There were few ratings fireworks on the first night in May, with NBC’s “Little Big Shots” standing as the top broadcast in key demos while most of Sunday’s dramas held steady week to week, including the penultimate episode of “The Good Wife” on CBS. Fox, meanwhile, didn’t gain much traction with its “American Country Countdown Awards.”
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, NBC followed a repeat “Little Big Shots” (0.8/3 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) with an original episode of the Steve Harvey-hosted alternative series (1.6/6 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall). “Little Big Shots” was on par with its prior original of two weeks ago, winning the 8 o’clock hour in all key demos and tying with CBS’ “Madam Secretary” for the lead in total viewers. Comedies “The Carmichael Show” (1.0/3 in 18-49, 4.6 million viewers overall) and “Crowded” (0.8/2 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall) bounced back from their lows last week when they followed a repeat “Little Big Shots,” and “Dateline” also was up (1.0/3 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall), winning the 10 p.m. hour among the broadcasters in 18-49 (tie), 25-54 (1.5/4) and total viewers.
NBC tied with ABC for the night’s 18-49 broadcast lead, with the Alphabet led by leadoff hitter “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (1.3/5 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall), which was up a tick from last week. The net’s dramas all held basically at their same numbers from the past three or four weeks: “Once Upon a Time” (1.2/4 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall), “The Family” (0.8/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) and “Quantico” (1.0/3 in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall). In “live plus-3” last week, “Once” hit a six-week high in 18-49, and “Family” rose to a seven-week best.
CBS ruled the night in total viewers and was steady week to week with “60 Minutes” (1.0/4 in 18-49, 10.2 million viewers overall), “Madam Secretary” (1.0/3 in 18-49, 9.9 million viewers overall) and “The Good Wife” (1.0/3 in 18-49, 9.0 million viewers overall), while “Elementary” edged up a tenth (0.8/2 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall). “Good Wife” rose a bit in total viewers, on the heels of hitting a three-month high in “live plus-3” with last week’s episode (10.34 million).
Fox opened with special repeats of “Bob’s Burgers” (0.7/3 in 18-49, 1.7 million viewers overall) and “The Simpsons” (0.7/3 in 18-49, 1.7 million viewers overall), followed by its two-hour telecast of the “American Country Countdown Awards” (1.0/3 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall). The music special, which saw Luke Bryan and Chris Stapleton emerge the big winners, was up a little over the event’s prior airing in December 2014 on a Monday (0.9 in 18-49, 3.39 million viewers overall), but it paled in comparison to the more established CMAs or ACM Awards.
