CBS Sunday Wakes Up
Starting with the move of The Good Wife to Sunday in 2011, CBS Sunday became a relative soft spot for the network ratings-wise. While shows like TGW, Madam Secretary and Elementary at least offered a prestige element, there were also newbie failures in the 8/7c hour like Wisdom of the Crowd and God Friended Me that continually held the network back, even when they started trying a bit harder for ratings with NCIS spin-offs.
In early 2021, though, CBS finally found the 8/7c anchor that could really get them back in the game. The Equalizer had the best possible help for its series premiere, airing after the Super Bowl to over 20 million viewers and a 5.1 demo. It wasn't a great showing by Super Bowl lead-out standards at the time, but it still translated to a strong start in its first regular episode the next Sunday, when it averaged a 0.93 demo (144 Plus) and built on its 60 Minutes lead-in. More importantly, it held up just fine even following a four-week hiatus through most of March, refusing to drop below the league average even in the late spring.
In the next two seasons, The Equalizer got the chance to air in the fall, when CBS had late-afternoon NFL lead-ins into 60 Minutes, and that helped produce multiple big hit results in the fall each season. And the show continued to do almost as well in the winter/spring portions, holding at or just below the league average.
Season four saw the show deprived of the NFL once again due to the writers' strike delays. But some of that was counter-balanced by the show getting its strongest scripted teammate yet in 9/8c newbie Tracker. In the end, The Equalizer was only barely down from its first three seasons and posted a fourth straight season in the 110s. But Tracker was so successful that it will inherit The Equalizer's 8/7c post-NFL perch starting in fall 2024, leaving The Equalizer to the later 9/8c hour. That probably won't help The Equalizer's ratings, but the night as a whole could be historically strong for the eye.
Adults 18-49 info by season:
| Seas | Year | Slot | Avg | y2y | Lo | Hi | Results | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring 2021 | Sunday 8:00 | 0.75 | 0.7 | 0.9 | detail | B+ | |
| 2 | 2021-22 | 0.61 | -19% | 0.4 | 0.8 | detail | B | |
| 3 | 2022-23 | 0.50 | -17% | 0.3 | 0.8 | detail | B- | |
| 4 | Spring 2024 | 0.43 | -14% | 0.3 | 0.6 | detail | B |
Historical-adjusted ratings by season:
| Seas | Year | A18-49+ | Label | Now24 | y2y | Lo | Hi | Premiere | Finale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring 2021 | 116 | solid | 0.44 | 102 | 144 | 144 | 109 | |
| 2 | 2021-22 | 119 | solid | 0.45 | +3% | 88 | 165 | 151 | 100 |
| 3 | 2022-23 | 117 | solid | 0.45 | -1% | 82 | 185 | 155 | 113 |
| 4 | Spring 2024 | 113 | solid | 0.43 | -3% | 90 | 166 | 127 | 113 |
| AVERAGE: | 116 | solid | |||||||
| CAREER: | 465 | utility | |||||||
The War of 18-49 chronicles the ratings history of veteran primetime series. For more, see the Index.
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