Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/18/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: DWTS (2.3), Mike and Molly (1.9) and Stalker (1.3) adjusted up.

• It was a promising two-hour start for the latest season of The Bachelorette (2.1), which beat the show's last two premiere ratings. Last summer's Bachelorette only got as high as 2.1 for the After the Final Rose following the finale. It led out of the performance finale of Dancing with the Stars (2.2), which was even with last week's two-hour episode.

• CBS aired its last scripted original episodes of the regular season to surprisingly good results, as 2 Broke Girls (2.0) shot well ahead of its other deliveries since the Scorpion finale. Mike and Molly (1.8) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.4) also went out on an up note, though the Stalker series finale (1.2) inched down.

• The final performance edition of The Voice (2.6) was up two tenths week-to-week (if still down almost 20% year-to-year), but The Night Shift (1.2) didn't benefit. Fox's The Following went out with another two-hour edition (1.0/0.9).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/11/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Dancing with the Stars adjusted up to 2.2, down just a tenth year-to-year. The second half of The Following was also up to put both hours at 1.0. 

• The penultimate performance Monday brought minor rebounds for both The Voice (2.4) and Dancing with the Stars (2.1). DWTS remained at very close to a league average decline year-to-year (it had a 2.3 on this night last year), while The Voice's y2y was -20%, a bit better than last week but still well behind the season trend as a whole. Better lead-ins didn't help the finale of Castle (1.4), down a massive 33% from the year-ago finale, and The Night Shift (1.2).

• CBS had another low-end post-Scorpion Monday, as 2 Broke Girls (1.6) and Mike and Molly (1.7) were close to even, Stalker was back from a week off with another 1.3, and it dragged NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) to a preliminary new low.

• Fox dipped to 1.0 for two hours of recently axed The Following, while The Originals and Jane the Virgin each stayed at 0.5 for their season finales.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/11/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: In an adjustment-heavy batch of finals, the two most notable were that Empire was up to 4.8, while Criminal Minds (1.9) fell below two for the first time in series history. American Idol (2.8) and Arrow (1.1) were also up. There were a bunch of downticks, perhaps due to local basketball: The Goldbergs (2.2), Black-ish (2.1), The Mentalist (1.4), The Mysteries of Laura (1.0) and The 100 (0.5).

• For the fifth time in six post-premiere airings, Empire (4.7) was up week-to-week in adults 18-49. It was also up for the sixth straight week in total viewers (to 11.9 million). This one came despite a sizable drop at 8/7c from American Idol (2.7).

• ABC also had good things to report in the 9/8c hour, as Modern Family (3.3) had a second straight very good result against this titan, and Black-ish (2.2) also picked back up to what would be its best result since Empire premiered. The network also saw The Middle (2.1) inch down at 8/7c and Nashville (1.4) inch up at 10/9c.

• On CBS, Criminal Minds (2.0) and Stalker (1.4) stayed low-end, but the penultimate week of The Mentalist (1.5) had a noticeable jump. NBC inched up in the first two hours with The Mysteries of Laura (1.1) and Law and Order: SVU (1.4), but Chicago PD (1.4) lost steam from last week's crossover result.

• The CW saw Arrow (1.0) come back to earth a bit after a very hot recent run, while The 100 had yet another preliminary 0.6...

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/4/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: American Idol (3.1) was up a tenth, while the 9:30 Fresh Off the Boat (2.3) and (as usual) The 100 (0.5) were down a tenth.

• ABC's Fresh Off the Boat impressed, with a 2.5 rating at 8:30 that actually tied The Goldbergs' season high in the slot, and it built noticeably on its lead-in from The Middle (2.2). The 2.4 at 9:30 was not quite as promising, especially since ABC had an above-average showing from its lead-in Modern Family (3.4), but it was still a noticeable improvement on recent Black-ish results. Also, there's a little piece of added competition in the 9:00 hour called...

• ...Empire, which took yet another step up to a whooping 4.6 in week five. This put it above the season-to-date average of current top broadcast series The Big Bang Theory for the first time, and it's all the more astounding since the show faced a noticeable increase in competition this week. It continued to help boost American Idol (3.0), which bucked its usual trend by growing in the first post-audition week; this was just 12% behind Wednesday #5 last season.

• The struggles continued for the CBS and NBC crime dramas. On CBS, The Mentalist (1.2), Criminal Minds (2.0) and Stalker (1.3) all saw very low-end results, while NBC's The Mysteries of Laura (1.0) proved its big drop to 1.0 a few weeks ago was not a fluke. The only real positive on these two networks was Chicago PD (1.6), which probably benefited from a crossover with Chicago Fire.

• On the CW, Arrow (1.2) is still heating up, hitting its highest rating of the season that wasn't a crossover with The Flash. The 100 had yet another preliminary 0.6. 

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/28/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: It was officially the first week of decline for Empire (4.3), which did not adjust up in finals. Stalker (1.5) was down, putting it even week-to-week, and The 100 (0.5) took yet another finals downtick.

• Week four will likely go down as the first week of adults 18-49 non-growth for the new megahit Empire (4.3). The show matched last week's prelim (which later adjusted up to 4.4) so it may end up not being the first week of decline either. For what it's worth, the show was up a bit more in total viewership (to 11.3 million) and adults 18-34 (3.9).

• Fox had worse news in the 8/7c hour, where American Idol (2.9) shed all of its significant spike from last week. It should either hit or match the Wednesday low this season from two weeks ago, and it'll be roughly 25% behind last season's fourth Wednesday.

• The only other big four network airing originals was CBS. While The Mentalist (1.3) was down at 8/7c, Criminal Minds (2.1) and Stalker (1.6) were each up a tick, perhaps benefiting from NBC's crime dramas going into repeats.

• The CW's Arrow (1.1) remained stout, while The 100 will sweat out the finals after another preliminary 0.6.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/21/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Empire (4.4) added a tick, putting it up a whooping 10% week-to-week, while its teammate American Idol (3.4) also ticked up. The picture got a bit less dire for the 9/8c procedurals, but Criminal Minds (2.0) and SVU (1.3) were still at new season lows. The 100 (0.5) went down a tick.

• Empire is becoming Fox's new Death Star. The show followed up its two-tenth growth in week two by packing on another three tenths in week three (4.3). Not only is this clearly the biggest new series smash in many, many years, but it actually seems to be dragging American Idol (3.3) back from the dead with it. Idol was just 13% behind the third Wednesday episode from last season.

• The added benefit for Fox: Empire appears to be demolishing the competition. Criminal Minds (1.9) and Law and Order: SVU (1.2) both crashed to new lows, with SVU losing to ABC's comedy repeats. And that effect was isolated to the 9/8c hour where Empire resides; Stalker (1.5) and Chicago PD (1.5) were both pretty normal at 10/9c, and The Mentalist (1.5) actually grew a bit for CBS at 8/7c.

• The CW's Wednesday return went a bit better than the Tuesday one, as Arrow (1.1) and The 100 (0.6) were both back toward the high end of this season's ratings. 

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/14/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Mentalist (1.4) and American Idol (3.0) adjusted up; meanwhile, the new lows for Black-ish (1.9) and The Mysteries of Laura (1.0) got even lower.

• What seemed like a great moment last Wednesday now has the makings of something truly special. Fox's Empire (4.0) followed up a sensational premiere rating by actually building in week two. It's still early, but the opening returns make this look like nothing short of the biggest broadcast drama breakout in years. Could it actually be a Desperate Housewives-sized situation in the making? Stay tuned. The show saw its American Idol lead-in (2.9) slightly decrease week-to-week; Idol was down 28% year-to-year.

• ABC had a little more trouble with a strengthened Fox; ABC saw slight declines for The Middle (2.2), The Goldbergs (2.3), and the 9/8c hour got increasingly worrisome with Modern Family (3.0) and Black-ish (2.0).

• CBS crime dramas The Mentalist (1.3), Criminal Minds (2.2) and Stalker (1.5) were all back at fairly normal levels. That helped take a chunk out of NBC, where The Mysteries of Laura (1.1) hit a new low, Law and Order: SVU (1.4) tied its season low from December, and Chicago PD (1.5) inched down but tied for the lead at 10/9c.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/10/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Chicago PD (1.5), hour two of Hell's Kitchen (1.2) and Arrow (1.1) all adjusted up. That meant PD actually built on its SVU lead-in for the first time this season.

• ABC's comedies bounced back from disastrous results last week. The Middle (2.2) had the biggest win, all the way back into a tie with its season high from two episodes ago and up year-to-year. The Goldbergs (2.2) also did fine, hitting season-average levels (though failing to build on The Middle for the first time), while Modern Family (3.1) and Black-ish (2.3) remained clearly below average (even if up multiple tenths from last week). At least in the prelims, Nashville (1.5) actually won the tightly-packed 10/9c hour outright.

• NBC was the big loser of this Wednesday, bringing its three-hour procedural lineup back for a one-week original stint in the middle of two lengthy hiatuses. Bookends The Mysteries of Laura (1.2) and Chicago PD (1.4) each tied their season lows, but those didn't look as bad by comparison as Law and Order: SVU (1.4) dipped well below its previous season low.

• On CBS, it was a good night for Survivor (2.4) but not so much for low-tying Criminal Minds (2.1) and Stalker (1.4). Fox had two hours of Hell's Kitchen (1.2), while the CW's Arrow (1.0) came back to earth after last week's Flash crossover (but was still a tenth ahead of the episode before the crossover). The 100 preliminarily held at 0.6 despite the reduced lead-in.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/26/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• Always an interesting lesson in how different shows react to viewing depressions, this Thanksgiving Eve saw CBS' Survivor (2.1) take a three tenth week-to-week drop, while Criminal Minds (2.2) and Stalker (1.6) were very close to even. As usual, younger-skewing Fox was hit much harder; Hell's Kitchen (1.1) and Red Band Society (0.7) each lost over 20% week-to-week.

• Usually a Thanksgiving Day tradition, ABC's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (2.1) was much improved year-to-year on the higher-viewed Thanksgiving Eve, and it helped boost repeats of Modern Family (1.5) and Black-ish (1.2) to well above last year's repeats. The CW's movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles (0.6) also grew a tenth year-to-year, but NBC's preview special for Peter Pan Live! (0.6) went well behind a similar special for The Sound of Music Live! last year (1.0).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/19/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Stalker surge was tempered a bit after it lost a tick in finals (1.6). Nothing else adjusted, which meant the season's first final 0.6 for The 100.
  

• This was the first Wednesday in quite some time without some major event inflating one of the networks, plus the end of DST helping early-evening viewing. And it showed, as almost every network had something to crow about. We'll start with ABC, which had a great opening 90 minutes. A largely underwhelming season of The Middle (2.2) finally took a significant turn for the better, rising above all previous results this season. The Goldbergs (2.4) was up 0.3 to tie a season high, while Modern Family (3.7) came up just a tenth shy of its premiere's high point. Black-ish (2.6) and Nashville (1.5) were also up a tenth in prelims.

• On CBS, Survivor (2.4) had its best rating since early October, and Stalker (1.7) bounced all the way back to the level it had been maintaining before all these events.

• NBC continued to show nicely in the wake of its big crossover last week, with The Mysteries of Laura (1.4), Law and Order: SVU (1.8) and Chicago PD (1.6) all faring a bit better than their usual pre-event deliveries.

• Fox and the CW were steady across the board with last week's preliminaries, meaning yet another week of The 100 hoping to hold onto a preliminary 0.6 (a feat it has yet to pull off in three tries this season).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/12/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (3.2) went up a tenth in finals, though this was still a new season low by two tenths. For the third straight week, The 100 (0.5) failed to hang onto its preliminary.

• NBC took over the Wednesday primetime lead with a very strong finish to its Dick Wolf crossover. It started with a special hour of The Voice (2.5) matching the 2.5 for its special Thursday ep last year. That led into the two-hour drama event, which just about matched The Voice's delivery; there were massive spikes for Law and Order: SVU (2.4) and Chicago PD (2.2). Both shows went multiple tenths above their previous season highs this season, and PD tied its 2.2 series high from last season.

• Against a stronger NBC (but a weaker ABC with the CMA Awards gone), it was a weirdly mixed bag on pretty much every other network:
• ABC saw Modern Family (3.1) take a sizable hit, going well below any previous result this season, while The Goldbergs (2.1) also hit a season low, but the rest of the lineup was fairly normal;
• On CBS, Survivor (2.3) was even against The Voice and Criminal Minds (2.3) bounced back to about normal after last week's stinker against the CMAs, but Stalker (1.4) hit another new low;
• Fox's Hell's Kitchen (1.5) continued a very good week for Gordon Ramsay by rising to tie a season high, which is pretty strong given the added unscripted competition. But this was of no help to Red Band Society (0.9);
• And Arrow (0.9) fell back to earth, ending its run of three straight upticks, but The 100 posted a third straight preliminary 0.6 and will hope this one holds in finals.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/5/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: While The 100 couldn't hold its 0.6, there was some very good news for the CDub: Arrow upticked to a new season high 1.1, putting it ahead of the year-ago episode. The blow to Chicago PD (1.4) was also softened somewhat, though it still marked a new season low.

• ABC took its lineup off for the always potent CMA Awards (4.5). It was pretty close to last year's 4.7 final.

• Despite the added ABC competition, most shows were close to even, including the return of Hell's Kitchen (1.3) and Red Band Society (0.9) after a World Series hiatus. The notable exceptions: CBS' crime dramas Criminal Minds (2.1) and Stalker (1.5) each dipped to new lows, and NBC's Chicago PD (1.3) had a real stinker of an outing on an otherwise steady NBC. The 100 posted a second straight preliminary uptick to 0.6 and will hope to hold onto this one in finals.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/29/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Game 7 of the World Series ended up at 6.6, up an incredible 89% from Game 6. This helped to somewhat salvage an otherwise horribly-rated Series, putting its viewership average just ahead of the previous low series average from 2012. (Although the 2012 Series was just four games...)
• The CW survived its Chicago pre-emption almost unscathed, with Arrow holding an impressive 1.0 and The 100 (0.5) down just a tenth to tie last week's premiere. The Goldbergs (2.2) and Modern Family (3.5) each adjusted up, making an even The Middle (1.8) look worse by comparison. And the 10/9c tie was decisively broken as Stalker (1.6) inched up and Nashville (1.4) down.

• TV's biggest event on Wednesday was Game 7 of the World Series, which combined a very compelling game with the usual Game 7 heat to take an enormous spike over the generally bad numbers for the rest of the series. Household overnights were up 59% from Game 6, and the demo spike looks likely to be even bigger. (The preliminary was a 5.7 vs. Tuesday's preliminary 3.0.) More after finals.

• The Game 7 probably helped to limit what would've normally been some Halloween episode heat, especially on ABC. The Middle (1.8) and The Goldbergs (2.1) were down slightly in the 8/7c hour, Modern Family (3.4) was even, and Black-ish (2.7) and Nashville (1.5) were up slightly. CBS also took a hit with Criminal Minds (2.3) and Stalker (1.5). Apparently there were pre-emptions for the CW's Arrow (1.0) and The 100 (0.6), so we'll see how those look after finals.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/22/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The first three ABC comedies and Criminal Minds gained a tenth while Black-ish lost one. As in the prelims, nothing on broadcast moved by more than a tenth week-to-week. The World Series exactly matched Game 1's 3.4 and was just two tenths behind Game 2 a year ago.

• Sophomore CW drama The 100 (0.5) pretty much pulled a Reign in its return, coming back at a tie for its season one low. This one is arguably even more disappointing than Reign since it finished season one on such a good note (posting a couple 0.6's after the end of the regular season with a repeat Arrow lead-in). Maybe the World Series is to blame, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Arrow (which actually ticked up to 0.9).

• Meanwhile, everything on the big four was extremely close to even week-to-week, despite added competition from The World Series (which itself appears to be nearly even with the Game 1 number). That included The Middle (2.0) and The Goldbergs (2.2), back from a week off for holiday pre-emptions. Stalker (1.7) again refused to budge from the number it's gotten since week two.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/15/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Combining a week three dip in revised finals (3.5) with a week four finals uptick, Modern Family (3.4) ended up down just a tenth week-to-week leading out of the holiday specials. The Mysteries of Laura (1.4) and Red Band Society (1.0) each ended up on the week-to-week upside.

• ABC got pretty good numbers out of holiday specials Toy Story of TERROR! (1.8) and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (2.1). The latter was close to even with last year's telecast on Halloween night last year (2.2). Still, these shows did about 10% worse than the usual comedy results from The Middle and The Goldbergs, and they were of no help to the rest of ABC's lineup. Modern Family (3.3), Black-ish (2.5) and Nashville (1.3) were all down by multiple ticks.

• There were several season lows in the 8/7c hour; Survivor (2.3), Hell's Kitchen (1.2) and Arrow (0.8) were all down multiple tenths, at least in the prelims. But almost everything not yet mentioned was close to even. CBS' Stalker (1.7) stabilized in week three and remained narrowly ahead of Chicago PD (1.6).

First Two Weeks, Stalker

Reminder: Games for Selfie and Manhattan Love Story are still open till Wednesday!

WEEK ONE
Rating: 2.0
Lead-in: Criminal Minds (2.7 overall, 2.6 at 9:30)
Competition: Nashville (1.6 before Nielsen revision), Chicago PD (1.5).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/8/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Arrow (1.0) didn't get any help, but ABC had another big night in finals. Modern Family (3.6) was up 0.2 and the other three comedies all gained 0.1, putting Black-ish (2.9) at a stout three tenths above last week. This put the three-hour ABC lineup ever-so-slightly ahead of the same night last year. FX's American Horror Story premiered at a new series high 3.11, six hundredths above last year's 3.05 premiere.

• If week three was the night that doomed Super Fun Night last year, it may go down as the night that validated Black-ish (2.8) this year. The series was up two tenths (maybe more after finals) even as its Modern Family lead-in (3.4) declined slightly. It now seems like a pretty solid bet to be ABC's strongest ModFam lead-out yet. ABC was steady in the 8/7c hour with The Middle (2.0) and The Goldbergs (2.2) and at 10/9c with Nashville (1.5) (which is actually now running close to even year-to-year).

• Elsewhere in newbie land, Stalker (1.7) was down a typical 15%, putting it in the same area as CBS' Monday and Tuesday 10:00 options. Considering its Criminal Minds lead-in (2.3) was also down the same amount, it's not really that terrible, though not particularly promising either. And The Mysteries of Laura (1.3) and Red Band Society (0.9) each slipped noticeably in their fourth episodes after being steady in their third.

• And the CW welcomed back Arrow (1.0) at a tenth above last season's premiere/finale, but a couple tenths behind last season's high point. There doesn't seem to have been a ton of heat here from the CW's enormous The Flash premiere a night earlier, but it may have been worth a tenth or so. Considering how the majority has fared at The Question this year, expect upward adjustments! Speaking of The Flash, it had a decent premiere encore rating at 9/8c (0.6).

SpotVault - Stalker (CBS) - 2014-15 Ratings

Stalker

Wednesdays, 10/9c, CBS

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/1/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: ABC got its usual finals help, bringing all the returning comedies' drops into the single digits and Black-ish (2.6) to a slightly more reasonable -21%. Even Nashville (1.6) got a bump, surprisingly inching it ahead of a downward-adjusting Chicago PD (1.5). The Mysteries of Laura (1.5) was up to tie last week's timeslot premiere (as well as PD). This feels more like bad news for PD than good for Laura, but we'll see how things develop.

• Despite a very solid return from Criminal Minds (2.7, down just a tenth year-to-year), CBS' Stalker (2.0) had a modest start at 10/9c against little competition. The worst-reviewed show of the season now must hold up extremely well to be an improvement on last year's occupant CSI. At this point, it seems more likely that we'll soon be wondering what drama replaces it at midseason. And after a big premiere last week, Survivor (2.4) fell but was still on last year's week two pace.

• ABC's comedy lineup (at least preliminarily) dropped across the board in week two. The returnees The Middle (1.9), The Goldbergs (2.2) and Modern Family (3.5) were all down about 10% while Black-ish (2.5) was down close to 25%, keeping it right on par with the Super Fun Night track. But we'll see what bounty awaits the network in finals adjustments! Nashville (1.5) was even.

• NBC's crime dramas Law and Order: SVU (1.8) and Chicago PD (1.6) each took double-digit dips against the return of CBS dramas, while The Mysteries of Laura (1.4) held a bit better.

• Fox leveled off with Hell's Kitchen (1.4) and Red Band Society (1.1).

The Question, Wednesday 10/1/14: Will Viewers Follow Stalker Home?

CBS finishes out its new fall drama slate with the premiere of Stalker, airing after the season premiere of Criminal Minds. It actually takes some real effort to pull off (as of this writing) a 17 rating on Metacritic. (Even everyone's favorite punching bag Work It had a 19!) But poor critical reviews have never stopped Criminal Minds, and this show has the kind of dark and twisted premise that might appeal to the key demo more than the average CBS procedural. Nashville and Chicago PD should not be formidable competition, so I expect the vast majority of the Minds demo to stick around, at least for tonight. Will viewers follow Stalker home? That's The Question for Wednesday, October 1, 2014.