Primetime Ratings: NBC Wins Despite Week-to-Week Drops

With This Is Us building on its Voice lead in, NBC won the Tuesday ratings race, scoring a 2.2 in viewers 18-49, per Nielsen’s overnights, and an 8 share. CBS was runner-up at 1.5/5, then ABC at 1.2/4, Fox at 0.7/3 and CW at 0.7/2.

NBC’s shows were nonetheless off from a week before; The Voice was down 4% at 2.4, This Is Us slipped 7% to a 2.6, and Chicago Fire was off 6% to a 1.7.  

The broadcasters were up against MLB playoffs in prime.

CBS’ NCIS climbed 6% to a 1.8, and Bull did a flat 1.6. NCIS: New Orleans rated a flat 1.2.

On ABC, The Middle did a 1.5, down 12% from its season premiere and American Housewife a 1.6, down 11%. Fresh Off the Boat slipped 13% to 1.3, while Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. slipped 11% to 0.8.

Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl both rated flat 0.9s before Scream Queens posted a 0.6, down a tenth of a point.

On The CW, TheFlash did a 1.0 and No Tomorrow a 0.3; both were level with a week ago.  

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.