‘Survivor’ Tops Wednesday Overnights; CBS Wins Evening

What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households by network and by half-hour for Wednesday, May 3, 2017:

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 4.4/ 8, NBC: 3.5/ 6, Fox: 3.4/ 6, ABC: 3.3/ 6, CW: 0.9/ 2

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: no change, CBS: -12, ABC: -17, Fox and The CW: -31 each

-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS’ always addictive “Survivor” led the Wednesday household overnights, with a 5.3 rating/10 share in the 8 p.m. hour. Fox’s “Empire,” the recent Wednesday overnight king, dipped to a series low 4.4/ 7 at 9 p.m., which was down by a hefty 32 percent from the comparable year-ago evening. As I always say, it is better for a series to start slower and build rather than peak in the first season.

Second behind “Survivor” was ABC’s combination of sitcoms “The Goldbergs” (#2: 3.6/ 6) and “Speechless” (#2: 2.9/ 5), followed by NBC’s “Blindspot” (#3: 2.9/ 5), Fox’s “Shots Fired” (#4: 2.4/ 4), and “Arrow” on The CW (#5: 1.2/ 2). Comparably, “Blindspot” was seven percent above failed drama “Heartbeat” on the year-ago evening (2.7/ 5).

Tops at 9 p.m. was veteran “Criminal Minds” on CBS at a 4.7/ 8 in the household overnights, but even a diluted aforementioned “Empire” on Fox will own the hour in adults 18-49 (and all the key young adult demographics). While CBS should have no trouble winning the night in total viewers, Fox will be the demo king.

On ABC, comedy “Modern Family” is certainly not the big draw it once was with a third-place 3.9/ 6 in the 9 p.m. half-hour. Comparably, that was 25 percent below the 5.2/ 8 on the year-ago evening. And it led into a fourth-place 3.0/ 5 for “black-ish” at 9:30 p.m.

Also in the 9 p.m. hour was NBC granddaddy “Law & Order: SVU” at a fourth-place 3.5/ 6, followed by “The 100” on The CW at a modest 0.7/ 1.

NBC’s “Chicago PD” led the 10 p.m. hour with a 4.1/ 7, which was on par with the 4.3/ 7 one year earlier. Next was ABC’s “Designated Survivor” (3.3/ 6), which did not benefit by the recent three-month hiatus, followed by “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” on CBS at a 3.1/ 5.

What follows are the household overnight results for May 3 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs”: 3.6/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Survivor: Game Changers”: 5.4/10 (#1)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 2.9/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Shots Fired”: 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.2/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Speechless”: 2.9/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Survivor: Game Changers”: 5.2/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 2.8/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Shots Fired”: 2.5/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.1/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family”: 3.9/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.7/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.4/ 6 (#4)
Fox – “Empire”: 4.3/ 7 (#2)
CW – “The 100”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “blackish”: 3.0/ 5 (#4)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.8/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.6/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Empire”: 4.5/ 7 (#2)
CW – “The 100”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 3.4/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”: 3.2/ 5 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.1/ 7 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 3.2/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”: 3.0/ 6 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.1/ 8 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research