On the heels of the weekend’s big box-office performance for a film pitting comic book giants Batman and Superman against each other, CBS saw a welcomed ratings spike Monday for drama “Supergirl” as it featured its first crossover storyline with popular CW superhero “The Flash.” The Eye rookie still placed second or third in its timeslot in most categories, but did rise to its best numbers in seven weeks.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Supergirl” averaged a 1.7 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 and 7.2 million viewers overall in the 8 o’clock hour, up a big 31% (0.4) from the series-low 1.3 of its prior two episodes. In its tough timeslot, it placed second to NBC’s “The Voice” in 18-49 and third in both adults 25-54 and total viewers (lagging “The Voice” and “Dancing With the Stars”).
“Supergirl,” featuring Grant Gustin of “The Flash” in a special one-time appearance, won its hour among men 18-34 (1.0/5), edging out “The Voice” and Fox’s “Gotham” (both 0.9/5), and finished a close second to “The Voice” in both men 18-49 and 25-54. In just about every category, last night’s crossover event produced the show’s best numbers since Feb. 8, an episode that had been heavily promoted one night earlier during CBS’ telecast of the Super Bowl.
The higher-rated “Supergirl” helped lift lead-out “Scorpion” (1.6/5 in 18-49, 8.6 million viewers overall) up a tick week to week, but 10 p.m. drama “NCIS: Los Angeles” (1.2/4 in 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall) was down a tenth.
NBC’s “The Voice” (2.8/9 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall) was again the night’s No. 1 program in most key demos, holding steady week to week. And at 10 p.m., “Blindspot” (1.6/5 in 18-49, 6.1 million viewers overall) was up a tenth for what appears to be its first week-over-week growth since returning a month ago, winning its timeslot in 18-49 and other key demos.
At ABC, “Dancing With the Stars” (1.7/6 in 18-49, 11.8 million viewers overall) was within a tenth of last week’s premiere, placing second to “The Voice” for its two-hour block in 18-49 and 25-54 (2.4/7) while standing as the night’s most-watched program overall. The reality series was followed by a special repeat of last week’s premiere of Thursday drama “The Catch” (0.7/2 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall). The latest from Shonda Rhimes had underwhelmed in its debut behind a fading “Scandal,” but perhaps recruited some new viewers last night.
Fox’s “Gotham” (1.3/5 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall) was unfazed by the “Supergirl” boost, holding at last week’s average, as did “Lucifer” at 9 p.m. (1.2/4 in 18-49, 3.8 million viewers overall). In “live plus-3,” last week’s “Lucifer” grew by a big 66% (0.81 rating) to a 2.03 rating in adults 18-49, pulling ahead of “Gotham” (1.89) for the first time.
And at CW, both “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (0.3/1 in 18-49, 0.9 million viewers overall) and “Jane the Virgin” (0.4/1 in 18-49, 0.9 million viewers overall) were on the rise after dropping in recent weeks. Both shows drew their largest total-viewer numbers in five weeks.
