Premiere week Tuesday was a big night for the networks, with an all-new lineup for ABC, an altered schedule for CBS, and a mixture for FOX and NBC. So how did things go?
The 8pm timeslot was by far the most popular of the night. If you combine the total audiences for ABC, NBC, and CBS over the hour, you get a grand total of 46.49 viewers. CBS's 11th season premiere of NCIS took 46% of those viewers along for the ride, in what I think was NCIS's best season premiere in the last few years. The final 18-49 ratings came in at 3.6, and 20.02 million viewers, half a ratings point, and 460,000 viewers fewer than last season's premiere. With the second part next week, and Ziva's farewell included, I'm expecting those numbers to at least hold steady or increase next week. You can see more advanced statistics for NCIS's last season here.
Alongside NCIS over on ABC, was the much anticipated series premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It did fantastically well, with 12.12 million viewers tuning in, equaling a 4.7 adults 18-49 rating, which puts it first equal with the highest rated show of the night. The reaction on the opinion poll here on SpoilerTV was well spread between positive and negative though, so I'm leaning towards a reasonable ratings drop next week. The other show to equal Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D's 4.7 rating last night was NBC's The Voice, which occupied the 8-10pm timeslot and was watched by 14.35 million viewers, making it the third most watched show of the night.
Over on FOX, the competition was clearly too much for the second episodes of freshman half hour comedies Dads, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Dads dropped 0.7 of a ratings point and 2.1 million viewers on last week's premiere, with this week's episode earning a 2.5 rating and 3.65 million viewers. Brooklyn Nine-Nine took over at 8:30pm, and dropped 0.8 of a ratings point, and 2.14 million viewers on last week's season premiere which earned a 2.6 rating and 6.17 million viewers. The week's headstart didn't amount to much, and it's not a stretch of the imagination to see the ratings dropping further next week.
At 9pm, the series premiere of its lead-in's spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles, took the stage for CBS, and as expected, it did very well, earning a 3.0 rating and 16.35 million viewers. These numbers are down on last season's premiere, which was seen by 16.74 million viewers, to a 3.4 rating. On ABC at the same time last night was the series premiere of The Goldbergs, which, despite having just over half the number of viewers NCIS: Los Angeles had, out-rated it, with a 3.1 rating and 8.94 million viewers. Though the usual post-premiere drops will occur for both shows, by how much this season is anyone's guess.
Over on FOX, the second episode of New Girl, in its third season, was FOX's best performing show of the night, earning a 2.1 rating and a mere 4.04 million viewers. Again, the early headstart resulted in a large drop this week for New Girl, with last week's season premiere earning a 2.9 rating and 5.53 million viewers. Rounding out the night for FOX at 9:30pm was The Mindy Project, which earned a 1.5 rating and 2.94 million viewers, making it FOX's least viewed show of the night, however the decrease on last week's season premiere was a lot less in comparison to the other FOX shows, with The Mindy Project dropping 0.4 of a ratings point and 900,000 viewers. Alongside The Mindy Project was another ABC freshman series premiere, in the form of Trophy Wife, though it wouldn't earn a trophy from me for its ratings - a 2.3 rating and 6.69 million viewers.
Things heated up at 10pm on NBC, with the second season premiere of Chicago Fire sending my predictions up in smoke. It earned a series record 2.7 rating and 8.90 million viewers, smashing its previous 2.4 rating and 8.54 million viewers which came in the eleventh episode last season. However there wasn't a lot of competition from ABC for its viewers, with the series premiere of Lucky 7 setting the record as the lowest rated fall drama premiere in ABC's history. It earned a minuscule 1.3 rating and 4.57 million viewers. I'm expecting the show's luck to run out pretty quickly by the look of that rating. It's worth noting Chicago Fire's lead-in, The Voice, would have helped a lot in setting that ratings record.
Rounding out the night was the drop-dead awesome third season premiere of Person of Interest, featuring a couple of new cast members and the usual kick-ass action. Person of Interest was shifted to the 10pm Tuesdays timeslot from the 9pm Thursdays timeslot where it resided for the first two seasons. It was a toss-up whether the ratings would be affected, and they clearly were, with the season premiere setting the new series low rating - a 2.3 rating, and 12.29 million viewers (comfortably above the series low audience, however) is what the show managed last night. If Chicago Fire and Lucky 7 drop in the next few weeks, I can see Person of Interest taking a few of those viewers, so there's no reason to panic yet! You can see more advanced statistics for Person of Interest's last season here.
That's Premiere Tuesday all wrapped up. Were there any surprises that you didn't see coming? Sing out in the comments below, and follow me on Twitter.
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Thanks for reading!
Jimmy
