Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 4, 2015.
“American Idol” took a big dip on Wednesday night, but FOX barely felt the pinch as “Empire” did what “Empire” has been doing for two months now, defying all expectations with yet another improbable jump across the board, leading FOX to comfortable primetime wins in all measures.
FOX is saying that the 18-49 number for “Empire” this week is the highest for any regularly schedule broadcast drama since “Grey's Anatomy” in October 2009. [Emphasis on “regularly scheduled” because of the out-of-regular-time-period “Lost” finale in May 2010 and, presumably, because of post-Super Bowl dramas and whatnot.]
“Empire” continues to take a bite out of “Criminal Minds” in the 9:00 hour, though the 10 p.m. premiere of “CSI: Cyber” on CBS maintained most of its lead-in.
And in the first part of its season finale, The CW's “The 100” held its own and improved on its “Arrow” repeat lead-in.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 3.9 rating for Wednesday night, dominating the key demographic. ABC was second with a 2.2 key demo rating, followed closely by CBS' 2.0 rating and the 1.8 key demo rating for NBC. The CW averaged a 0.4 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, things were a bit closer with FOX averaging an estimated 11.47 million viewers and a 7.0 rating/11 share, still well ahead of the 10.205 million viewers and 6.2/10 for CBS. NBC averaged a 4.5/7 and 7.25 million viewers, edging out the 4.4/7 and 7.18 million viewers for ABC. The CW averaged 1.46 million viewers and a 0.9/1 for the night.
8 p.m. – After losing to “Idol” last week, CBS' “Survivor: Worlds Apart” won the 8 p.m. hour overall with 9.87 million viewers, but finished second with a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49. “American Idol” was second overall with 8.75 million viewers and third with a 2.1 key demo rating. Wanna know where that big “Idol” drop came from? NBC's “The Voice” Best Of clip show averaged 8.59 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating. In a close fourth overall, but first in the key demo, was ABC with “The Middle” (8.3 million and a 2.2 key demo) and “The Goldbergs” (7.9 million and a 2.5 key demo). The CW's “Arrow” repeat averaged 1.44 million viewers and a 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – “Empire” stormed into first for the 9 p.m. hour with 14.185 million viewers and a 5.7 rating among adults 18-49 for FOX. CBS' “Criminal Minds” was far back in second with 10.45 million viewers and fourth with a 1.9 key demo rating. NBC took third with 8.3 million viewers and a 2.1 key demo rating for a second hour of “The Voice.” ABC was fourth overall and second in the key demo with “Modern Family” (9.57 million and a 3.4 key demo) and “Black-ish” (6.75 million and a 2.3 key demo). The CW's “The 100” averaged 1.475 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – The premiere of “CSI: Cyber” averaged 10.3 million viewers and a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 to win the 10 p.m. hour. [Funny fact for perspective: That's more viewers than watched the January premiere of “Empire.”] ABC's “Nashville” was second with 5.28 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, ahead of the 4.86 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for a “Chicago PD” repeat on NBC.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.