‘American Idol’ Can’t Beat ‘The Voice,’ But At Least It Did Better Than ‘Bachelor’ Arie — Ratings Watch
This… was the lowest-rated premiere ever for an “American Idol” season since its first season back in 2002. But the show’s Sunday night return on ABC did improve to 11.8 million viewers (from 10.5 million) after three days of DVR and VOD usage — and no one expected “Idol” to suddenly return to the glory days of the mid 2000s, when the show would open as high as 37 million viewers.
It’s a different age, and “Idol’s” premiere rating — a 2.7 among adults 18-49 in Live+3 (up from 2.3 in L+SD) — is actually a remarkable feat for ABC. It was ABC’s most-watched Sunday series telecast since March 2014.
But “Idol” isn’t cheap — Katy Perry alone is costing the network and producer FremantleMedia a cool $25 million. Executives at rival networks, many of whom kicked the tires on the franchise’s return, say there’s no way ABC will break even on the show. But nonetheless, from a ratings perspective, it opened well.
Of course, it couldn’t beat NBC’s “The Voice,” which is attracting slightly larger audiences. “Idol” did outrank ABC’s another reality competition staple, “The Bachelor,” which concluded with a 2.6 rating in the demo (last year it ended with a 3.0 rating in L+3). Sorry Arie.
Meanwhile, there’s concern on the horizon for AMC: “The Walking Dead” normally dominates the adults 18-49 chart when it’s on the air. But its lead continues to slip, and No. 2 “The Big Bang Theory” was close behind on this week’s chart.
Among this week’s premieres beyond “Idol,” “Deception” — a.k.a. “Magic Cop, The Cop Who Solves Crime With Magic” made it on to the top 25 list, while the return of NBC’s “Timeless” averaged a 1.3 rating. Also not making it into the top 25: Fox’s attempt to damage ABC’s “Idol” bow, the dusted-off O.J. Simpson interview “The Lost Confession,” which averaged a 1.4 rating.
On Xfinity’s ranker of top video on-demand shows last week, “This Is Us” continues to dominate, while “9-1-1” ticks up to No. 2.
Here are this week’s rankers:
Adults 18-49 ranker, week ending March 11, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW & NETWORK |
LIVE+3 RATING |
WATCHED RATING |
|
1 |
The Walking Dead AMC |
4.1 |
2.8 |
|
2 |
The Big Bang Theory CBS |
3.9 |
2.6 |
|
3 |
This Is Us NBC |
3.8 |
2.3 |
|
4 |
Young Sheldon CBS |
3.1 |
2.1 |
|
5 |
Grey’s Anatomy ABC |
2.9 |
1.7 |
|
tie |
The Voice (Monday) NBC |
2.9 |
2.5 |
|
7 |
American Idol (Sunday) ABC |
2.7 |
2.3 |
|
8 |
9-1-1 Fox |
2.6 |
1.6 |
|
tie |
The Bachelor ABC |
2.6 |
2.2 |
|
tie |
The Bachelor: After the Final Rose ABC |
2.6 |
2.2 |
|
11 |
The Voice (Tuesday) NBC |
2.5 |
2.1 |
|
12 |
Modern Family ABC |
2.3 |
1.4 |
|
tie |
Survivor CBS |
2.3 |
1.7 |
|
14 |
Chicago PD NBC |
2.1 |
1.2 |
|
tie |
Chicago Fire NBC |
2.1 |
1.2 |
|
16 |
NCIS CBS |
2.0 |
1.4 |
|
tie |
Chicago Med NBC |
2.0 |
1.4 |
|
18 |
The Goldbergs ABC |
1.9 |
1.5 |
|
tie |
Mom CBS |
1.9 |
1.5 |
|
20 |
Will & Grace NBC |
1.8 |
1.0 |
|
21 |
Scandal ABC |
1.7 |
1.1 |
|
tie |
Law & Order: SVU NBC |
1.7 |
1.2 |
|
23 |
How To Get Away With Murder ABC |
1.6 |
0.9 |
|
tie |
Deception ABC |
1.6 |
1.2 |
|
tie |
Bull CBS |
1.6 |
1.1 |
|
tie |
Life in Pieces CBS |
1.6 |
1.2 |
|
tie |
Criminal Minds CBS |
1.6 |
0.9 |
|
tie |
S.W.A.T. CBS |
1.6 |
0.9 |
|
tie |
Good Girls NBC |
1.6 |
1.3 |
| Adults 18-49; ratings points. Source: Nielsen Media Research |
Total viewers ranker, week ending March 11, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW & NETWORK |
LIVE+3 |
WATCHED |
|
1 |
The Big Bang Theory CBS |
17.46 |
13.88 |
|
2 |
NCIS CBS |
16.05 |
12.92 |
|
3 |
Young Sheldon CBS |
15.81 |
12.55 |
|
4 |
This Is Us NBC |
15.53 |
8.89 |
|
5 |
The Voice (Monday) NBC |
13.37 |
11.63 |
|
6 |
Bull CBS |
13.02 |
10.11 |
|
7 |
Blue Bloods CBS |
12.63 |
9.03 |
|
8 |
American Idol (Sunday) ABC |
11.84 |
10.49 |
|
9 |
The Voice (Tuesday) NBC |
11.78 |
10.10 |
|
10 |
NCIS: New Orleans CBS |
11.72 |
8.44 |
|
11 |
Mom CBS |
10.90 |
9.10 |
|
12 |
Chicago PD NBC |
10.36 |
6.62 |
|
13 |
NCIS: Los Angeles CBS |
10.35 |
8.04 |
| 14 |
Chicago Med NBC |
10.15 |
7.02 |
|
15 |
Hawaii Five-0 CBS |
10.14 |
7.72 |
|
16 |
Survivor CBS |
10.13 |
8.25 |
|
17 |
Grey’s Anatomy ABC |
9.93 |
7.07 |
|
18 |
Chicago Fire NBC |
9.85 |
6.24 |
|
19 |
60 Minutes CBS |
9.74 |
9.40 |
|
20 |
9-1-1 Fox |
9.56 |
6.05 |
|
21 |
The Walking Dead AMC |
9.38 |
6.62 |
|
22 |
The Bachelor ABC |
8.96 |
7.96 |
|
23 |
60 Minutes (8 p.m.) CBS |
8.87 |
8.45 |
|
24 |
Seal Team CBS |
8.83 |
6.09 |
|
25 |
The Bachelor: After The Final Rose ABC |
8.73 |
7.79 |
| Total viewers; in millions. Source: Nielsen Media Research |
Here is this week’s Xfinity On Demand ranker:
Top 20 TV Series, March 5-11, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW |
NETWORK |
|
1 |
This Is Us |
NBC |
|
2 |
9-1-1 |
Fox |
|
3 |
The Bachelor |
ABC |
|
4 |
Homeland |
Showtime |
|
5 |
Game of Thrones |
HBO |
|
6 |
The Simpsons |
Fox |
|
7 |
The Voice |
NBC |
|
8 |
The Chi |
Showtime |
|
9 |
The Big Bang Theory |
CBS |
|
10 |
The Walking Dead |
AMC |
|
11 |
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story |
FX |
|
12 |
Keeping Up With the Kardashians |
E! |
|
13 |
Divorce |
HBO |
|
14 |
The Resident |
Fox |
|
15 |
Chicago PD |
NBC |
|
16 |
Will & Grace |
NBC |
|
17 |
The Good Doctor |
ABC |
|
18 |
Family Guy |
Fox |
|
19 |
The Alienist |
TNT |
|
20 |
Law & Order: SVU |
NBC |
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