Disappointing Start for ‘The Family’ on ABC

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016

OVERNIGHT RATINGS SCORECARD

Household Rating/Share
Fox: 6.0 rating/9 share, CBS: 4.8/ 8, ABC: 4.5/ 7, NBC: 2.2/ 3, CW: 1.2/ 2

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Oscar Night (3/01/15):
CW: +140, Fox: +28, CBS: -29, ABC: -32, ABC: -53

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-Winners:
“The Big Bang Theory” R (CBS), “Life in Pieces” (CBS), “American Idol” (Fox), “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “Mom” (CBS), “Shades of Blue” (NBC)

-Disappointing Start:
“The Family (ABC)

-Losers:
“You, Me and the Apocalypse” (NBC), “The 100” (CW)

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Ratings Breakdown:
Two-hours of “American Idol” lifted Fox into Thursday overnight dominance, with a 6.0 rating/9 share in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. The peak half-hour was a 6.3/10 at 8:30 p.m.

In series-premiere news, ABC drama “The Family” was moderately sampled at a second-place 4.3/ 7 at 9 p.m. Comparably, this was six percent below regularly scheduled “Scandal” one week earlier (4.6/ 7 on Feb. 25), which translated into 5.85 million viewers and a 1.7 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 based on the Live + Same Day data. And the overnight household retention out of lead-in “Grey’s Anatomy” (#3: 5.7/ 9) was acceptable at 75 percent. But “Scandal” on the year-ago evening scored a 7.3/11 in the household overnights. Competing NBC pre-empted “The Blacklist” for an encore telecast of “Blindspot” (1.6/ 2). And given that most new series drop by 10 to 20 percent in week two, expect notable erosion for “The Family” in its regularly scheduled Sunday 9 p.m. hour (effective this weekend).

Overall, this was a disappointing start for “The Family.”

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Airing out of “The Family” debut was deteriorating “How To Get Away With Murder” at a 3.5/ 6 at 10 p.m., which was 43 percent below the 6.1/11 for the series-premiere of “American Crime” on the year-ago evening.

Only three-tenths of a household rating point separated the 10 p.m. hour as follows:

“Elementary” (CBS): 3.8/ 6
-“How To Get Away with Murder” (ABC): 3.5/ 6
-“Shades of Blue” (NBC): 3.4/ 6

Particularly positive for already renewed “Shades of Blue” was overnight growth out of a repeat of aforementioned “Blindspot” (1.6/ 2) of 112 percent.

Earlier in the evening on NBC, however, was a mere 1.6/ 3 for temporary time period occupant “You, Me and the Apocalypse.”

Top-rated for the evening despite airing an encore was “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS at a 6.4/10 at 8 p.m. And improved retention of 83 percent for an original installment of “Life in Pieces” at 8:30 p.m. (#3: 5.3/ 8) all but guarantees a second season renewal.

Next on the Eye net was “Mom” at a consistent 5.0/ 8 (#2) at 9 p.m., followed by grating “2 Broke Girls” at a 4.2/ 7 (#2t) at 9:30 p.m. With over 100-episodes already produced, I personally vote to end “2 Broke Girls” this season.

Over at The CW, “D.C. Legends of Tomorrow,” which is not the same success as “The Flash” or “Arrow,” sunk to a series-low 1.5/ 2 in the household overnights from 8-9 p.m. And that led into a 0.9/ 1 for “The 100” at 9 p.m., which is inching closer to cancellation.

Source: Nielsen Media Research