The first ugly night of the new season.
DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) and total viewership (thousands of people over the age of 2).
Ratings analysis and comparisons follow the chart.
ABC: GREY’S ANATOMY was down a reasonable 0.4 from last season’s premiere to 2.4. But NOTORIOUS debuted with a weak 1.2, down more than 2 points from last year’s SCANDAL premiere. That certainly didn’t help the season premiere of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, which fell 1.2 from its 2015 premiere to an unremarkable 1.4.
FOX: Without EMPIRE as a crutch, ROSEWOOD toppled to 0.7 in its season premiere, down a giant 1.7 from 2015. PITCH, one of the most hyped of the fall’s premieres, managed just 1.1, although it can claim a small moral victory by climbing by a tenth between its first and second half-hours.
NBC: SUPERSTORE did fairly well in its new timeslot at 1.4, down 0.4 from 2015. THE GOOD PLACE was compatible at 1.3, down a point from Monday’s post-VOICE preview. CHICAGO MED’s first outing on its new night tied its series low at 1.4, down 0.8 from its own post-VOICE premiere last year. THE BLACKLIST premiered at 1.3, down half a point from 2015.
CBS: Only THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL could claim a good night, with a preliminary 4.3 that was up half a point from last Thursday’s early number.
CW: Reruns at 0.3.
Tonight’s arrivals are another trio based on existing IP: CBS’s MCGYVER, FOX’s THE EXORCIST, and the official premiere (the pilot aired quietly in July) of Syfy’s VAN HELSING.
COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR NIGHTS: Preliminary adult 18-49 ratings versus the same night last year and same night last week.
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