UPDATE: In updated Nielsen estimates released Thursday afternoon, the only revision was CBS’ “Stalker” losing a tenth (1.6/5 in 18-49, 7.98 million viewers overall) — leaving it up 0.2 from its low of the previous week and the show’s best score in three weeks.
NBC’s “Chicago PD” (1.6/5 in 18-49, 7.29 million viewers overall), which held at its prelim score, tied with “Stalker” in 18-49 for its second best finish relative to the CBS rookie (behind only last week, when the Peacock sophomore won big thanks to its crossover storyline with other NBC dramas.)
FX’s “American Horror Story” (2.0/6 in 18-49, 3.91 million viewers overall) was the overall 10 p.m. winner in 18-49.
There were no other demo revisions at the broadcasters, so CW’s “The 100” (0.6/2 in 18-49, 1.64 million viewers overall) is able to claim a season high.
At A&E, the seventh-season premiere of “Duck Dynasty” continued the show’s downward ratings trajectory (1.0/3 in 18-49, 2.62 million viewers overall), as it slid more than 40% from its season 6 premiere in June (1.8 in 18-49, 4.60 million viewers overall). The show peaked with its season 4 premiere in August 2013 (5.0 rating in 18-49, 11.77 million viewers overall).
One week after NBC stole some Wednesday thunder with a special hour of “The Voice” and a crossover storyline for its Dick Wolf dramas, other nets bounced back in the ratings — including ABC, which won the night in young adults thanks to an eight-week high for its comedy block.
Actually, with the Peacock’s stunting last week and recent events like the World Series on Fox and CMA Awards on ABC, last night marked the first Wednesday in more than a month without some special programming, and shows like CBS’ “Stalker,” NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura” and CW’s “The 100” were able to rebound without the intensified competition.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, audiences tuned in to ABC in greater numbers than usual for Thanksgiving-themed episodes of its returning comedies, led off by “The Middle” (2.2/7 in 18-49, 8.3 million viewers overall), which was up 0.3 week to week to deliver its top demo rating since February. “The Goldbergs” (2.4/7 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers overall) again built on its lead-in and was also up 0.3 from last week, and “Modern Family” (3.7/11 in 18-49, 10.9 million viewers overall) shot up 16% (0.5) for its top rating since its Sept. 24 season premiere.
In the back half of the night for ABC, rookie “Black-ish” didn’t get a similar boost for its Thanksgiving episode (2.6/8 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall), but it was up a tick and led its timeslot in young adults. And at 10 p.m., “Nashville” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall) had a competitive showing in 18-49, up a tick from last week to match its season high (and perhaps will emerge as the hour’s broadcast leader in 18-49 when L+7 numbers come in).
ABC won the night in adults 18-49, with “Modern Family” and “Black-ish” the top shows in 18-49.
At CBS, “Survivor” (2.4/8 in 18-49, 9.8 million viewers overall) was up a tenth for its top score since Oct. 8, edging out the ABC comedies for the 18-49 lead in the night’s 8 o’clock hour. “Criminal Minds” (2.3/7 in 18-49, 10.6 million viewers overall) matched its score of last week, placing second in both 18-49 and 25-54, and “Stalker” (1.7/5 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall) rose 21% (0.3) to match its best score since its premiere.
CBS was Wednesday’s most-watched network overall, with all three shows winning their hours.
NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 8.6 million viewers overall) was up versus its prior three weeks, coming within a tenth of its timeslot premiere in September. It was followed by back-to-earth perfs by “Law & Order: SVU” (1.8/5 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall) and “Chicago PD” (2.2/7 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall); despite expected week-to-week declines, both “SVU” and “Chicago” matched their third best rating of the season.
At Fox, “Hell’s Kitchen” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 3.9 million viewers overall) and “Red Band Society” (0.9/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) equaled their demo scores of the previous week and were up in total viewers.
And CW’s “Arrow” (0.9/3 in 18-49, 2.6 million viewers overall) held steady or was up a bit in most categories while its “The 100” (0.6/2 in 18-49, 1.7 million viewers overall) was up across the board, hitting season highs in virtually every category and drawing the top rating in men 18-34 (0.6/2) since its series premiere in March.
For the night, CW finished ahead of both NBC and Fox in men 18-34.
Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, 2.3/7; CBS, 2.1/6; NBC, 1.6/5; Fox and Univision, 1.2/4; CW, 0.7/2; Telemundo, 0.6/2.
In total viewers: CBS, 9.5 million; NBC, 7.9 million; ABC, 7.6 million; Fox, 3.4 million; Univision, 3.1 million; CW, 2.1 million; Telemundo, 1.4 million.
