FINALS UPDATE: Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (0.6) and
The Voice (2.4) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- After lots of premieres on Monday, it was mostly the usual early winter lineups returning from the Olympics on Tuesday. The big exception was NBC's Tuesday premiere of The Voice (2.3), which was basically even in Plus with last year's spring premiere (2.6). Unlike Monday, it did not hold up as well vs. the fall Tuesday premiere (2.7) which was paired with the huge This Is Us premiere. Later in the night, This Is Us (2.5) and Chicago Med (1.4) were pretty close to normal levels in their returns.
- ABC's The Middle (1.2) and Fresh Off the Boat (0.9) were both even with three weeks ago, while Black-ish (0.7) snuck in another repeat as it prepares to double up on For the People's premiere night in two weeks. Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (0.5) managed a small rebound after last week's ugliness against the Olympics.
- It was a low-end night for pretty much everyone else, with Fox's comedy hour of LA to Vegas (0.7) and The Mick (0.6) both dipping to new lows leading out of Lethal Weapon (1.0). The CBS dramas (1.2/1.1/0.9) all returned below average, as did The Flash (0.7) and Black Lightning (0.5) on the CW.
FINALS UPDATE: Kevin Can Wait (1.1) and
The Voice (2.8) adjusted up while
Superior Donuts (0.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Life after the Olympics began on NBC with a strong start for the spring season of The Voice (2.7/2.8), which topped the 2.6 fall premiere and was even to slightly up in Plus vs. last spring's 3.1 premiere. At 10/9c, new drama Good Girls (1.5) was not exactly stellar, but it was a couple tenths above where fall drama The Brave started here, and within a tenth of the Taken premiere on this night a year ago.
- Coming back from Olympics hiatus, it was a fairly sluggish night for all the usual Monday scripted staples. Kevin Can Wait (1.0) was at a new low leading off for CBS, though Man with a Plan (1.0) and Superior Donuts (0.9) were not hit quite as hard. At 9:30, new comedy Living Biblically basically looked like a typical 9JKL episode, which is not a good place to be on series premiere night. Scorpion was close to normal with a 0.8 at 10/9c.
- On ABC, The Good Doctor (1.3) took a big hit at 10/9c leading out of The Bachelor (1.7/1.8). The Resident (0.8) also took a sizable drop in its return from hiatus, though it still matched its lead-in from Lucifer (0.8).
- And the 9/8c slot on the CW went to veteran iZombie (0.3), which was down a tenth from last season's premiere but a tenth better than what Valor has been doing all season in the hour. It led out of Legends of Tomorrow (0.4), which couldn't bounce back from last week's low.
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (3.0) and
A.P. Bio (1.4) adjusted up while
Olympic Gold (1.3) and
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (R)
(0.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC had one last night of Winter Olympics dominance with the Closing Ceremony averaging a mid-2's rating from 8:00 to 10:30. That's gonna be down from the 3.2 on the closing night last year, continuing the 2018 Games' usual trend of year-to-year declines in the twenties. NBC used the lead-in to offer another preview of comedy A.P. Bio (1.1) at 10:30/9:30c. It was a little higher than its 0.8 Thursday preview after Will and Grace but barely half (and even down a bit in Plus) of what Growing Up Fisher did with this lead-in four years ago (2.0).
- The biggest Olympics counterprogramming went head-to-head on Sunday, with the two-hour finale of Celebrity Big Brother (1.4/1.3) topping an out-of-timeslot edition of The Bachelor (1.1). Bachelor was not much help as a lead-in for Shark Tank (0.8), which quietly finished its season at 10/9c.
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (2.9) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor Winter Games (0.8) and
Winter Olympics (3.5) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (R)
(0.7) and
American Housewife (R)
(0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS' two-hour finale of The Amazing Race (0.9/0.8) couldn't pick up any steam, matching the hourly prelims from a week ago. But it was a good night for its lead-in Celebrity Big Brother (1.4), hitting its best rating since the opening Thursday of the Olympics.
- As for those Winter Olympics, they took a pretty sizable hit to a low-3's prelim on Wednesday, the Games' weakest showing on a weeknight this year. The final Wednesday in 2014 was flat at 5.0.
- ABC offered up its final Match Game original (0.4) before Designated Survivor returns to the slot next week. It has been quite the collapse for this show in February, from 0.8 a month ago to 0.4 four drops later.
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (4.0) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- After months of trying, ABC finally gave Kevin (Probably) Saves the World a burnoff-like treatment, and it responded by tanking to a new low 0.4 leading out of The Bachelor Winter Games (0.9). However, Winter Games had a relatively good showing, as it topped both of its telecasts from last week.
- The Winter Olympics averaged a preliminary 3.9 from 8:00 to 11:00, compared to the last Tuesday in 2014 which averaged a 5.0 rating.
FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor (1.7) and
Winter Olympics (3.8) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- On the last Monday of the Olympics, The Bachelor (1.6/1.7) was on the uptick, getting closer to the level it had been hitting pre-Olympics. However, Celebrity Big Brother (1.2) was down a notch from last Monday (matching Sunday's rating), and Legends of Tomorrow (0.4) also fell in its second Monday episode.
- As for the Winter Olympics, it stayed around a 3.6 on Monday, which would be a sharper-than-usual decline vs. 2014 (which had a 5.6 on this night). After its best trend of the Games on Friday (3.9 would be down just 13% from the corresponding 2014 night), it returned to mid- to high-20s declines on Saturday (3.2) and Sunday (3.6).
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (3.8) adjusted up while
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (R)
(0.6) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: Hawaii Five-0 (R)
(0.5) adjusted up while
Winter Olympics (3.8) adjusted down.
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (R)
(1.1) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a slightly down night for the Winter Olympics (3.9) in the prelims. Since 2014's Games upticked to a 5.9 on this night, we could be headed for the worst trend vs. 2014 since the opening Thursday a week ago.
- ABC provided the only original competition as The Bachelor Winter Games (0.7) ticked down from Tuesday's soft premiere. But this time there was a good bit more audience for the accompanying 20/20 special at 10/9c (0.8), which previewed the upcoming Roseanne revival.
FINALS UPDATE: The Amazing Race (0.9) adjusted up while
American Housewife (R)
(0.5) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- A week after Celebrity Big Brother's big opening on Olympics Eve, both it (1.3) and lead-out The Amazing Race (0.9/0.8) were much lower against the Olympics on its first Wednesday. For Race, that means the show has finally gotten all the way back down to the raw numbers it was doing last spring. ABC's Match Game (0.5) also dipped to a new low.
- The Winter Olympics also took a sizable dip on Wednesday, averaging a 4.0ish in the three-hour prelims. It took a fall on the first Wednesday of 2014 as well, but this should still be a drop in the twenties vs. last year's 5.6.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC's latest effort at Winter Olympics counterprogramming produced relatively little interest, as The Bachelor Winter Games (0.8) opened at barely half of Monday's The Bachelor mothership rating and also a much weaker option than Celebrity Big Brother on CBS. Even worse was the Bachelor-themed 20/20 special at 10/9c (0.4).
- As for the Winter Olympics, they averaged another low-5 prelim. If it doesn't adjust up, that would be around a 20% drop vs. the first Tuesday of 2014 (6.6), which was the same trend we saw on Monday (and an improvement over the previous nights).
- On the CW, Black Lightning (0.5) fared well with an original despite the Olympics and a The Flash repeat lead-in (0.3).
If you've been following the projections for what we call the "league average," you know there's been a significant round of upward movement in the numbers over the course of this winter. What's the cause of that, and is there any end in sight? It's time for a deep dive!
WHAT MATTERS:- Though it didn't adjust up in finals, the Winter Olympics still finished with their best trend vs. 2014 yet, trailing Monday #1 of Sochi by just 20%.
- The Olympics took a big chunk out of The Bachelor (1.5) as ABC prepares to launch its Winter Games spin-off tonight. Celebrity Big Brother (1.3) added another tenth for CBS, while Legends of Tomorrow (0.5) made a nice transition to Monday on the CW.
FINALS UPDATE: 60 Minutes (0.8) and
Winter Olympics (5.4) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The first Sunday of the Winter Olympics averaged about a 5.0 demo from 7:00 to 11:00. After a finals uptick it'll probably be roughly 25% below the first Sunday in 2014.
- On CBS, Celebrity Big Brother (1.2) paired up with the wildly incompatible 60 Minutes (0.7) and bounced back a bit from its 1.0 on Friday. But it still trailed its last weeknight rating, a 1.4 on Thursday.
- ABC moved America's Funniest Home Videos originals (1.0) back to 7/6c, while Shark Tank went to the 10/9c hour and pulled a low-end 0.8. Two repeats of Celebrity Family Feud (0.8/0.9) got the hours in between.
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (6.5) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:
- A tape-delayed Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony averaged a preliminary 5.9/5.9/5.2 across three hours of NBC primetime. That's headed for about a one-third drop vs. the 8.6 for the 2014 Opening Ceremony, which is a little better trend than the -38% for the opening Thursday.
- CBS was the best of the rest with two hours of Celebrity Big Brother (1.0), though it took another considerable dip from the Thursday rating. ABC also offered up some original programming with a 9/8c edition of Child Support (0.4) leading into 20/20 (0.6).
FINALS UPDATE: Winter Olympics (3.7) adjusted up. That put it at a whooping 38% behind the opening night in 2014.
WHAT MATTERS:- For the second straight Winter Olympics, NBC aired a night of coverage (3.7) before the Opening Ceremony on Friday. It did not deter the other broadcasters, as ABC snuck in another week of Grey's Anatomy (2.0), Scandal (1.1) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.8), while Fox had the finale of The Four (1.3) and the CW went with Supernatural (0.6) and Arrow (0.4). Only CBS shied away from its regular lineup, but it still had night two of Celebrity Big Brother (1.4). Fox and the CW held even with last week, but TGIT was down multiple tenths across the board and Big Bro took a relatively steep four-tenth drop from Wednesday's premiere.
FINALS UPDATE: Riverdale (0.5) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The night before NBC's Winter Olympics coverage begins, CBS got an early jump on its Olympics counterprogramming with a big start for Celebrity Big Brother (1.8) in the 8/7c hour. This was about in line with Big Brother's average last summer, and a little above Survivor's average from the fall. However, The Amazing Race (1.1) dropped to a new season low in its move to the 9:00-11:00 slot.
- Fox's 9-1-1 (1.7) and NBC's Law and Order: SVU (1.3) each picked up a tenth in their last episodes before the Olympics, while all the other dramas on those networks matched last week.
- ABC opted for animated theatrical Inside Out (0.9/0.8), helping Match Game (0.6) to a season low at 10/9c. And the CW's Riverdale dipped to 0.4 for the first time this season.
FINALS UPDATE: NCIS (1.5) and
Bull (1.2) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC's This Is Us got a modest uptick to 2.7 in the only episode after its Super Bowl showcase but before the Winter Olympics hiatus, tying its highest rating of 2018. Its surrounding programs Ellen's Game of Games (1.9) and Chicago Med (1.5) were also on the upside.
- It was a down night for most of the other broadcasters, as most shows returned from a week off against the State of the Union. ABC's The Middle (1.2) dropped two tenths and Fresh Off the Boat (0.9) one, while Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (0.5) fell to an ugly new low at 10/9c. Black-ish (1.0) managed to match two weeks ago.
- CBS was down across the board with NCIS (1.4), Bull (1.1) and NCIS: New Orleans (0.9), while Fox lost a tenth with Lethal Weapon (1.1) but was even at 9/8c with LA to Vegas (0.8) and The Mick (0.7).
- And week four of the CW's Black Lightning couldn't hold onto last week's State of the Union bounce, reverting to the 0.6 it got two weeks ago.
FINALS UPDATE: Man with a Plan (1.1),
9JKL (0.9),
Scorpion (0.8) and
The Resident (1.1) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- On Super Monday, NBC saw big bounces for its Monday unscripted finales of The Wall (1.5) and Better Late Than Never (1.1), which both hit season highs. However, there was little interest in a Winter Olympics preview special at 10/9c (0.6).
- It was also a nice night on Fox, as Lucifer (1.0) finally woke up a bit from a recent slump and The Resident (1.0) also upticked to match its timeslot premiere two weeks ago.
- Top-rated ABC also an uptick with The Bachelor (1.8), while The Good Doctor (1.7) was even after a week off. Supergirl (0.6) stayed at last week's high-end levels on the CW.
- CBS was the only network without any upward movement, and Scorpion (0.7) got slammed at 10/9c against Good Doc's return. Earlier in the night, Kevin Can Wait (1.2) was steady, Man with a Plan (1.0) narrowly down, Superior Donuts (1.0) even, and the 9JKL finale (0.8) down.
FINALS UPDATE: Super Bowl (33.4) and
Bob's Burgers (R) (0.3) adjusted up while
Super Bowl Postgame (25.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- TIME-ZONE ADJUSTED RATINGS: The Super Bowl total viewership ended up at 103.4 million, down 7% from last year (basically matching the year-to-year trend in the fast nats) and the lowest viewership since 2009. This Is Us went for 27 million viewers and a 9.3 demo rating, the best performance for a bowl lead-out since The Voice in 2012. (It was technically behind New Girl's 11.4 demo in 2014, but it narrowly edged the entire hour if you combine New Girl's 11.4 with Brooklyn Nine-Nine's 6.9.)
- On Super Bowl Sunday, a down-to-the-wire big game averaged a 47.4 household rating, down by a modest 2.9% from last year's 48.8. If there's a similar decline in total viewers, it would put the viewership south of 110 million for the first time in five years, and it seems likely there will be a decline in adults 18-49 for the sixth consecutive year. Year-to-year comparisons using the preliminary hourly ratings suggest slightly steeper declines: they were -8% / -7% / -5% in total viewers and -10% / -9% / -9% in adults 18-49 vs. the same numbers last year. More updates to come. More Super Bowl ratings.
- But the early indicators suggest that This Is Us may go down as one of the most impressive recent Bowl lead-outs (likely the most impressive since The Voice in 2012). It started at 10:45 (earlier than the last two years' lead-outs but still a little later than average historically) and averaged an 11.2 adults 18-49 in the top 25 markets, demolishing last year's 24: Legacy which had a 7.1 starting at 11:00 and later adjusted down to 6.1 in finals. More Super Bowl lead-out ratings.
FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.9) adjusted up while
Mom (1.5) and
A.P. Bio (0.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- A busy week before the Olympics began with NBC previewing its new comedy AP Bio (0.9) at 9:30 after Will and Grace (1.2). That's a lot better than what Great News has been doing with that lead-in, but Great News is one of the weakest shows on broadcast TV. So AP Bio is going to have to hold up very well on the other side of the Olympics.
- NBC also featured the season finale of The Good Place (1.1) at 8:30, and sandwiching all that were narrowly down Superstore (1.1) and Chicago Fire (1.0).
- On ABC, a hot start to 2018 continued for Grey's Anatomy, which hung at 2.3 for the third straight week. Scandal (1.4) was up a notch, while How to Get Away with Murder (1.0) was even.
- It was another nice night for Fox's The Four (1.1/1.4), which may have eked out a series high in un-rounded even if it doesn't get the rounded 1.3.
- CBS' The Big Bang Theory (2.8) and Young Sheldon (2.3) were barely down in their returns from a week off, while Mom (1.6), Life in Pieces (1.2) and S.W.A.T. (1.0) all matched two weeks ago. The CW's Supernatural (0.6) and Arrow (0.4) were even as well.
FINALS UPDATE: Speechless (R)
(0.9) and
The Amazing Race (1.3) adjusted up while
The Blacklist (1.0) and
Law and Order: SVU (1.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was another dominant Wednesday for week five of Fox's 9-1-1 (1.6), though the drama's lead-in The X-Files (0.9) went fractional for the first time.
- After seven straight episodes with either a 0.9 or 1.1, SEAL Team finally hit a 1.0 this week, which was down a notch from two weeks ago. Its lead-in The Amazing Race (1.2) matched last week's two-hour total, but Criminal Minds was back up to 1.0.
- NBC was back from a week off with The Blacklist (1.1) continuing its solid start to 2018, while Law and Order: SVU (1.3) and Chicago PD (1.2) came down a bit.
- The CW had yet another 0.5 from Riverdale and 0.2 from Dynasty, while ABC's comedies were in repeats.
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