FINALS UPDATE: The World's Best (0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fox megahit The Masked Singer finished season one with a gigahit, series high two-hour finale (3.1), exploding from a 2.6 in the 8:00 half-hour all the way to a 3.8 by 9:30.
- The new ABC drama Whiskey Cavalier showed up in its regular timeslot with a 0.7. It's a second telecast of an episode that previewed after late local news following the Oscars three nights ago. It was no better than where A Million Little Things settled in the slot during the fall (after premiering at 1.1). Whiskey could only match its lead-in from Single Parents (0.7) in the demo, while packing on over a million more total viewers. All four ABC comedies (1.1/0.9/1.1/0.7) were even with last week.
- On CBS, The World's Best (0.5/0.4) continued its remarkable collapse in the last two hours, following Survivor (1.5) which was down a tenth from last week's premiere. The Chicago shows (1.2/1.2/1.1) were back to normal after last week's crossover bump, and the CW's Riverdale (0.3) and All American (0.2) returned on the low end.
FINALS UPDATE: FBI (1.0) adjusted up while
The Gifted (0.4) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC used its Tuesday premiere of The Voice (2.0) to launch a two-hour preview of World of Dance (1.4), before the former summer reality series makes the move to its regular Sunday timeslot at the end of the week. WoD was down just a bit in Plus from its season two premiere (1.7) after America's Got Talent (2.5).
- Finale night for Fox's Tuesday drama duo (0.7/0.5) saw Lethal Weapon inch back down to its usual 0.7.
- ABC had an uptick from its first three sitcoms, American Housewife (1.0), The Kids Are Alright (0.8) and Black-ish (0.8), but Splitting Up Together and The Rookie were stuck at 0.6. CBS (1.2/0.9/0.8) was even across the board, while Roswell, New Mexico fell to its first 0.2 leading out of a repeat of The Flash (0.2).
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- NBC launched its spring cycle of The Voice (2.1) into new drama The Enemy Within (1.2). The Voice managed to outrate the 2.0 fall premiere, but was down 25% from the year-ago spring premiere (2.8) which opened on the heels of the Olympics. Enemy Within had a wait-and-see premiere; it was toward the lower end of post-Voice drama launches historically and down in Plus from last spring's Good Girls launch, but maybe a little less than The Voice itself was down.
- ABC was in second for the night in each hour as The Bachelor (1.8) was down a tenth and The Good Doctor (1.1) was even. CBS was up a tenth across the board (1.2/1.0/0.9/0.8), meaning Magnum P.I. worked its way up to a regularly-scheduled 0.9 for the first time since October. With a different lead-in from a The Masked Singer repeat (0.7), The Passage finally fell to its first 0.8.
FINALS UPDATE: Academy Awards (7.7, +1.1) adjusted up while
Oscar Red Carpet p2 (2.0, -1.5),
Oscar Red Carpet p3 (3.1, -1.5) and
FBI (R)
(0.3) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The preliminary hourly ratings (7.0/6.7/6.2) for the Academy Awards were slightly up on average vs. last year's 7.2/6.2/5.7 preliminaries (including a much better trend across the telecast). Last year's show adjusted up to a 6.8 final rating, and a similar adjustment this time would put it at just north of a 7.0. It won't get close to making up all of last year's drop (from a 9.1 in 2017), but it's a big step in the right direction trend-wise.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
FINALS UPDATE: S.W.A.T. (0.9) and
The Orville (0.8) adjusted up while
Young Sheldon (1.7) and
Charmed (R)
(0.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: The Masked Singer (2.7) adjusted up while
Match Game (0.4) and
The World's Best (0.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Survivor (1.6) returned to CBS in very healthy fashion, just a tenth below its spring and fall premieres in 2018. But it was no help to The World's Best (0.7/0.6), which went into full-on disaster mode in its move to the 9:00-11:00 block.
- World's Best was powerless to stop The Masked Singer (2.6), which was up two tenths for the second week in a row to tie its second-best rating ever. Lead-in 24 Hours to Hell and Back (1.1) gained a tick as well.
- It was crossover night for One Chicago, which meant Chicago Med (1.3) was even at 8/7c but Chicago Fire (1.3) and especially Chicago PD (1.4) got sizable upticks. This came just a little shy of PD's career high in Plus (when it got a 1.9 as part of a crossover two years ago).
- And Modern Family (1.1) was back to originals, but down to a new series low. The consolation for ABC was that the surrounding comedies Schooled (0.9) and Single Parents (0.7) each bounced back by a tick.
FINALS UPDATE: Roswell, New Mexico (R)
(0.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- This Is Us (1.8) had a rebound after last week's low, while its lead-in Ellen's Game of Games (1.4) was down a notch. NCIS (1.2) and FBI (0.9) were both down, as was Black-ish (0.7) (the lone mover on ABC). On Fox, Lethal Weapon (0.8) looked a little better than usual, pulling off its first 0.8 since week two of the season.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was finale night for one of the winter's biggest year-to-year timeslot gaining lineups, America's Got Talent: The Champions (1.6/1.7) and Manifest (1.0) on NBC. But they didn't do anything out of the ordinary on finale night, with Manifest giving back a tenth after last week's surge, and trailed ABC's combo of The Bachelor (1.8/1.9) and The Good Doctor (1.1) in each hour.
- CBS got another drop from The Neighborhood (1.1) and Man with a Plan (0.9), putting Neighborhood way off of its winter heights and back to what it was doing throughout most of the fall. Magnum P.I. (0.8) was back after a couple weeks off and matched its last January episode. And Fox was down with The Resident (0.9), but The Passage made it four weeks in a row at 0.9.
American Dad!
Mondays, 10/9c, TBS
FINALS UPDATE: God Friended Me (0.6) and
NASCAR Overrun (1.2, -0.2) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- On the Sunday between the Grammys and Oscars, the CBS (0.7/0.7/0.4) and CW (0.3/0.2) dramas had a one-week return to originals. All these shows tied their season lows except for Madam Secretary, which set a new one. With some help from NASCAR overrun (2.1/1.4 in the 7:00 hour), the Fox comedies (0.9/0.9/0.9) were up from their eps against the Grammys last week.
- ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos (0.8) made the move back to 7/6c, preparing for its reunion with American Idol in two weeks, while its lead-out movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens (0.5/0.6/0.5) was in the same ballpark as NBC's older-skewing Elvis Presley special (0.6).
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- Fox drama Proven Innocent opened with a measly 0.5 demo, fourth place at 9/8c and less than half of its lead-in from a double-pump of Last Man Standing (1.1) in the 8/7c hour. This would be bad even on a regular network; it appears to tie last season's Ten Days in the Valley along with a bunch of summer dramas for the lowest-rated drama launch in big four history. On a network that is looking to cut scripted programming real estate, it's all the more hopeless.
- In the 8/7c hour, ABC's comedies (0.7/0.5) were even after a week off, while MacGyver (0.7) ticked down to drop below the other two CBS dramas (0.8/0.8), as did Blindspot (0.5) to trail its lead-out The Blacklist (0.6).
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- CBS comedies Mom (1.1) and Fam (0.8) returned after giving up their hour to Celebrity Big Brother a week ago. With their lead-in Sheldon comedies in repeats (1.2/1.1), they were on the low end. But S.W.A.T. (0.9) was up at 10/9c, managing a head-to-head win against NBC's Law and Order: SVU (0.8).
- ABC was down to a new low with Grey's Anatomy (1.4) but even with A Million Little Things (1.0) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.6). NBC got a rebound from The Titan Games (1.1), but comedies Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.8) and Will and Grace (0.7) dropped. Fox's Gotham (0.6) was down vs. two weeks ago, while The Orville had its fifth consecutive 0.7.
FINALS UPDATE: Chicago Fire (1.1),
Riverdale (R)
(0.1) and
All American (R)
(0.1) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The second Wednesday edition of The World's Best (0.9) teamed up with the two-hour season finale of Celebrity Big Brother (1.0/0.9) for CBS. TWB was down a tenth from last week's two-hour average (though two tenths below what it did in the 8:00 hour). Meanwhile, the finale interest was pretty modest for CBB, which went well below the 1.4 from last year's finale.
- CBS lost both of the first two hours head-to-head against Fox (1.0/2.4), as The Masked Singer rebounded from last week's drop.
- With no original Modern Family, ABC was on the low end with The Goldbergs (1.1) at 8/7c and had rotten results from Schooled (0.8) at 8:30 and Single Parents (0.6) at 9:30. NBC's Chicago trio (1.3/1.2/1.1) was down a tenth from last week across the board.
FINALS UPDATE: NCIS (1.4) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- ABC finally got a look at its full post-The Conners Tuesday. American Housewife (0.9) was up a tenth from last week's timeslot premiere on State of the Union night, while The Kids Are Alright (0.7) matched last week. Then Black-ish (0.8), Splitting Up Together (0.6) and The Rookie (0.6) were back for the first time in three weeks; Black-ish and Splitting matched that night, but The Rookie fell to 0.6 for just the second time (and the first time was when it had a delayed start on January 8).
- NBC's This Is Us (1.7) was also back from multiple weeks off, and fell pretty hard to a new series low. Ellen's Game of Games (1.5) had a small rebound from its SOTU airing last week, while New Amsterdam (1.0) was even with three weeks ago.
- On CBS, NCIS (1.3) had its first original in four weeks, and was even, while FBI (1.0) got back on track after a hiccup following Celebrity Big Brother three weeks ago. Fox (0.7/0.5) was even while CW's The Flash (0.6) preliminarily dropped to end a three-week run of 0.7's.
FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor (1.9) and
Arrow (0.4) adjusted up while
Man with a Plan (1.0) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The week got off to a good start for ABC with The Bachelor (1.9/1.8), even or up a tenth from last week, and for NBC with America's Got Talent: The Champions (1.6/1.9) which was up by at least a tenth. AGT lead-out Manifest (1.1) also fared well in its penultimate episode, up against a repeat of The Good Doctor (0.6) on ABC.
- CBS' The Neighborhood (1.3) and Man with a Plan (1.1) barely budged from last week's strong returns, but Bull (0.7) was down a notch with an incompatible Celebrity Big Brother lead-in (0.8). Fox's dramas (1.0/0.9) were even, while Arrow (0.3) ticked down on the CW.
FINALS UPDATE: Grammy Awards (5.6, +0.6) adjusted up while
Grammy Red Carpet Live (1.5, -0.8) and
The Simpsons (0.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- The Grammy Awards were back on CBS (5.1/5.4/4.6). After last year's huge drop, this year's show down by a little less than 10% from last year's 5.4 prelim which later adjusted up to a 5.9 final. (The ceremony was in late January last year due to the Olympics.)
- With ABC/CW in repeats and NBC waiting for after the Oscars as usual, that left the Fox cartoons The Simpsons (0.7), Bob's Burgers (0.7) and Family Guy (0.8) as the only original entertainment series on broadcast. All three crashed to new season lows.
Here's a look at the big Renewology developments in week 20. After a couple weeks lacking in premieres, this week had actual developments! Plus, the thoughts promised
last week on a couple dramas that have been softening in the winter.
FINALS UPDATE: Blindspot (0.6) adjusted up.
FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.6) adjusted up while
The Titan Games (0.9) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- Three days after serving as the Super Bowl lead-out, The World's Best (1.0) debuted on its regular night with a 1.1 in the 8/7c hour, then fell to 0.9 at 9/8c, when it was more than doubled up by fellow really competition The Masked Singer (2.2). That might not be the end of the world for some premieres, but it is a definite disappointment on the heels of such heavy exposure; it looks like it had a smaller launch even in Plus than Hunted, the reality show CBS debuted after the AFC Championship game two years ago, and was well behind the first episode of 24: Legacy immediately after its 2017 Super Bowl run.
- TWB led into the season finale of Criminal Minds (0.8) at 10/9c. The 2.2 marked a double-digit week-to-week decline for The Masked Singer, while its lead-in 24 Hours to Hell and Back (1.1) inched down.
- It was a high-end night for NBC's One Chicago, with Chicago Med (1.4) eyeing a new season high while Chicago PD (1.2) tied its own season high at 10/9c and Chicago Fire (1.3) was up as well. The CW's Riverdale fell to its first 0.3 of this season (though it's been there in each of its previous two seasons).
FINALS UPDATE: The Kids Are Alright (0.7),
The Masked Singer (R) (0.8) and
Roswell, New Mexico (0.3) adjusted down. (Please note that the numbers listed below for the State of the Union are the full preliminary averages; the only thing released in finals were the analysis portions.)
WHAT MATTERS:- The last two hours of East Coast primetime were dedicated to the State of the Union Address and Democratic response on the big four. As usual, NBC (1.6/1.3) dominated the other networks in this period, with an assist from an original Ellen's Game of Games lead-in (1.4).
- Despite the special programming later in the night, the 8/7c hour was not without its own developments in the entertainment world as American Housewife (0.8) made the move back to Tuesday, leading off at 8/7c. At least preliminarily, it skewed a lot older on its new night, crazily posting a new season high in total viewers but a new season low in the demo. (We'll see if any of that shifts due to SOTU coverage in other time zones.) Though it had a smaller lead-in than usual, The Kids Are Alright at least preliminarily held onto its usual 0.8 at 8:30.
- The CW stayed original all night with The Flash (0.7) and Roswell, New Mexico (0.4), and Roswell preliminarily bounced back from last week's downtick.
FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.
WHAT MATTERS:- It was a stellar Super Monday for CBS' freshman comedy The Neighborhood (1.4), which rose to a new series high at 8/7c. Leading out was the return of Man with a Plan (1.1), and the third-year comedy managed to be up year-to-year vs. its last season premiere in November 2017. (It was a tenth below its highest points from January a year ago.) Then came Celebrity Big Brother (1.1) and Bull (0.8), which did nothing out of the ordinary.
- The Bachelor (1.8/1.7) was ahead of America's Got Talent: The Champions (1.6/1.7) this week, while their respective lead-outs The Good Doctor (1.0) and Manifest (0.9) both shed a tenth to tie their series lows.
- Fox saw The Passage hold at 0.9 in week four, but it was a tenth behind its lead-in from an upticking The Resident (1.0). The recently renewed CW dramas (0.4/0.3) were even again.
FINALS UPDATE: Super Bowl (31.0, +3.1) adjusted up while
Super Bowl Postgame (18.3, -0.7) and
The World's Best (7.0, -1.6) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:
- The Super Bowl's preliminary household rating was a 44.9, down by 5% from last year's 47.4. A year-to-year decline of that size among total viewers would put the game below 100 million total viewers for the first time in a decade. The three hourly preliminary adults 18-49 ratings (28.5/28.2/27.1) are telling a consistent story about the declines in the demo: they are down 10% / 9% / 10% from the preliminary hours a year ago.
- Stay tuned for more on its lead-out, new reality competition The World's Best. CBS averaged an 8.6 in the demo for the preliminary 10:30 half-hour, which is down massively from last year's 14.9 for This Is Us on the same night. But the show also started nearly ten minutes earlier (10:36) than last year's This Is Us (10:45), so that number includes much more of the show itself than the rating from a year ago.
Continuing our revisitation theme from
last week, this week's Renewology column will take a look back at some of the more interesting bubble issues from the fall. The two areas that got a lot of chatter in these posts during the fall were CBS dramas and ABC comedies, so we'll visit both of those in some depth. Plus, a few words on the CW's mass renewal. There are at least a couple other shows that have changed a lot since the fall that I wanted to discuss (
Manifest and
How to Get Away with Murder), but this was running long. Maybe next week!
FINALS UPDATE: Hell's Kitchen (0.9) adjusted up.
WHAT MATTERS:- The scripted programming on CBS and Fox was back to original after at least a week off. On Fox, comedies Last Man Standing (1.1) and The Cool Kids (0.9) were both down a tenth from three weeks ago. CBS' MacGyver (0.8) was up a tenth and Hawaii Five-0 (0.8) down a tenth to join Blue Bloods (0.8) for a very consistent night.
- NBC was also back from a single week off with downticks for Blindspot (0.5) and The Blacklist (0.5). ABC's Speechless (0.5) also fell a notch (vs. last week), while the CW's Dynasty (0.2) preliminarily got a post-renewal uptick.
FINALS UPDATE: Young Sheldon (1.8) adjusted down.
WHAT MATTERS:- Will and Grace (0.8) returned to NBC, now in the 9:30 timeslot and matching lead-in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.8). It skewed older than its lead-in, actually growing in total viewers, and was also up in the demo vs. its last few fall airings. However, Nine-Nine and its own lead-in The Titan Games (1.1) continued trickling downward, while Law and Order: SVU (0.9) was even at 10/9c after a week off.
- It was an up night for CBS comedies The Big Bang Theory (2.4), Young Sheldon (1.9), Mom (1.3) and Fam (1.0), while S.W.A.T. (0.9) remained on the high end.
- ABC also got an uptick with Grey's Anatomy (1.7), while A Million Little Things made it three weeks in a row at 1.1 and How to Get Away with Murder was stuck at 0.6.
- Fox's Gotham (0.7) grew as well, while The Orville (0.7) along with the CW dramas (0.4/0.3) matched last week.
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