‘Stalker’ Starts OK, ‘Black-ish’ Drops In Week 2, ‘Criminal Minds’ Solid In Return – Ratings Rat Race
UPDATE 2 PM: ABC’s Nielsen fast nationals nightmare continues. Once again, the entire ABC lineup last night was adjusted up — Modern Family went up two tenths to a 3.7 in 18-49, while The Middle (2.0), The Goldbergs (2.3), black-ish (2.6) and Nashville (1.6) each went up 1-tenth in the finals. There were only two other Wednesday adjustments, NBC’s Mysteries of Laura went up a tenth to a 1.5, matching its result from last week. It tied Chicago P.D. (1.5), which dipped a tenth in the finals.
PREVIOUS 10 AM: Anything with a 2 adults 18-49 rating in front of it, especially at 10 PM, is considered a solid fast national number these days, so by that token, the premiere of CBS’ new drama series Stalker (2.0, 9.1 million viewers) did OK. Given the massive promotional campaign, CBS likely was hoping that the new show would do better than a the 14th season premiere of CSI did in the time period last fall when the veteran posted a 2.1 demo rating in the fast nationals, adjusted down to a 2.0, and 9 million total viewers. Of course, a new series has an upside potential, and we will need to wait for the DVR ratings to pass judgement on Stalker‘s premiere performance. CBS sees the series as a major DVR gainer, projecting a 50% l7 lift in 18-49 to a 3 rating.
Stalker, a dark crime drama about stalking cases, is nestled behind similarly themed CBS veteran Criminal Minds, which opened its 10th season tonight with a 2.7 in 18-49 and 11.5 million viewers. It was on par both with its season premiere last fall (2.8, 11.3 million) and its season finale in May (2.7). At 8 PM, Survivor (2.4, 9.5 million) was down a tenth from last week’s season opener. Both Survivor and Stalker dominated their time slots, while Criminal Minds was the most watched program of the night, delivering a nightly win for CBS in 18-49 (2.4) and total viewers (10 million).
Given how undercounted ABC’s fast national ratings have been by Nielsen so far this season (Read my story Nielsen Mystery: Why Are ABC’s Fast National Ratings Grossly Underreported?), I’ll be cautious analyzing the network’s numbers. The Middle (1.9) was down 10% from last Wednesday’s fast national, The Goldbergs (2.2) down a tenth and Modern Family (3.5) down two tenths or 5%. (The Middle, The Goldbergs and Modern Family all were adjusted up in the finals last week.) With all the caveat, the 24% second week drop for new comedy Black-ish (2.5) still is disconcerting. Nashville (1.5) held steady.
NBC’s new dramedy Mysteries of Laura (1.4) appears to have found its ratings levels, down just a tenth from last week. Law & Order: SVU (1.8) was down 14% from the fast national for its season premiere last week, while Chicago PD (1.6) was down 16%.
Fox’s new drama Red Band Society (1.1) also appears to have stabilized, up a tenth from its fast national last week, even with the final. If it is adjusted up again, it is in line to post week-to-week ratings gain. Hell’s Kitchen (1.4) was up a tenth.