Primetime Ratings: ‘Grease’ Sizzles for Fox

Fox’s foray into live musicals has reaped rewards, with Grease: Live averaging a 4.3 rating in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen’s overnights. An average of just south of 12.2 million viewers watched the special.

That paced Fox to an easy ratings win for the night, with that 4.3 rating and a 13 share. NBC trailed at 1.3/4, then CBS at 1.0/3 and ABC at 0.6/2.

In December, NBC’s The Wiz Live rated a 3.4, with 11.5 million viewers who watched live plus same day.

The broadcast nets were up against the NFL’s Pro Bowl on ESPN, among other offerings, and had no games themselves for the first Sunday in months.

NBC aired Dateline at 1.0 then three hours of American Ninja Warrior at 1.4. Last spring,Ninja Warrior returned for its seventh season with a 1.8.

CBS had 60 Minutes at 1.1, up 38% from its last airing, then Madam Secretary at 1.1, up 10%, before The Good Wife and CSI: Cyber both showed flat 1.0s.

On ABC, Galavant was the lone original offering, the musical comedy posting a 0.6, up 20% from last week.  

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.