This wasn’t what NBC had in mind.
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: We’ll no doubt be blanketed with spin about how much better the night’s numbers are than the previous DOA Thursday line-up, not to mention the wonders of DVR delayed viewing (most of which goes uncompensated by advertisers), but facts are facts, and the network’s long-awaited, much-vaunted strategy for the night is a failure. There’s even a risk it could become worse than that. THE SLAP premiered with a lousy 1.1, which isn’t a tremendous surprise considering how difficult it was to market and its bad fit for its slot. ALLEGIANCE slumped by 0.4 to 0.7, which would be cancellable territory if NBC had anything to air in its place. The headline, though, was the horrifying 0.7 plunge for THE BLACKLIST, to a series low 1.7. (In its 2d half hour, BLACKLIST couldn’t even beat a BIG BANG THEORY rerun on CBS.) It’s not that BLACKLIST is in any danger–it’s already been renewed for next season. However, this is a critically important franchise for NBC, and if that number slides by even two or three more tenths, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the network throw up its hands and move the series back to its safe home on Mondays.
ABC: Shondaland brushed off its new challenges without even breaking a sweat. GREY’S ANATOMY held at last week’s 2.3, SCANDAL slipped 0.1 to 3.1, and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER stayed at 2.7, winning the night across the board. (Admittedly, with BIG BANG airing a rerun at 8PM.)
CBS: That BIG BANG THEORY rerun was at 2.1 at 8PM, which dented MOM to the tune of 0.7 from last week, when it had a fresh lead-in, to 2.1. 2 1/2 MEN was also at 2.1, which was down 0.2 from last week, before that 1.7 BIG BANG THEORY rerun at 9:30PM. ELEMENTARY lost 0.1 to 1.4.
FOX: AMERICAN IDOL shed 0.1 from last Thursday to 2.3. Rubbing salt in NBC’s wounds, BACKSTROM gained 0.3 against THE BLACKLIST, putting it at 1.3.
CW: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and REIGN were both steady at a respective 0.7 and 0.4.
CBS, NBC and FOX are all new tonight, while ABC has a new SHARK TANK preceded by a rerun of the Charlie Brown Valentine’s Day special, and CW somewhat oddly runs the Sundance time-travel indie SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.
COMPARISONS TO SIMILAR NIGHTS: Preliminary adult 18-49 ratings versus the same night last year and same night last week.
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