Fast National ratings for Tuesday, October 21, 2014.
The World Series opener between the Giants and Royals was essentially over after the first inning, but the lopsided Giants win still let FOX claim Tuesday night among young viewers. Baseball took only a small bite out of CBS' dramas, though, as “NCIS: New Orleans” helped the network win overall.
While “NCIS: NOLA” held up well against the World Series, there were a slew of big droppers on Tuesday including “Marry Me,” “About a Boy” and even The CW's “The Flash.”
Also slipping on Tuesday was ABC's “Manhattan Love Story,” which did only a 0.7 rating in the key demo, which may prove to be the catalyst necessary to get us our first cancellation of the season.
This story will make no judgments on FOX's World Series numbers, because as inaccurate as figures for live events are in general, they become even more inaccurate when dealing with a West Coast participant. So these are time period figures and not, in any way, the ratings for the World Series game itself.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 2.9 rating for Tuesday night, tops in the key demographic. NBC was second in the key demo with a 2.2 rating, followed closely by CBS' 2.1 key demo rating. ABC reclaimed fourth with a 1.2 key demo rating, as The CW slipped back to fifth with a 1.1 key demo rating following two weeks in the lofty air of third.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 14 million viewers and an 8.7 rating/14 share for Tuesday primetime, comfortably beating the 10.68 million viewers and 6.5/11 for FOX. NBC was third with 8.14 million viewers and a 5.2/8. There was a big drop to ABC's 2.7/4 and 4.11 million viewers and to the 2.74 million viewers and 1.6/3 for The CW.
8 p.m. – “NCIS” won the 8 p.m. hour overall with 16.88 million viewers and finished third with a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. FOX's baseball coverage averaged 12.58 million viewers for second and won the hour with a 3.3 key demo rating. NBC's “The Voice” was second with a 3.1 key demo rating and third with 11.5 million viewers. The CW's “Flash” was fourth for the hour with 3.38 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating. ABC's “Selfie” actually posted a tiny gain to 3.81 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating, but “Manhattan Love Story” was down to 2.65 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “NCIS: New Orleans” also had a positive week with 15.87 million viewers and finished second with a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's baseball averaged 10.9 million viewers and an hour-winning 3.0 key demo rating, but you're encouraged to remember that the game was already over by this time in the San Francisco market. NBC was third with “Marry Me” (6.07 million viewers and a 1.9 key demo) and “About a Boy” (4.89 million and a 1.4 key demo). ABC's “Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is eying a series low after 4.29 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating for Fast Nationals (though “S.H.I.E.L.D.” rises almost every week in Nationals). The CW's “Supernatural” fell less than its lead-in and averaged 2.1 million viewers and a 0.9 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Person of Interest” led the 10 p.m. hour overall with 9.26 million viewers and finished second with a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and could also be in the vicinity of a series low. NBC's “Chicago Fire” was second overall with 7.43 million viewers and won the hour with a 1.9 key demo rating. ABC's “Forever” averaged 4.8 million viewers and a 1.2 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.