Wednesday Overnights: CBS’ Veteran ‘Survivor’ Tops Night

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS and NBC: 4.2/ 7 each, Fox: 3.5/ 6, ABC: 3.2/ 5, CW: 0.7/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: +20, ABC: +10, CBS: – 2, Fox and CW: -22 each

Ratings Breakdown:
Veteran “Survivor” on CBS topped this third Wednesday in March, with a 5.3 rating/9 share in the household overnights from 8-9 p.m. Comparably, that was a slight improvement — four percent — over the 5.1/ 9 on the year-ago evening. In other words, this addictive reality/competition keeps on ticking.

‘Survivor” led into freshman “SEAL Team” (#3: 4.0/ 7 at 9 p.m.), which trailed competing scripted dramas “9-1-1” on Fox and “Law & Order: SVU” (each with a 4.6/ 8) by 13 percent. And it led into “Criminal Minds” at a second-place 3.5/ 6 at 10 p.m., which was 24 percent below NBC’s competing “Chicago Med” (4.6/ 8). Third at 10 p.m. was ABC’s sophomore “Designated Survivor” (2.8/ 5), which never fully rebounded from that first three-month hiatus last season.

In season (or series) finale news, ABC sophomore sitcom “Speechless” finished a typical third at 8:30 p.m. with a 2.9/ 5 in households, which was 22 percent below lead-in “The Goldbergs” (#2: 3.7/ 6 at 8 p.m.). A third season renewal for “Speechless” could be dependent on how upcoming sitcoms “Alex, Inc.” and “Splitting Up Together” fare on ABC Wednesday. Both debut next week – “Alex, Inc.” at 8:30 p.m. and “Splitting Up Together” at 9:30 p.m.

In the 9 p.m. hour on the alphabet network last night was “Modern Family” at a fourth-place 3.8/ 6, followed by sophomore “American Housewife” at a 2.9/ 5 (#4). “Modern Family,” of course, will rank higher in the time period once the demographics are released.

Elsewhere, “The X-Files” on Fox lagged in the 8 p.m. hour, with 2.4/ 4 (#4) in the household overnights. The CW had nothing unusual to report with its pairing of “Riverdale” (#5: 0.9/ 2 at 8 p.m.) and recent failing entry “Life Sentence” (#5: 0.4/ 1 at 9 p.m.). And NBC populated the 8 p.m. hour with an encore telecast of “Law & Order: SVU” (#3: 3.3/ 6). With year-to-year growth of 31 percent for “SVU” at 9 p.m. ET last night, a 20th season renewal seems obvious.

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Wednesday, March 21 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs”: 3.7/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.4/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 3.3/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “The X-Files”: 2.4/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Riverdale”: 1.0/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Speechless” (season or series finale): 2.9/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.1/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 3.4/ 6 (#2)
Fox – “The X-Files”: 2.5/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Riverdale”: 0.9/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family”: 3.8/ 6 (#4)
CBS – “SEAL Team”: 4.0/ 7 (#3)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 4.5/ 7 (#2)
Fox – “9-1-1”: 4.6/ 7 (#1)
CW – “Life Sentence”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife”: 2.9/ 5 (#4)
CBS – “SEAL Team”: 3.9/ 6 (#3)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 4.7/ 8 (#1t)
Fox – “9-1-1”: 4.7/ 8 (#1t)
CW – “Life Sentence”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 2.9/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 3.5/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.7/ 8 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 2.7/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 3.5/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.4/ 8 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research