Primetime Ratings: NBC Wins Close, Low-Scoring Race

NBC prevailed in a tight race Tuesday in which it was the only broadcaster to attain a 1.0 in adults 18-49. NBC had a 1.0 and 4 share, per Nielsen’s overnights. It aired a recap of The Voice at 1.6, then Trial and Error at a flat 0.9. A second Trial and Error, at 0.8, was 14% better than the second Trial a week before. NBC closed prime with a Chicago Fire repeat. 

ABC and Fox were at 0.9/4. ABC’s The Middle did a 1.2, down 8%, and American Housewife was also down 8% at 1.1. Fresh Off the Boat did a flat 1.1 and Imaginary Mary was off a tenth of a point at 0.8. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. weighed in at a flat 0.7. 

On Fox, Brooklyn Nine-Nine returned at a not-that-hot 0.7 before The Mick did a flat 0.8. Prison Break was good for a 1.1, down 27% from last week’s premiere. 

CBS, in repeats, did a 0.8/3. 

The CW had a 0.3/1, with a Flash repeat leading into iZombie’s 0.3, down from its 0.4 premiere. 

The Spanish-language players, Telemundo and Univision, both did a 0.5/2. 

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.