AFTERNOON UPDATE: With the NFL factored out of ABC’s ratings, DANCING WITH THE STARS fell 0.1 to 2.0, and CASTLE dropped 0.2 to 2.2. However, THE BLACKLIST held its 2.9 (losing in total viewers to Castle).
MONDAY CABLE: MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN) was inevitably in front with a tremendous 6.1 rating, just slightly behind NBC’s Sunday game 6.3 thanks to the appeal of the Green Bay/Chicago match-up. ESPN’s post-game SPORTSCENTER was #2 with 2.3. VH1 had a strong night, featuring a 1.5 for LOVE AND HIP-HOP a 1.4 for CHRISSY AND MR. JONES and a 1.3 for BLACK INK CREW. The other notable result was 1.3-1.4 for the 3 hours of WWE wrestling on USA.
Earlier:
The return of MIKE & MOLLY was both a success and a failure for CBS.
CBS: Perhaps boosted by promos that announced the return of “the Mother” for the first time since the season premiere (for a brief but important flash-forward at the very end, as it turned out), HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER jumped up 0.4 to 3.4. However, it had no halo effect, as 2 BROKE GIRLS fell 0.1 to 2.6. MIKE & MOLLY returned fairly well with 2.6, above last week’s Big Bang Theory rerun (technically it was way up from the 1.9 for last season’s finale, but that’s misleading since the show’s delayed finale aired after the regular season was over, surrounded by reruns–its in-season spring numbers were in the low 2s). The whole idea of putting M&M at 9PM, though, was to jump-start MOM, and that didn’t work out at all, as Mom fell 0.1 from last week to a very mediocre 2.0. HOSTAGES tied its low 1.1.
NBC: THE VOICE usually takes a hit once live competition episodes start airing, and last night the show plunged 0.7 from last week to 3.6. THE BLACKLIST hit a new low 2.9, down 0.2 from last week, but more worrisome was the show’s drop from 10PM to 10:30PM, where it fell to 2.5. (Also, Blacklist started at 10:01PM, so its number may not hold up this afternoon.)
ABC: In preliminary numbers, DANCING WITH THE STARS was even at 2.1 and CASTLE was up 0.3 to 2.4, but ABC’s Green Bay affiliate carried NFL coverage, so those numbers are shaky.
FOX: After several weeks of baseball absence, BONES came back down 0.2 to 2.0, and SLEEPY HOLLOW was also down 0.2 to a series low 2.5. This makes the 8PM launch of Almost Human in 2 weeks even more critical for FOX.
CW: The numbers were low but steady, as HART OF DIXIE and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST held at 0.4/0.3.
Eyes will be on ABC tonight, as AGENTS OF SHIELD returns from a week off, and a 10PM IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH ROBIN ROBERTS provides a 1-hour promo for Wednesday’s CMA AWARDS.
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