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Overnights

A night of declines for broadcast

CBS wins the night with football, of course, as scripted shows fall

By Toni Fitzgerald

October 2, 2015

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Hit takes a hit: ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ hits a series low.

As usual, CBS dominated its broadcast competition on Thursday with “Thursday Night Football.”

The scripted shows that premiered last week took a hit, and a couple shows that hadn’t yet debuted returned low.

ABC was the top non-sports network, but even so, its shows all saw at least a 12 percent drop from last week.

“How to Get Away with Murder” drew a series-low 2.3 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights,

Lead-in “Scandal” was the top non-sports program of the night, posting a 2.8, off 15 percent from last week.

And “Grey’s Anatomy” fell 18 percent from last week, to a 2.3.

ABC was still 78 percent ahead of the No. 2 entertainment network on the night, NBC, which got decent numbers from “Heroes: Reborn” and “The Blacklist” but has a problem with “The Player” at 10 p.m.

“Heroes” fell 20 percent from last week, to a 1.6, but it still improved NBC’s 8 p.m. timeslot average from last season by 60 percent.

The season premiere of “Blacklist” at 9 p.m. posted a 1.8, its best rating since March. Of course, it was off sharply from last year’s bow, which was to be expected. Last year’s premiere aired on Monday night behind “The Voice,” where “Blacklist” drew higher ratings with the stronger lead-in.

But “Blacklist’s” solid lead-in didn’t help new drama “Player” at 10 p.m. It managed just a 0.9, off 25 percent from last week’s disappointing premiere.

As for Fox, the network debuted its new Thursday schedule to low numbers. “Bones” posted a 1.3 and new lead-out “Sleepy Hollow” managed just a 1.0, half of what it drew from last year’s debut when it aired on Monday.

***

Top show of the night in 18-49s

CBS’s “Thursday Night Football,” 8:30-11 p.m., 5.0 rating.

Top show of the night in 25-54s

CBS’s “Thursday Night Football,” 8:30-11 p.m., 5.6 rating.

Top show of the night in total viewers

CBS’s “Thursday Night Football,” 8:30-11 p.m., 14.91 million.

(Note: “Thursday Night Football” on CBS aired live. Overnight ratings reflect only timeslot data, not actual program data, and do not account for time zone differences.)

Overnights Networks Ranked on 18-49s Oct. 1
Network	Adults 18-49		Adults 25-54		Households
Network	Rating	Share	Rating	Share	Rating	Share
CBS	4.7	15	5.2	15	8.6	15
ABC	2.5	8	2.9	8	5.7	10
NBC	1.4	5	1.9	5	3.6	6
Fox (8-10 p.m.)	1.2	4	1.6	4	2.9	5
Univision	0.8	2	0.9	2	1.1	2
Telemundo	0.6	2	0.7	2	0.9	2
CW (8-10 p.m.)	0.3	1	0.4	1	0.7	1
All ratings based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, including shows replayed before 3 a.m. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-nine percent of Nielsen households have DVRs Source: Nielsen

Overnights Primetime by Half Hour Oct. 1
Network - Program	Adults 18-49		Adults 25-54		Households
Network - Program	Rating	Share	Rating	Share	Rating	Share
8 p.m.	27.1		32.3		57.2
CBS - NFL Thursday Night Kickoff	3.1	12	3.7	11	6.5	11
ABC - Grey’s Anatomy	2.3	8	2.7	8	5.8	10
NBC - Heroes Reborn	1.5	6	1.9	6	3.2	6
Fox - Bones	1.3	5	1.8	6	3.6	6
Univision - Antes Muerta que Lichita	0.7	3	0.7	2	1.0	2
Telemundo - Avenida Brasil	0.5	2	0.6	2	0.9	2
CW - The Flash (R)	0.4	1	0.5	1	0.9	1
8:30 p.m.	30.0		35.5		60.5
CBS - Thursday Night Football	4.9	16	5.5	15	9.3	15
ABC - Grey’s Anatomy	2.3	8	2.7	8	5.8	10
NBC - Heroes Reborn	1.6	5	2.0	6	3.0	5
Fox - Bones	1.3	4	1.8	5	3.6	6
Univision - Antes Muerta que Lichita	0.8	3	0.8	2	1.0	2
Telemundo - Avenida Brasil	0.4	1	0.6	2	0.8	1
CW - The Flash (R)	0.3	1	0.4	1	0.7	1
9 p.m.	31.9		37.5		61.5
CBS - Thursday Night Football	5.1	16	5.7	15	9.2	15
ABC - Scandal	2.8	9	3.2	8	6.2	10
NBC - The Blacklist	1.9	6	2.4	7	4.7	8
Fox - Sleepy Hollow	1.1	3	1.5	4	2.3	4
Univision - Lo Imperdonable	0.8	3	1.0	3	1.2	2
Telemundo - Bajo el Mismo Cielo	0.5	2	0.6	2	0.8	1
CW - Arrow (R)	0.3	1	0.3	1	0.6	1
9:30 p.m.	33.1		38.7		61.5
CBS - Thursday Night Football	5.0	15	5.4	14	8.6	14
ABC - Scandal	2.9	9	3.3	9	6.2	10
NBC - The Blacklist	1.7	5	2.3	6	4.6	7
Fox - Sleepy Hollow	0.9	3	1.3	3	2.1	3
Univision - Lo Imperdonable	0.9	3	1.1	3	1.4	2
Telemundo - Bajo el Mismo Cielo	0.6	2	0.7	2	0.9	1
CW - Arrow (R)	0.3	1	0.3	1	0.6	1
10 p.m.	32.2		37.5		58.9
CBS - Thursday Night Football	5.1	16	5.6	15	8.9	15
ABC - How to Get Away With Murder	2.4	7	2.8	8	5.3	9
NBC - The Player	1.0	3	1.4	4	3.1	5
Telemundo - Señora Acero	0.8	3	0.9	2	1.0	2
Univision - Yo no Creo en los Hombres	0.7	2	0.9	2	1.2	2
10:30 p.m.	30.4		35.1		55.1
CBS - Thursday Night Football	5.1	17	5.6	16	9.0	16
ABC - How to Get Away With Murder	2.3	7	2.7	8	5.1	9
NBC - The Player	0.8	3	1.2	3	2.9	5
Telemundo - Señora Acero	0.8	3	0.9	3	1.0	2
Univision - Yo no Creo en los Hombres	0.6	2	0.8	2	1.0	2
Note: (R) denotes rerun All ratings based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, including shows replayed before 3 a.m. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-nine percent of Nielsen households have DVRs Source: Nielsen