TV Ratings: ‘Scorpion’ survives ‘The Millers,’ ‘Sleepy Hollow’ rises and ABC, NBC split

Fast National ratings for Monday, October 20, 2014.

“The Voice” and “Blacklist” both dropped on Monday night, but still led NBC to victory among young viewers, while “Dancing with the Stars” carried ABC to overall victory. 

In addition to NBC's drops, Monday also saw a less-than-impressive season premiere for CBS' “The Millers,” plus another dip for FOX's “Gotham.”

But there was plenty of good news on Monday as well. “Sleepy Hollow,” for example, rose week-to-week for FOX. And although it was dealing with a weaker lead-in thanks to “The Millers,” CBS' “Scorpion” was encouragingly flat week-to-week in the key demo, though it dipped a little in viewers.

The morning's best news, though, probably came on The CW, where “Jane the Virgin” rose in its second week, seemingly capitalizing on last week's well-received premiere. Of course, The CW had an NFL preemption in Houston, so stay tuned.

ABC had the Pittsburgh football preemption, if you're scoring at home.

On to the numbers…

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.0 rating for Monday night, tops in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 2.5 key demo rating, followed closely by FOX's 2.0 rating and the 1.9 key demo rating for ABC. The CW averaged a 0.7 key demo rating for Monday.

Overall, though, ABC led the way with 11.59 million viewers and a 7.7 rating/12 share for Monday primetime. NBC was second with 10.87 million viewers and a 6.8/11, with CBS' 6.6/11 and 10.52 million viewers close behind. There was a big drop to FOX's 5.49 million viewers and 3.3/5 and to The CW's 1.65 million viewers and 1.1/2.

8 p.m. – CBS led the 8 p.m. hour with “The Big Bang Theory” (15.645 million viewers and a 4.4 key demo) and the season premiere of “The Millers” (9.13 million and a 2.2 key demo). ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” was second overall with 12.33 million viewers and fourth with a 1.9 key demo rating, compared to the 11.28 million viewers and 3.1 key demo rating for NBC's “The Voice.” FOX's “Gotham” was fourth with 5.99 million viewers and a 2.2 rating among adults 18-49. On The CW, “The Originals” averaged 1.54 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, subject to football adjustment. 

9 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” won the 9 p.m. hour overall with 13.16 million viewers, but finished third with a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's “The Voice” was second with 11.95 million viewers and led the frame with a 3.5 key demo rating. CBS' “Scorpion” was third with 10.52 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating. FOX's “Sleepy Hollow” averaged nearly 5 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating. And pending football adjustment, “Jane the Virgin” averaged 1.75 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – NBC's “Blacklist” averaged 9.37 million viewers and a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 10 p.m. hour. ABC's “Castle” averaged 9.29 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating, compared to the 8.65 million viewers and 1.7 key demo rating for CBS' “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

[UPDATE: With football out of the equation, “Jane the Virgin” slipped to 1.36 million viewers and a 0.5 rating among adults 18-49, though The CW was announce its back-nine order before Live+Same Day Finals came in. “The Originals” was down to 1.27 million viewers, but a 0.6 key demo rating. FOX's “Gotham” got a little bump to 6.09 million and a 2.3 key demo rating, while “The Big Bang Theory” got its usual bump to 16.02 million viewers and a 4.6 key demo rating. With “TBBT” rising, “The Millers” predictably dipped to 8.93 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating. Also declining? ABC's “Castle,” which slipped to 8.82 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating.]

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.