Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
The series premiere of “The Briefcase” was Wednesday night's most watched show and led CBS to primetime victory overall, while “MasterChef” grew week-to-week and helped FOX eke out a slim nightly win in the key demographic.
Wednesday notables also included a so-so debut for FOX's “Bullseye,” a so-so second week for ABC's “Celebrity Wife Swap” and another night of steady-if-not-exactly-impressive returns for “500 Questions,” which concludes on Thursday.
Let's get to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 1.3 rating for Wednesday night, edging out CBS' 1.2 rating in the key demographic. ABC's 1.0 key demo rating and the 0.9 key demo rating for NBC followed, while The CW did a 0.2 key demo rating for Wednesday primetime.
Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 6.34 million viewers and a 4.1 rating/7 share for Wednesday primetime, winning comfortably. ABC was second with 4.03 million viewers and a 2.7/5, followed closely by FOX's 3.98 million viewers and 2.5/4. NBC's 3.785 million viewers and 2.4/4 finished fourth. The CW averaged 885,000 viewers and a 0.7/1 for the night.
8 p.m. – “The Briefcase” premiered to 6.78 million viewers to win the 8 p.m. hour and finished second with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. ABC's “500 Questions” was second with 4.86 million viewers and third with a 1.0 key demo rating, compared to the 4.59 million viewers and hour-winning 1.5 key demo rating for FOX's “MasterChef.” NBC's “I Can Do That!” encore averaged 3.06 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating in fourth, topping the 1.04 million viewers and 0.2 key demo rating for The CW's “Arrow” repeat.
9 p.m. – A “Criminal Minds” repeat won the 9 p.m. hour for CBS both overall with 6.58 million viewers and with a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's IHeart Radio Country Festival was second with 4.15 million viewers and fourth with a 0.9 key demo rating. ABC's repeats of “Modern Family” and “Black-ish” averaged 3.85 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, compared to the 3.37 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating for FOX's “Bullseye.” The CW's “Supernatural” repeat averaged 728,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – CBS completed its overall sweep with 5.67 million viewers for a “CSI: Cyber” repeat, which finished tied for second with a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's IHeart Radio thing averaged 4.14 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating, compared to the 3.37 million viewers and hour-winning 1.1 key demo rating for ABC's “Celebrity Wife Swap.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.