FOX took control of Monday night with a double dose of Gordon Ramsay. Hell’s Kitchen at 8 (2.4 rating) and MasterChef at 9 (2.3) combined for a 2.4 preliminary rating from 8-10 pm with Adults 18-49. Last year FOX averaged a 1.5 on the same night with an original MasterChef at 8 (1.8) and repeat House at 9 (1.2).
NBC finished second on the night with a 2.1 rating from 8-11 pm, although the Peacock won the 8 pm hour with America’s Got Talent (3.2), the top-rated show on the broadcast networks. American Ninja Warrior (2.2) finished just behind MasterChef at 9, pending updates in the official nationals. A repeat Grimm at 10 (1.0) rounded out the night. AGT‘s four-week track on Monday indicates the show is settling in the low-3 range: 3.7… 3.2… 2.8… 3.2. American Ninja Warrior is settling around a low-2: 2.4… 2.1… 2.2. Last year on this night, NBC averaged a 1.1 rating without AGT (which aired on Tuesdays and Wednesdays): Minute to Win It repeat (1.0), L&O Criminal Intent (0.9) and L&O Los Angeles (1.3).
ABC was in third place last night with a 1.7 from 8-11 pm. The Bachelorette (2.1) aired from 8-10 pm, followed by a repeat Castle (0.9). The four-week track for Bachelorette: 2.6… 2.4… 1.9… 2.1. Last year on this night, ABC was #1 with a 2.5 rating for the evening: Bachelorette (2.6) and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition (2.2).
CBS and its night of repeats finished in fourth with a 1.3 rating: How I Met Your Mother (1.3), 2 Broke Girls (1.3), Two and a Half Men (1.5), Mike & Molly (1.3) and Hawaii Five-O (1.2). Last year on this night, a 1.4 rating for the evening, with each half hour about one tenth of a rating point higher: How I Met Your Mother (1.3), How I Met Your Mother (1.5), Two and a Half Men (1.6), Mike & Molly (1.4) and Hawaii Five-O (1.3).
The big winner of the night should be TNT with coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. When cable ratings are released in the afternoon, the game will challenge AGT as the top rated show on the night, and TNT should certainly out rate NBC over the course of the evening. In contrast, NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) carried Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, but since its hockey it probably turned in CW-like irrelevance.
