Thursday Overnights: NBC’s ‘Chicago Fire’ Beats the Debut of ‘Station 19’ on ABC

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.3/ 9, ABC: 4.5/ 8, NBC: 3.9/ 7, Fox: 1.9/ 3, CW: 0.6/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: +50, CBS: +18, ABC: +10, CW: no change, Fox: – 5

Ratings Breakdown:
The ongoing NCAA Basketball Tournament led CBS to Thursday overnight household victory. But the bigger story was the series-premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off “Station 19” opposite competing “Chicago Fire” on NBC. Both aired two episodes last night, and the double-dose of “Chicago Fire” was the winner, with a 4.7/ 8 in the household overnights from 9-11 p.m. versus a 3.9/ 7 for “Station 19.”

Comparably, that gave “Chicago Fire” (which built by 135 percent from lead-in “A.P. Bio” – #3, 2.0/ 3 at 8:30 p.m.) a 21 percent advantage. “Station 19,” meanwhile, dipped by 29 percent from the 8:30 p.m. portion of lead-in “Grey’s Anatomy” (5.5/ 9). But the second episode of “Station 19” in the 10 p.m. hour (#3: 3.7/ 6) was 42 percent above year-ago time period occupant “The Catch” (2.6/ 5 on 3/23/17). The 9 p.m. hour (#3: 4.0/ 6) was on par with “Scandal” on the year-ago evening.

Next Thursday, “Station” 19” will air in its regularly scheduled Thursday 9 p.m. hour on ABC into the final episodes of relocated “Scandal” at 10 p.m.

Elsewhere, sitcom “Superstore” opened the evening for NBC with a typical 2.7/ 5 (#3) in the 8 p.m. half-hour. Fox could not compete with tired “Gotham” (#4: 1.9/ 3 at 8 p.m.) into recent entry “Showtime at the Apollo” (#4: 1.8/ 3 at 9 p.m.). And The CW featured encore telecasts of “Supernatural” (#5: 0.7/ 1 at 8 p.m.) and “Arrow” (#5: 0.5/ 1 at 9 p.m.).

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Thursday, March 22 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.8/10 (#1)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 4.3/ 8 (#2)
NBC – “Superstore”: 2.7/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.7/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.5/ 9 (#2)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 5.8/10 (#1)
NBC – “A.P. Bio”: 2.0/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.9/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (series premiere): 4.2/ 7 (#3)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 7.7/13 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.4/ 7 (#2)
Fox – “Showtime at the Apollo”: 1.7/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Arrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (series premiere): 3.9/ 6 (#3)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 5.6/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.7/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “Showtime at the Apollo”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Arrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (series premiere): 3.7/ 6 (#3)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 5.6/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.9/ 8 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (series premiere): 3.7/ 7 (#3)
CBS – 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament: 4.7/ 8 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.8/ 9 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research