Impressive: ‘Empire’ debut tops ‘Idol’ lead-in
New drama posts a 3.7 in 18-49s, jumping 19 percent from 'Idol's' 3.1
January 8, 2015
Fox’s monster promotional effort for the new drama “Empire” paid off.
The show not only topped its “American Idol” lead-in, it also posted Fox’s best debut for any new series in three years.
“Empire” averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen, the best for any new Fox show since “Touch” premiered in January 2012.
“Empire” built by 19 percent from the 8 p.m. season premiere of “Idol,” which posted a 3.1 at 8 p.m.
In a promising sign for the new show, it held its rating from its first to its second half hour, posting a 3.7 at 9 and 9:30. “Empire” was the night’s highest-rated show.
As for “Idol,” it was, as expected, the show’s lowest premiere rating in its 14 seasons, though it was also the first time in years that its premiere only lasted an hour. “Idol” usually grows throughout its first two-hour broadcast.
It was down 28 percent from last year’s premiere, which posted a 4.3.
Fox easily won the night, but even against the strong competition, three ABC and NBC shows saw gains from their most recent originals in December.
In fact, ABC’s “The Goldbergs” surged 14 percent to its second-best rating ever, a 2.5 at 8:30. ABC’s “The Middle” (up 5 percent to a 2.3) and “Modern Family” (up 3 percent to a 3.2) also grew.
But the 9:30 p.m. comedy “black-ish” slid 9 percent from its most recent episode to a series-low 2.1. That could reflect the competition from “Empire” for African-American viewers; both shows feature largely black casts, and they’re two of the only shows on broadcast that do.
Meanwhile, NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura” grew 8 percent to a 1.3 at 8 p.m., and lead-out “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” soared 21 percent over its most recent episode, to a 1.7. At 10, “Chicago P.D.” was up a tenth to a 1.6.
On CBS, the “People’s Choice Awards” stumbled against the strong competition; last year it did not air on the same night “Idol” debuted. The show averaged a 1.8 from 9 to 11 p.m., off 25 percent from last year.
Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.4 average overnight rating and a 10 share. ABC was second at 2.0/6, CBS third at 1.6/5, NBC fourth at 1.5/5, Univision fifth at 1.2/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.7/2 and CW seventh at 0.3/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-nine percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 3.1 for “Idol,” followed by ABC with a 2.4 for “Middle” (2.3) and “Goldbergs” (2.5). CBS, NBC and Univision all tied for third at 1.3, CBS for “The Mentalist,” NBC for “Laura” and Univision for “Mi Corazon es Tuyo,” with Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for “Los Miserables” and CW seventh with a 0.2 for a repeat of “Arrow.”
Fox increased its lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.7 for “Empire,” while ABC remained second with a 2.6 for “Modern Family” (3.2) and “black-ish” (2.1). CBS was third with a 1.8 for “Choice,” NBC fourth with a 1.7 for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Univision fifth with a 1.4 for “Hasta el Fin del Mundo,” Telemundo sixth with a 0.5 for “Tierra de Reyes” and CW seventh with a 0.4 for rerun of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.”
CBS moved to first at 10 p.m. with a 1.9 for more “Choice,” with NBC second with a 1.6 for “P.D.” Univision and Telemundo tied for third at 0.9, Univision for “La Malquerida” and Telemundo for “Señora Acero,” and ABC was fifth with a 0.8 for two repeats of “Galavant.”
Fox was also first for the night among households with a 6.1 average overnight rating and a 10 share. CBS was second at 5.4/9, NBC third at 4.6/7, ABC fourth at 3.8/6, Univision fifth at 1.6/3, Telemundo sixth at 0.9/1 and CW seventh at 0.7/1.
Tags: abc, american idol, empire, empire ratings, idol, idol ratings, modern family, nbc, overnight ratings, overnights, wednesday overnights
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