Wednesday Overnights: ABC Game Show Trio Leads Net to Modest Victory

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Household Rating/Share
ABC: 2.5/ 5, Fox: 2.2/ 4, CBS: 2.1/ 4, NBC: 1.9/ 4, CW: 0.6/ 1

Percent Change From Year-Ago Evening:
Note: ABC aired “The ESPY Awards” on the year-ago evening.
CW: +20, NBC: + 6, Fox: – 8, ABC: -19, CBS: -32

Ratings Breakdown:
Considering the five broadcast networks combined could not reach a 10 overnight household rating, there was little of positive note on this third Wednesday in July. ABC game show “Press Your Luck” topped the night, with a 2.8 rating/6 share in households at 8 p.m. Comparably, that bested “Love Island” on CBS (#4: 1.8/ 3) by a hefty 56 percent.

Despite the lack of lead-in support, CBS summer mainstay “Big Brother” rose to a 2.8/ 5 in the 9 p.m. hour. Comparably, that beat “Card Sharks” on ABC (#2: 2.4/ 4) by 12 percent and it was 65 percent above the 8:30 p.m. portion of “Love Island” (1.7/ 3). But “Big Brother” was still 22 percent below the 3.6/ 6 in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour on the year-ago evening.

Tops at 10 p.m. was “The Match Game” on ABC (2.4/ 5), which was 26 percent above competing NBC drama “The InBetween” (#2: 1.9/ 4).

Elsewhere, Fox had nothing unusual to report with its midweek pairing of “Masterchef” (#2: 2.6/ 5 at 8 p.m.) and recent entry “First Responders Live” (#3: 1.8/ 3 at 9 p.m.). Soon-to-conclude “Jane the Virgin” scored a typical 0.5/ 1 (#5) in the overnight households on The CW in the 9 p.m. hour. And the remainder of the evening was repeat telecasts as follows:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Press Your Luck”: 2.9/ 6 (#1)
CBS – “Love Island”: 1.9/ 4 (#4)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games” (R): 2.1/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.6/ 5 (#2)
CW – “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (R): 0.7/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Press Your Luck”: 2.7/ 5 (#1)
CBS – “Love Island”: 1.7/ 3 (#4)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games” (R): 2.2/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.6/ 5 (#2)
CW – “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Card Sharks”: 2.5/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Big Brother”: 2.8/ 5 (#1)
NBC – “Songland” (R): 1.6/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “First Responders Live”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
CW – “Jane the Virgin”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Card Sharks”: 2.2/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “Big Brother”: 2.7/ 5 (#1)
NBC – “Songland” (R): 1.5/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “First Responders Live”: 1.7/ 3 (#3)
CW – “Jane the Virgin”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Match Game”: 2.3/ 4 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.” (R): 1.7/ 3 (#3)
NBC – “The InBetween”: 1.9/ 4 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Match Game”: 2.4/ 5 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.” (R): 1.8/ 4 (#3)
NBC – “The InBetween”: 1.9/ 4 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research