Last Sunday was the most-watched night of television since the Academy Awards, so it only stands to reason that some of the entertainment series airing there would see some sizable spikes in three-day viewing.
Opposite both a much-anticipated “Sunday Night Football” matchup on NBC and the deciding game of the World Series on Fox, AMC’s 90-minute “The Walking Dead” — already the week’s No. 1 entertainment series in same-day 18-49 rating — also saw the largest time-shifted lift, according to Nielsen. But the biggest beneficiary of delayed “live plus-3” viewing via DVR playback and VOD was ABC’s “Quantico,” which became the first broadcast program this fall to more than double its same-night demo rating.
According to Nielsen, “Quantico” grew in adults 18-49 rating by 119% from same-day (1.17) to Live+3 (2.56) while growing its overall audience by 92% (4.05 million to 7.78 million) — also the largest ever for the series and the biggest percentage lift for any broadcast this fall. This was the first week that the terrorism-themed drama had to directly face “Walking Dead,” and its delayed-viewing gains were even bigger in younger and male categories. It was up from same-day to L+3, for example, by 134% in adults 18-34 (0.85 to 2.00) and by 140% in men 18-49 (0.83 to 1.99).
In part due to its challenging timeslot as well as a modest same-day lead-in from “Blood & Oil,” “Quantico” has fallen off since its strong early weeks. Even in L+3, last Sunday’s result represents its lowest score in six airings, but it’s clear that the show very much remains a must-see (if not necessarily on Sunday night) for many. Among rookie series last week, “Quantico” (2.6) ranked third in L+3 18-49 rating, trailing the premiere of “Supergirl” on CBS (4.1) and the sixth episode of NBC’s “Blindspot” (3.5).
Also for ABC on Sunday, both “Once Upon a Time” and “Blood & Oil” rallied to match their previous week’s demo scores after having fallen to same-night season lows. “Once” rose in Live+3 to a 2.4 (its third straight week at this number) thanks its largest three-day lift since its premiere (0.89 points). And “Blood & Oil” grew to a 1.3, still a low number but holding at that rating in L+3 for a fourth straight week.
“The Walking Dead” didn’t see an especially big lift in L+3 last week, and its numbers in both 18-49 (9.5 rating, up from a 6.8 in same-day) and total viewers (18.17 million, up from 13.34 million) were virtually identical to the previous week. It vaulted past NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” as the week’s No. 1 program in the demo, and placed fourth in overall audience behind football on NBC and CBS veterans “The Big Bang Theory” (20.29 million) and “NCIS” (19.71 million).
Elsewhere in L+3 last week, ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” held steady in adults 18-49 with a 3.3 rating even though it had fallen off 0.3 week-to-week in same-day numbers. And in comedy, “The Muppets” saw its first increases of the season (2.0 in 18-49, 5.62 million viewers overall), while Halloween-themed episodes of “The Middle,” “The Goldbergs” and “Black-ish” hit some four-week highs.
For CBS, the premiere of “Supergirl” overtook World Series games to rank in the top 10 in both 18-49 (4.1) and total viewers (16.12 million), standing as the week’s No. 1 first-year program in both categories. Lead-in “The Big Bang Theory” also popped, logging its second best score of the season in 18-49 (6.0, tops among broadcast entertainment series) and moving above the 20-million mark in total viewers.
Of note at NBC, “Chicago Fire” hit a season high in third week (2.9 in 18-49, 10.86 million viewers overall). And Thursday drama “The Player” held at the same demo rating (1.2) for a third straight week; like ABC’s “Blood & Oil,” its a low-rated newcomer whose episode order has been cut but is remaining at a number that is keeping it on the schedule.
Perhaps getting Halloween-week boosts, CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” hit season highs (1.09 in 18-49, 2.12 million viewers overall), and its “iZombie” hit three-week highs (0.80 in 18-49, 1.97 million viewers overall).
On a pure ratings-point basis, the biggest L+3 gainers in 18-49 were “The Walking Dead” (2.7), “The Big Bang Theory” (1.6), “How to Get Away With Murder” (1.5), and “Blindspot,” “American Horror Story” and “Quantico” (all at 1.4). And in total viewers, the biggest lifts were from “Walking Dead” (4.83 million), “Blindspot” (4.12 million), “The Big Bang Theory” (3.97 million), “Quantico” (3.73 million) and “How to Get Away With Murder” (3.41 million).
At Showtime, “The Affair” hit a season high Sunday (1.44 million), while “Homeland” (2.36 million) was down a little. And at HBO, “The Leftovers” was back on the upswing (1.16 million). Saturday saw a modest start for Starz’ “Ash vs. the Evil Dead” (639,000), though it easily outdrew the net’s “Da Vinci’s Demons” (351,000). The early numbers for “Ash” also don’t include its numerous encores over the weekend.
FX’s “Fargo” hit a season high in 18-49 (0.88), ranking No. 7 among all scripted cable series for the week, while drawing 2.62 million viewers overall. The net’s “American Horror Story: Hotel” was down a bit more in week four (3.0 in 18-49, 5.58 million viewers overall), ranking ninth among all of the week’s primetime’s entertainment series in the demo.
BET’s “Being Mary Jane” was down a little in its second week (1.36 in 18-49, 2.77 million viewers overall), but ranked No. 4 among scripted cable series for the week in 18-49.
OWN’s “If Loving You is Wrong” had its second best averages in six airings this fall (0.94 in 18-49, 2.98 million total viewers), behind only its premiere behind “The Haves and the Have Nots.”
Disney XD’s “Gravity Falls” on Monday delivered its second highest-rated telecast ever in boys 6-11 (506,400) and boys 2-11 (590,000), and lead-out “Wander Over Yonder” set series highs in numerous categories and led all of TV in its 8:30 p.m. timeslot in boys 6-11 (306,000). And over at at Disney Junior, Sunday morning’s episode of “Sofia the First” hit a one-year high in total viewers (2.63 million) and multi-month highs across target kid and preschool demos, including kids 2-5 (723,000) and kids 2-11 (1.38 million).
WEEK’S TOP PRIMETIME PROGRAMS
(Live +3 for Oct. 26-Nov. 1, 2015)
Adults 18-49
1. The Walking Dead (AMC), 9.5
2. Sunday Night Football: Green Bay-Denver (NBC), 8.2
3. Thursday Night Football: Miami-New England (CBS/NFLN), 6.0
4. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 6.0
5. World Series: Game 5-Sunday (Fox), 5.1
6. World Series: Game 1-Tuesday (Fox), 4.6
7. Monday Night Football: Baltimore-Arizona (ESPN), 4.4
8. Supergirl (CBS), 4.1
9. World Series: Game 2-Wednesday (Fox), 3.9
10. The Voice-Monday (NBC), 3.8
11. Blindspot (NBC), 3.5
11. Scandal (ABC), 3.5
13. World Series: Game 4-Saturday (Fox), 3.4
14. The Voice-Tuesday (NBC), 3.3
14. How to Get Away With Murder (ABC), 3.3
16. World Series: Game 3-Friday (Fox), 3.2
17. American Horror Story (FX), 3.0
18. The Goldbergs (ABC), 2.93
19. Chicago Fire (NBC), 2.88
20. Talking Dead (AMC), 2.84
21. NCIS (CBS), 2.81
22. Black-ish (ABC), 2.74
23. GOP Debate (CNBC), 2.73
24. Survivor (CBS), 2.72
25. Scorpion (CBS), 2.69
26. The Middle (ABC), 2.62
27. Criminal Minds (CBS), 2.57
28. Quantico (ABC), 2.56
29. The Blacklist (NBC), 2.54
30. Once Upon a Time (ABC), 2.43
31. Gotham (Fox), 2.30
32. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD (ABC), 2.28
33. Limitless (CBS), 2.25
33. 20/20 (ABC), 2.25
35. Chicago PD (NBC), 2.23
36. Modern Family (ABC), 2.22
37. NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), 2.11
37. Dancing With the Stars (ABC), 2.11
39. The Flash (CW), 2.09
40. Fresh Off the Boat (ABC), 2.04
Total Viewers (in millions)
1. Sunday Night Football: Green Bay-Denver (NBC), 23.12
2. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 20.29
3. NCIS (CBS), 19.71
4. The Walking Dead (AMC), 18.17
5. Thursday Night Football: Miami-New England (CBS/NFLN), 17.63
6. World Series: Game 5-Sunday (Fox), 17.25
7. Supergirl (CBS), 16.12
8. NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), 15.25
9. World Series: Game 1-Tuesday (Fox), 14.98
10. GOP Debate (CNBC), 14.44
11. The Voice-Monday (NBC), 13.92
12. World Series: Game 2-Wednesday (Fox), 13.74
13. World Series: Game 4-Saturday (Fox), 13.62
14. Dancing With the Stars (ABC), 13.26
15. World Series: Game 3-Friday (Fox), 13.24
16. Blue Bloods (CBS), 13.03
17. Scorpion (CBS), 12.64
18. The Voice-Tuesday (NBC), 12.26
19. Monday Night Football: Baltimore-Arizona (ESPN), 12.24
20. Blindspot (NBC), 12.02
21. 60 Minutes (CBS), 11.43
22. Madam Secretary (CBS), 11.31
23. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), 10.95
24. Chicago Fire (NBC), 10.86
25. Criminal Minds (CBS), 10.81
26. Scandal (ABC), 10.72
27. The Blacklist (NBC), 10.67
28. Survivor (CBS), 10.39
29. Limitless (CBS), 10.10
30. 20/20 (ABC), 10.07
31. The Good Wife (CBS), 9.79
32. How to Get Away With Murder (ABC), 9.68
33. The Middle (ABC), 9.19
34. Chicago PD (NBC), 8.71
35. The Goldbergs (ABC), 8.67
36. Bones (Fox), 8.57
37. Last Man Standing (ABC), 8.54
38. Code Black (CBS), 8.36
39. Black-ish (ABC), 8.23
40. The Mysteries of Laura (NBC), 7.80
