Yes, a huge return for ‘Empire’
Fox drama bows to a 6.5 18-49 rating and 16 million viewers
September 24, 2015
“Empire” is still broadcast’s breakout hit.
The second-season debut drew huge numbers Wednesday, just shy of the record ratings for last spring’s first-season finale.
The Fox drama averaged a 6.5 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, its second-best rating ever. That was up 71 percent from last season’s premiere.
It also averaged 16 million total viewers. It was easily the top show of the night on both measures.
The show was huge on social media, becoming the most-tweeted broadcast drama ever with 1.3 million tweets generating 63 million Twitter impressions, according to Nielsen.
“Empire” gave lead-in “Rosewood,” Fox’s new medical drama, a nice lift. “Rosewood” averaged a 2.4 in its debut, up 85 percent from the debut of “Red Band Society” in that same slot last year.
Even against that strong competition, a number of shows held up decently.
ABC’s “Modern Family” (3.1, the night’s No. 2 show) and “black-ish” (2.4) were up from their season finales, and “black-ish” posted its best rating since November.
Earlier in the night, ABC’s “The Goldbergs” matched last season’s premiere with a 2.4 at 8:30.
On CBS, the season premiere of “Survivor” drew a 2.4, even with its spring premiere, running from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Lead-out “Big Brother” drew a 2.2 for its season finale, which aired from 9:30 to 11 p.m.
On NBC, “The Mysteries of Laura” returned for season two with its best rating since February, a 1.2. Lead-out “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” averaged a 1.7 for a two-hour episode at 9, up 21 percent from its finale.
***
Top show of the night in 18-49s
Fox’s “Empire,” 9-10 p.m., 6.5 rating.
Top show of the night in 25-54s
Fox’s “Empire,” 9-10 p.m., 6.8 rating.
Top show of the night in total viewers
Fox’s “Empire,” 9-10 p.m., 16.02 million.
Overnights
|
||||||
Network |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
Households |
|||
Rating |
Share |
Rating |
Share |
Rating |
Share |
|
Fox (8-10 p.m.) |
4.4 |
15 |
4.8 |
14 |
7.0 |
12 |
CBS |
2.3 |
8 |
2.9 |
8 |
4.6 |
8 |
ABC |
2.1 |
7 |
2.7 |
8 |
4.3 |
7 |
NBC |
1.6 |
5 |
2.1 |
6 |
5.2 |
9 |
Univision |
0.7 |
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
1.1 |
2 |
Telemundo |
0.7 |
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
0.9 |
2 |
CW (8-10 p.m.) |
0.3 |
1 |
0.3 |
1 |
0.6 |
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
|
||||||
Network - Program |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
Households |
|||
Rating |
Share |
Rating |
Share |
Rating |
Share |
|
8 p.m. |
26.2 |
|
31.4 |
|
55.5 |
|
CBS - Survivor |
2.5 |
10 |
3.3 |
10 |
5.7 |
10 |
ABC - The Middle |
2.1 |
8 |
2.9 |
9 |
4.9 |
9 |
Fox - Rosewood |
2.1 |
8 |
2.5 |
8 |
4.3 |
8 |
NBC - The Mysteries of Laura |
1.2 |
4 |
1.6 |
5 |
4.7 |
8 |
Univision - Antes Muerta que Lichita |
0.7 |
3 |
0.7 |
2 |
1.1 |
2 |
Telemundo - Avenida Brasil |
0.5 |
2 |
0.6 |
2 |
0.8 |
1 |
CW - America’s Next Top Model |
0.4 |
2 |
0.5 |
2 |
0.9 |
2 |
8:30 p.m. |
29.0 |
|
34.6 |
|
58.4 |
|
Fox - Rosewood |
2.7 |
9 |
3.1 |
9 |
5.1 |
9 |
ABC - The Goldbergs |
2.4 |
8 |
3.0 |
9 |
4.4 |
7 |
CBS - Survivor |
2.4 |
8 |
3.1 |
9 |
5.3 |
9 |
NBC - The Mysteries of Laura |
1.2 |
4 |
1.6 |
5 |
4.8 |
8 |
Univision - Antes Muerta que Lichita |
0.8 |
3 |
0.8 |
2 |
1.1 |
2 |
Telemundo - Avenida Brasil |
0.5 |
2 |
0.6 |
2 |
0.9 |
1 |
CW - America’s Next Top Model |
0.5 |
2 |
0.5 |
2 |
0.9 |
1 |
9 p.m. |
31.4 |
|
37.2 |
|
60.1 |
|
Fox - Empire |
6.4 |
20 |
6.6 |
18 |
9.1 |
15 |
ABC - Modern Family |
3.1 |
10 |
3.9 |
11 |
5.5 |
9 |
CBS - Survivor |
2.4 |
8 |
3.1 |
8 |
5.3 |
9 |
NBC - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
1.6 |
5 |
2.0 |
5 |
5.0 |
8 |
Univision - Lo Imperdonable |
0.7 |
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
1.2 |
2 |
Telemundo - Bajo el Mismo Cielo |
0.6 |
2 |
0.7 |
2 |
0.9 |
1 |
CW - A Wicked Offer |
0.2 |
1 |
0.2 |
1 |
0.4 |
1 |
9:30 p.m. |
32.3 |
|
38.0 |
|
60.3 |
|
Fox - Empire |
6.6 |
20 |
6.9 |
18 |
9.3 |
15 |
ABC - black-ish |
2.4 |
7 |
3.0 |
8 |
4.4 |
7 |
CBS - Big Brother |
2.3 |
7 |
2.7 |
7 |
4.2 |
7 |
NBC - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
1.5 |
5 |
2.0 |
5 |
5.1 |
9 |
Univision - Lo Imperdonable |
0.7 |
2 |
0.9 |
2 |
1.3 |
2 |
Telemundo - Bajo el Mismo Cielo |
0.7 |
2 |
0.7 |
2 |
0.9 |
2 |
CW - A Wicked Offer |
0.2 |
0 |
0.2 |
0 |
0.3 |
1 |
10 p.m. |
30.9 |
|
36.0 |
|
57.2 |
|
CBS - Big Brother |
2.1 |
7 |
2.5 |
7 |
3.7 |
6 |
NBC - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
1.9 |
6 |
2.5 |
7 |
5.7 |
10 |
ABC - Nashville |
1.4 |
4 |
1.7 |
5 |
3.5 |
6 |
Telemundo - Señora Acero |
0.9 |
3 |
1.0 |
3 |
1.1 |
2 |
Univision - Yo no Creo en los Hombres |
0.6 |
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
1.1 |
2 |
10:30 p.m. |
29.1 |
|
33.6 |
|
53.3 |
|
CBS - Big Brother |
2.1 |
7 |
2.5 |
7 |
3.6 |
7 |
NBC - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
2.0 |
7 |
2.6 |
8 |
5.8 |
11 |
ABC - Nashville |
1.2 |
4 |
1.5 |
4 |
3.2 |
6 |
Telemundo - Señora Acero |
0.9 |
3 |
1.0 |
3 |
1.1 |
2 |
Univision - Yo no Creo en los Hombres |
0.6 |
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
1.1 |
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 |
Tags: big brother, empire, modern family, overnight ratings, overnights, rosewood, survivor, the goldbergs, wednesday overnights
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