Primetime Ratings: ABC Wins on ‘Dancing’ Finale

With a two-hour Dancing With the Stars finale special leading out of a holiday favorite, ABC won the Tuesday broadcast ratings race. It posted a 2.3 rating in 18-49, per Nielsen overnights, and an 8 share. NBC trailed at 1.9/6, then CBS at 1.7/6, Fox at 0.8/3 and The CW at 0.4/1.

After a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving did a 2.2, Dancing With the Stars averaged a 2.4, on line with last fall’s finale, and up a tenth from the spring closer. Over 13 million tuned in to watch Bindi Irwin take the title.

CBS had NCIS at 2.1, which was flat with last week; NCIS: New Orleans was also flat at 1.6 while Limitless was down 7% to 1.3.

NBC had an off night. It had The Voice at 2.1, off 19% from last week, then Chicago Med at 1.8, down 18% from last week’s series premiere, and Chicago Fire down 5% at 1.8.

Fox’s Grandfathered fell 10% to 0.9 and The Grinder was off 22% at 0.7. Scream Queens, featuring a frightful Thanksgiving meal at the Radwell house, slipped 11% to 0.8.

CW featured Greatest Holiday Commercials at 0.4 followed by a repeat of The Flash.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.