The Question, Sunday 9/21/14: Will Madam Secretary Negotiate a Demo Audience?

Knowing that their new drama Madam Secretary has a rather old-skewing concept, CBS scheduled it on Sunday at 8/7 in an attempt to capture as many eyeballs as possible from the huge late-afternoon NFL lead-ins. Since the network does not have a national late-afternoon game next week, that means Madam Secretary premieres on the eve of the official season, and then will have to cross its fingers for a good hold with much less support and more competition next week. Will Madam Secretary negotiate a demo audience? That's The Question for Sunday, September 21, 2014.

The Amazing Race & The Good Wife

2.0/2.02/2.1 (Amazing Race fall premiere/avg/finale) 2.13/1.86 (TAR fall avgs with/without CBS NFL lead-in) 1.5/1.42/1.2 (The Good Wife premiere/avg/finale)

The NFL will be a factor in this premiere rating, but not as big a factor as with something like the Utopia preview, because there's that 60-minute 60 Minutes buffer in between. Even on series premiere night, I'm not sure this concept is enough of a draw to hit a The Amazing Race-esque demo number, but the NFL should help it at least get toward the high end of what The Good Wife did last season. The Good Wife got one airing last season right after a playoff football-fueled 60 Minutes and averaged a 1.8. 60 Minutes may not be as high as on that night (4.0), but it could be close with a Super Bowl rematch leading in.

Over/Under (only the first telecast after 60 Minutes): 1.85.

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