CBS is moving closer to clinching the season demo crown, winning the primetime ratings race again in young adults for the sixth time in the last seven weeks behind TV’s top comedy (“The Big Bang Theory”) and reality show (“Survivor”).
Last week, according to Nielsen, CBS tied with ABC for the 18-49 lead while winning outright in both adults 25-54 and total viewers. And with about three weeks to go, the Eye held a one-tenth advantage over runner-up NBC in the key 18-49 race (2.3 to 2.2), with Fox third (1.9) and ABC fourth (1.8).
Given, though, that it’s still a 0.14 advantage (2.32 to 2.18), CBS will clearly finish on top in un-rounded averages. About NBC’s best hope at this point is that it holds at 2.2 while CBS falls enough that it’s rounded to the same number (say 2.24).
CBS is also on its way to winning the season in adults 25-54, and will prevail in total viewers for the 13th time in 14 seasons.
Last week for CBS, which finished on top even though top drama “NCIS” was in repeat, “The Big Bang Theory” ranked No. 2 among broadcast series in 18-49 (3.4/13) and No. 1 in total viewers (14.13 million). It grew week to week, as did Wednesday’s “Survivor” (2.1/8 in 18-49, 9.47 million viewers overall), which moved ahead of NBC’s “The Voice” to stand as the frame’s No. 1 unscripted program in 18-49.
Also, “The Good Wife” drew its largest audience (9.19 million) since the show’s season premiere. It ends its seven-season run on Sunday.
ABC was paced by “Grey’s Anatomy” (2.0/7 in 18-49, 7.91 million viewers overall) and “Dancing With the Stars” (1.8/6 in 18-49, 11.75 million viewers overall), the latter of which had its closest finish this season to NBC’s “The Voice,” pulling within two tenths in 18-49. The Alphabet also got a boost on Friday from “Shark Tank” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 5.76 million viewers overall), which hit a 10-week high.
Aside from usual leader “The Voice,” NBC timeslot leaders also included Tuesday dramas “Chicago Med” (1.8/6 in 18-49, 9.00 million viewers overall) and “Chicago Fire” (1.7/6 in 18-49, 8.22 million viewers overall) and Sunday alternative series “Little Big Shots” (1.7/6 in 18-49, 10.10 million viewers overall). Not so hot, meanwhile, is Thursday drama “Game of Silence” (0.6/2 in 18-49, 3.08 million viewers overall), which was in danger of being pulled after losing another tenth in its third fourth overall airing.
Fox’s “Empire” remained healthy (3.8/13 in 18-49, 10.03 million viewers overall), finishing on top among programs for the week in 18-49 and up a tick from last week. But it was a quiet frame elsewhere, with only the season finale of “Lucifer” (1.3/4 in 18-49, 3.89 million viewers overall) topping a 1 demo rating.
At CW, “Containment” (0.5/2 in 18-49, 1.56 million viewers overall) had a solid second week, retaining 100% of its premiere’s demo rating. Lead-in “The Flash” (1.3/5 in 18-49, 3.39 million viewers overall) was again the network’s top show, up a tick week to week.
TNT dominated the weekly cable rankings in key demos behind the NBA Playoffs, led by Wednesday’s game between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors (1.6 in 18-49). It also won among cable networks in total viewers (2.59 million), with Fox News Channel second (2 million) — and first on a total-day basis (1.12 million).
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” had a strong second week with 7.29 million viewers, down from its premiere (7.94 million) but up vs. the second episode a year ago (6.81 million). Its 18-49 rating (3.7) also was second among all program for the week, just a bit behind Fox’s “Empire.”
AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” (2.1 in 18-49, 4.80 million viewers overall) held steady in its fourth episode of the season, standing as Sunday’s top-rated ad-supported program in both 18-49 and 25-54 (2.6).
Thursday’s opening round of the NFL Draft drew a combined 3.6 rating in adults 18-49 on ESPN (2.65) and NFL Network (0.92) and 8.33 million total viewers (6.29 million on ESPN and 2.04 million on NFLN), both down a little from last year. In both the demo and total viewers, NFL Network was up while ESPN was down.
And at Fox Business Network, weekday morning program “Varney & Company” was celebrating its first-ever time period win over CNBC in total viewers (195,000 to 187,000).
WEEK’S TOP PRIMETIME NETWORKS
(Live plus same-day for April 25-May 1, 2016)
Adults 18-49 rating
CBS ………………… 1.17 (1.2/4)
ABC …………………. 1.16 (1.2/4)
NBC ………………… 1.14 (1.1/4)
TNT …………………. 1.02
Fox …………………… 0.99 (1.0/4)
UNI …………………… 0.77 (0.8/3)
ESPN ……………….. 0.73
CW ………………….. 0.59
Adult Swim …………. 0.50
TBS …………………. 0.50
Total Viewers (in millions)
CBS ………………… 7.53
NBC ………………… 5.42
ABC ………………… 5.13
Fox …………………. 3.21
TNT ………………… 2.59
UNI …………………. 2.07
FNC ………………… 2.00
ESPN ……………… 1.90
CW ………………… 1.58
TEL ………………… 1.52
WEEK’S TOP PRIMETIME PROGRAMS
(Live plus same-day for April 25-May 1, 2016)
Adults 18-49
1. Empire (Fox), 3.8/13
2. Game of Thrones (HBO), 3.7/12
3. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 3.4/13
4. NFL Draft-Thursday (NFLN), 2.7/9
5. Survivor (CBS), 2.1/8
5. Fear the Walking Dead (AMC), 2.1/6
7. The Voice-Monday (NBC), 2.0/7
7. The Voice-Tuesday (NBC), 2.0/7
7. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 2.0/7
10. Dancing With the Stars (ABC), 1.8/6
10. Chicago Med (NBC), 1.8/6
12. Little Big Shots (NBC), 1.7/6
12. Mom (CBS), 1.7/6
12. Chicago Fire (NBC), 1.7/6
12. The Odd Couple (CBS), 1.7/6
12. The Middle (ABC), 1.7/6
17. Scorpion (CBS), 1.6/5
17. 2 Broke Girls (CBS), 1.6/5
17. Scandal (ABC), 1.6/5
17. The Goldbergs (ABC), 1.6/5
Total Viewers (in millions)
1. The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 14.13
2. Dancing With the Stars (ABC), 11.75
3. 60 Minutes (CBS), 10.34
4. NCIS-r (CBS), 10.25
5. Blue Bloods (CBS), 10.13
6. Little Big Shots (NBC), 10.10
7. The Voice-Tuesday (NBC), 10.07
8. Empire (Fox), 10.03
9. Madam Secretary (CBS), 9.90
10. The Voice-Monday (NBC), 9.49
11. Survivor (CBS), 9.47
12. The Good Wife (CBS), 9.19
13. Chicago Med (NBC), 9.00
14. Scorpion (CBS), 8.98
15. NCIS: New Orleans-r (CBS), 8.73
16. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), 8.41
17. Mom (CBS), 8.27
18. Chicago Fire (NBC), 8.22
19. The Odd Couple (CBS), 8.16
20. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 7.91
Source: Nielsen
