UPDATE: We don’t yet have final national ratings for ESPN’s coverage of the COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP, but they will be huge. In the 56 largest TV markets with local Nielsen ratings, the game averaged an enormous 18.5 household rating, which would translate to around a 9 adult 18-49 rating (possibly approaching a 10 rating), well above the 8.74 adult 18-49 rating for last year’s national championship between Florida State and Alabama (the final BCS game on 1.6.2014, also on ESPN).
The networks that dared to program against it didn’t get much traction.
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.
NBC: CELEBRITY APPRENTICE fell 0.3 from last Monday’s edition to 1.7, and STATE OF AFFAIRS lost 0.2 for a new series low 0.8.
ABC: THE BACHELOR dropped half a point from last week’s season premiere to a new series low 1.7, and CASTLE tied its series low 1.4.
CBS: MIKE & MOLLY, the only new show on the network’s line-up, actually held up pretty well, down just 0.1 to 2.1 from last week when it followed a new 2 BROKE GIRLS. It was helped by having a 1.9 rerun BIG BANG THEORY as its lead-in. The rest of the night was made up of NCIS:LA and SCORPION reruns at 1.2/1.1.
FOX: A rerun of the EMPIRE pilot was at 0.8, with a rerun SLEEPY HOLLOW at 0.5.
CW: Coming off Gina Rodriguez’s big win at the Golden Globes, a pair of JANE THE VIRGIN reruns were both at 0.3.
PARKS & RECREATION starts to pack its bags tonight, as NBC burns off the final season with 2 episodes per week. It has to contend with fresh programming everywhere else (except at CW), including a special SHARK TANK. The latter will hope to give some momentum to AGENT CARTER in its 2d week.
COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR NIGHTS: Preliminary adult 18-49 ratings versus the same night last year and same night last week.
Monday cable programs (including the highest-rated telecast of the day, the college football National Championship game on ESPN) will be available Wednesday morning, also half a day later than normal. Click for a summary of the ratings delays the next several days.
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