AFTERNOON UPDATE: WORLD SERIES GAME 2 ended up at an adjusted 3.6, just where we expected and slightly above last year’s Game 2. There weren’t a lot of additional adjustments, but a couple of them were significant. THE BIG BANG THEORY bounced back 0.3 to 5.2, but THE MILLERS actually went down 0.1 to 2.7. That puts MILLERS perilously close to losing half of its lead-in. (MILLERS is already back ordered for the full season, but it’s a bad sign for the future.) In addition, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES climbed 0.2 to 1.3, but REIGN remained at 0.6, an ugly retention below 50% that may move REIGN closer to its own beheading. Less substantively, SCANDAL slipped another 0.1 to a season-lower 2.9.
THURSDAY CABLE was led by THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NFL Network), but the game between Carolina and hapless Tampa Bay was a weak draw at 1.8, down 0.5 from last week. Behind football was PAWN STARS (History) at 1.2. The highest scripted show of the night was CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL (Adult Swim) with 0.8.
Most–although not all–of the competition continued to take a hit against the World Series.
FOX: We expect WORLD SERIES GAME 2 to rise to 3.5-3.6 in final numbers, just about even with last year’s 3.5 adjusted Game 2.
NBC: The first round of trying to prop up the night’s 9-11PM shows with a stronger 8PM hour struck out, as a rerun THE VOICE started the night at 1.3, and then SEAN SAVES THE WORLD, THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW and PARENTHOOD were all even with last week at 1.1/1.2/1.3.
CBS: A schizoid night, with THE BIG BANG THEORY hitting a season low 4.9 (down 0.3), THE MILLERS consequently falling to a new low 2.8 (down 0.4), and THE CRAZY ONES also at a new low 2.3 (down 0.1), but then 2 1/2 MEN rising to 2.3 (up 0.2) and ELEMENTARY strengthening to 1.8 (up 0.3). The 9PM hour is considerably below the 2.9 Person of Interest was doing at this time last year.
ABC: ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND is all but done, down again by 0.1 to 1.1. GREY’S ANATOMY rose 0.1 to 2.8, but SCANDAL fell 0.3 to 3.0, its lowest number of the fall, although still hugely dominant in its hour.
CW: Both THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and REIGN dropped by 0.2, to a respective 1.1 and 0.6. That gives Reign an excuse–but at this point it‘s even with where Beauty & the Beast was in the same hour last season, and that show was very lucky to get renewed.
A surprisingly busy Friday tonight, as both NBC and CW roll out the rest of their fall line-ups. For NBC, that means the season premiere of GRIMM and series premiere of DRACULA; for CW, it’s the return of THE CARRIE DIARIES.
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