hour, leading into Once Upon a Time (0.7), Match Game (0.6) and American Crime (0.4). Like Justice, Match Game inched down to match its season low, while the surrounding dramas held steady.

• CBS had the best Easter by a long shot thanks to a nice showing from a two-hour special on The Bee Gees (1.2). But that lead-in was of no help to Elementary (0.6) at 10/9c.

• And Fox's comedy repeats (0.3/0.6/0.4/0.6/0.4) did a good bit worse than last week, perhaps hurt by a repeat Ice Age special (0.3) in the lead-off role.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 4/9/17

FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (1.6), Madam Secretary (0.8) and Chicago Justice (1.0) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS' coverage of an extended finish to the Masters overran all the way to the end of the 7:00 hour on the East Coast, putting 60 Minutes (1.5), NCIS: Los Angeles (1.1) and Madam Secretary (0.7) on the air an hour after their scheduled times while Elementary was preempted.

• On NBC, there was no bounce-back from last week's carnage against the Academy of Country Music Awards; in fact, Little Big Shots (1.3), Chicago Justice (0.9) and Shades of Blue (0.7) all matched last week's lows.

• ABC's Once Upon a Time (0.7) gave up a tenth for a second straight week, dropping to a new low, but had a minor consolation as Match Game (0.7) grew a tenth from last week's return. American Crime stayed at 0.4.

• And Fox began a hiatus for its comedy lineup (0.4/0.5/0.8/0.6/0.8/0.5), which will also sit out next week on Easter.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 4/2/17

FINALS UPDATE: Little Big Shots (1.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC saw some improvement in its last two hours by replacing cancelled Time After Time with Match Game (0.6). Still, the game show went well below the lowest rating (0.9) of its winter Wednesday run.

• The CBS dramas sat out in favor of the Academy of Country Music Awards (2.1), which took a modest year-to-year decline after last year's collapse. 

• Almost everything else on broadcast was on the decline, but no drop was more ugly than Little Big Shots (1.2). Its lead-outs Chicago Justice (0.9) and Shades of Blue (0.7) inched down again, as did Once Upon a Time (0.8) on ABC.

• Fox's comedies were also on the downswing, including a new low for Making History (0.6). The Simpsons (0.9) and The Last Man on Earth (0.8) at least looked OK on a year-to-year basis, especially since LMOE had a repeat lead-in from Family Guy (0.7).

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 3/26/17

FINALS UPDATE: Madam Secretary (1.1) adjusted up while America's Funniest Home Videos (0.9), NCAA Overrun (5.2), 60 Minutes (2.5), Little Big Shots (R) (0.6) and Family Guy (1.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• With the game of the year in college basketball as a lead-in (preliminary 5.3 in the 7:00 half-hour), CBS' 60 Minutes (3.0/2.3), NCIS: Los Angeles (1.6), Madam Secretary (1.1/1.0) and even Elementary (0.8) are all eyeing their best numbers since football season. These shows all started 4 minutes after their listed start times on the East Coast, so it's possible there could be some slight downward adjustments.

• Fox's The Simpsons had the week off, so the network went with two originals of Bob's Burgers (0.8/0.9) at 7:30 and 8:00. Making History clung to 0.7 again at 8:30, while Family Guy (1.1) was even and The Last Man on Earth (0.9) ticked up.

• It was a nice night for the other two 8/7c occupants, with Little Big Shots (1.7) and Once Upon a Time (0.9) each bouncing back a bit. NBC's Chicago Justice (1.0) and Shades of Blue (0.8) steadied in their fourth Sunday episodes, but ABC continued to get even more ghastly with Time After Time staying at 0.4 and another drop at 10/9c for American Crime (0.3). Looks like this is the first 0.3 for an in-season big four scripted series on a night other than Saturday...

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 3/19/17

FINALS UPDATE: Little Big Shots (R) (0.7) and Little Big Shots (1.6) adjusted up while Bob's Burgers (R) (0.6) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• An already terrible ABC lineup became an outright black hole this Sunday. Once Upon a Time (0.8) inched down to a new low, but still looked like a champ in comparison with lead-out dramas Time After Time (down two tenths to 0.4) and American Crime (down a tenth from last week's premiere to 0.4).

• NBC's still leading the entertainment landscape, but it too lost some more steam this week. Little Big Shots (1.5) was down two more tenths, as was Chicago Justice (1.0). Recently renewed Shades of Blue (0.8) lost a tenth.

• Fox was steadier than its counterparts, but still had one-tenth slippage from The Simpsons (1.0) and The Last Man on Earth (0.8). Bob's Burgers (0.8) and Family Guy (1.1) were even, while Making History managed to hold at 0.7 in week three.

• A March Madness lead-in (preliminary 3.5) helped boost CBS' 60 Minutes (1.8/1.5) but did little for NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2/1.1), Madam Secretary (0.8) and Elementary (0.6). The CBS lineup started 35 minutes after the hour and thus may adjust.

SpotVault - American Crime (ABC) - Spring 2017 Ratings

American Crime

Sundays, 10/9c, ABC

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 3/12/17

FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (1.2), Chicago Justice (1.2), Shades of Blue (0.9) and The Last Man on Earth (0.9) adjusted up while Bob's Burgers (R) (0.6) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Sunday is technically the first day after DST, but for the second straight year Once Upon a Time (0.9) managed to hold steady in this episode, and this year so did America's Funniest Home Videos (1.0). But there was not much else to crow about on ABC, as Time After Time (0.6) shed a tenth in week two and American Crime (0.5) premiered invisibly at 10/9c.

• NBC continued to dominate despite drops from Little Big Shots (1.7), Chicago Justice (1.2) and Shades of Blue (0.9).

•  Fox's The Simpsons (1.1) also seemingly bucked the DST math, but Making History (0.7) took a brutal two-tenth hit in week two, while Family Guy (1.1) and The Last Man on Earth (0.9) were also down a notch.

• The worst potentially DST-related hit came from NCIS: Los Angeles (1.1), which was down two tenths at 8/7c for CBS. Madam Secretary (0.8) and Elementary (0.6) stayed even.

The Breakdown: ABC Wednesday in 2015-16 (The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family and more!)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Wednesday schedule in 2015-16...

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/9/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Carmichael Show (1.0) adjusted down.

• NBC took the Wednesday crown with The Voice's "Best of the Blind Auditions" special (2.0/2.1), which came close to matching the fall version's 2.2 even though the fall one aired on a regular Voice night. That led into a mediocre return from summer comedy The Carmichael Show (1.1), airing a one-off preview at 10/9c before it moves to Sunday after Little Big Shots later in the week. And a repeat of a season one Carmichael episode fell to 0.7 at 10:30.

• CBS inched down at 8/7c with Survivor (2.1), then went off the map at 9/8c with the Victoria's Secret Swim Special (0.7). This special bombed even harder than last year's edition, when it severely disappointed with a 1.0 on a Thursday. Given this rejection, another special Wednesday CSI: Cyber did OK to get back to 1.0 at 10/9c.

• ABC's comedy lineup went into repeats (1.1/1.1/1.2/1.2), but the finale of American Crime (0.9) still inched up at 10/9c.

• Fox's Rosewood stayed at last week's weak 0.9, but the news was better at 9/8c as Hell's Kitchen (1.2) rebounded.

• And CW had repeats of Arrow (0.3) and Supernatural (0.3). 

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/2/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (2.1) adjusted up.

•  ABC opened new comedy The Real O'Neals with a 1.8 demo at 8:30 (retaining 90% of its The Goldbergs (2.0) lead-in), and then a 1.9 for a second preview episode at 9:30 (dropping noticeably from Modern Family's 2.6). This is on par with or slightly below what the normal Wednesday comedies do, which usually wouldn't be a great sign on a series premiere night. But the key here is how much translates to its regular Tuesday timeslot, where expectations will be a lot lower.
• At 10/9c, American Crime inched back down to 0.8.

• On Fox, Rosewood (0.9) had a dreadful return to the schedule after three months off, going three tenths below even its Thanksgiving Eve low point (and a half point behind any other episode). It was always clear from its back-loaded half-hour breakdowns that it was getting a lot of help from Empire pre-tune, but it's pretty sobering to see just how much.
• With a much-reduced lead-in, Hell's Kitchen (1.0) also took a big downswing for Fox.

• CBS' Survivor (2.2) finally flexed some muscle after a couple modest opening weeks, surging by three tenths from last week. Criminal Minds (1.9) was also on the upswing, and that helped CSI: Cyber (1.2) hit a season high in a special Wednesday episode. (This would've been a fairly typical number for previous occupant Code Black, including matching its finale last week.)

• In its last case for renewal, The Mysteries of Laura (1.2) got a pretty decent season finale upswing, ending on the high end of its consistent 1.0-1.2 range. Later in the night, Law and Order: SVU (1.6) inched up while Chicago PD (1.5) gave up a tenth.

• And the CW's comic book show hiatus continued with a Greatest Animal Commercials special (0.3) and a repeat of the MADtv reunion (0.3) first aired in January.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/24/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Survivor (1.9) adjusted down.

• ABC saw some one-tenth growth late in the evening with Modern Family (2.5) and American Crime (0.9) sandwiching a controversial episode of Black-ish (1.9). However, the 8:00 hour sees The Goldbergs (1.9) hoping for an adjustment to avoid a new season low. The Middle (1.9) was flat in the lead-off spot.

• The return of Criminal Minds (1.8) was generally a good thing for CBS, as Survivor (2.0) inched up from the premiere and Code Black (1.2) got back to normal for its season or series finale. It was not an awful run for Code, but it never really seemed to follow through on its end-of-2015 momentum. 

• Minds also seemingly nicked NBC's Law and Order: SVU (1.5), which had its worst rating since the new year. The Mysteries of Laura (1.0) and Chicago PD (1.6) were even.

• On Fox, American Idol (2.1) ticked up, refusing to drop out of the twos, as did Hell's Kitchen (1.3). 

• And Arrow (1.0) finally got a tenth back after a string of 0.9's, while Supernatural (0.7) lost one.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/10/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: American Idol (2.2) adjusted up and Black-ish (1.8) adjusted down.

• NBC struck yet more gold with Dick Wolf universe synergy, as Law and Order: SVU (1.9) and Chicago PD (2.0) crossed over for one night, lifting both to at or near their season highs. The Mysteries of Laura (1.2) was also on the high end to round out a very competitive night for the peacock.

• ABC's The Middle (1.8) and The Goldbergs (2.0) stayed at their season lows, and will hope to benefit beyond this week from no more CBS comedy competition. Modern Family (2.6) was down a bit for its first original in a month, and Black-ish (1.9) matched its last ep with an original lead-in. Finally, American Crime (0.9) ended its string of post-premiere declines.

• On CBS, 2 Broke Girls (1.6) and Mike and Molly (1.6) closed their Wednesday runs (though 2BG will be right back to Thursday next week to replace cancelled Angel from Hell). Criminal Minds (1.8) dropped a bit against a stronger NBC, but Code Black (1.3) ticked up with an original lead-in.

• Fox's American Idol (2.1) and Hell's Kitchen (1.3) each dropped two tenths.

• And on the CW, Arrow stayed at 0.9, but Supernatural (0.8) had an above-average outing.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/3/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: 2 Broke Girls (1.6) adjusted up.

• ABC took its comedy lineup off the air to debut two-night miniseries Madoff (1.2), which skewed old (7 million total viewers) and had a pretty modest demo appeal. It was of no help to American Crime (0.8) at 10/9c, which ticked down by 0.1 for the fourth consecutive week.

• NBC was back from a week off with a slight downtick for The Mysteries of Laura (1.1) but an above-average night for Law and Order: SVU (1.8) and Chicago PD (1.7). SVU continues to absolutely crush what it was doing against Empire at this time last year, and it was also up against a repeat of Criminal Minds (1.2) this week.

• CBS' Code Black stayed original at 10/9c, and it downticked to 1.2 with its worst lead-in yet. (Though this is still what it was doing in the fall even with original lead-ins.) The bright spots for CBS were 2 Broke Girls (1.5) and Mike and Molly (1.6), but they were also down a tick.

• Fox saw American Idol (2.3) down a bit, but Hell's Kitchen (1.5) picked up a tenth in its second episode on Wednesday. 

• And the CW's Arrow (0.9) also took a hit, but Supernatural (0.7) was even.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/27/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox moved Hell's Kitchen (1.4) to Wednesday as a quick replacement for drama Second Chance. Hell's was a definite upgrade on last week's Chance (1.0), but not that much higher than what it had been delivering on Friday alongside MasterChef Junior. It led out of American Idol (2.5), which easily topped the broadcast night.

• The CBS lineup didn't really take advantage of repeats elsewhere, as 2 Broke Girls (1.6), Mike and Molly (1.6), Criminal Minds (2.0) and Code Black (1.3) were all steady to slightly down.

• NBC and (mostly) ABC snuck in a night of repeats on the eve of February sweeps. ABC's only original was American Crime (0.9), which had a third straight downtick since the premiere. This one had a decent excuse since the lead-in comedies (1.3/1.2/1.4/1.2) were all in repeats. ABC's comedy repeats kept the network in third place, besting NBC's three drama repeats (0.8/1.0/0.9).

• And the CW's Arrow (1.1) and Supernatural (0.7) matched last week's winter premieres.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/13/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (2.7) adjusted up and Code Black (1.2) adjusted down.

• Fox's first new drama premiere of 2016 got off to a very poor start, as Second Chance opened with a mere 1.2 A18-49 rating and retained less than half of its American Idol (2.5) lead-in. It just barely edged the fall premiere of Minority Report (1.1), which had a point less of lead-in support, and fell well behind even the starts of recent post-Idol failures like Rake (1.7 two years ago) and Backstrom (1.9 last year). We'll see if it can benefit from the drama competitors maybe coming back to earth in future weeks, but don't get used to it long term.

• Second Chance got overshadowed by big nights from the crime dramas on CBS and NBC. Both Criminal Minds and a heavily-promoted Law and Order: SVU event tied season highs at 2.0; Minds last hit the number for the season premiere, and SVU when it had a Voice lead-in in November.
• Maybe even more impressive for NBC was Chicago PD's ability to match that 2.0 at 10/9c, beating even last week's crossover-fueled result. Meanwhile, Code Black (1.3) was down a bit for CBS, but most of its decent ratings at the end of the fall came with no PD competition, and this was still ahead of most of its mid-fall ratings.
• And at 8/7c, 2 Broke Girls (1.7) and Mike and Molly (1.6) matched last week's premieres, while The Mysteries of Laura (1.2) got a desperately-needed upswing following its poor start to the year.

• ABC had a somewhat soft comedy evening, with below-average results from The Middle (1.9), The Goldbergs (2.0) and Modern Family (2.6). However, Black-ish (1.9) continued to show slightly improved retention in a world without Empire.
• And it was another potentially hopeful night for the new season of American Crime (1.1), which was down just a tenth from last week's premiere. It's looking increasingly likely Crime can match or stay ahead of where it settled last season.

• Still awaiting next week's Legends of Tomorrow premiere event, the CW had solid repeats from Arrow (0.4) and The Flash (0.4).

SpotVault - American Crime (ABC) - 2015-16 Ratings

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/6/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: American Idol officially made it back into the threes with a finals uptick, while Modern Family went up to 2.8. The Mysteries of Laura adjusted down to the low end of its fall numbers at 1.0, a disappointing result in a week with so many upswings.

• The former Death Star is back for one final ride, and it was a promising start for American Idol (2.9) as the show's two-hour premiere dominated primetime and took a less-than-average decline from last season's 3.2 opener.

• On ABC, the big story was the return of American Crime (1.2) at 10/9c. While this number was down 40% from last year's series premiere, it certainly could've been worse; it went above the entire second half of season one and also tied Nashville's premiere in the slot earlier this season.
• Crime got some nice help from Black-ish (2.1), which got the biggest early January boost out of the whole ABC comedy lineup with no more Empire competition for now. The rest of the gang (The Middle (2.1), The Goldbergs (2.1) and Modern Family (2.7)) saw only small upticks.

• CBS saw an OK return from 2 Broke Girls (1.7) and Mike and Molly (1.6) in the 8/7c hour, where they will fill the Survivor hiatus over the next six weeks. These shows don't seem as strong as they were a year ago, but should mark a nice improvement over what The Mentalist did with this timeslot in winter 2015. CBS also had the People's Choice Awards (1.3), which are crumbling at a rather alarming rate; this was the ceremony's second straight 25%+ year-to-year decline. 

• NBC's The Mysteries of Laura (1.1) returned at its usual number at 8/7c, but Law and Order: SVU (1.8) and Chicago PD (1.9) were much stronger than usual, benefiting from PD's end to the three-part Chicago crossover, plus a lot less drama competition on CBS/Fox. It was an outright season high for PD.

• CW had Arrow (0.3) and Supernatural (0.3) repeats.