Overnight Scorecard: CBS Leads First Thursday in May

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 4.9 rating/8 share, ABC: 4.6/ 8, NBC: 2.8/ 5, Fox: 2.0/ 3, CW: 1.0/ 2

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
CW: +11, ABC: -13, CBS: -14, NBC: -22, Fox: -35

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Ratings Breakdown:
CBS led this first Thursday in May, besting No. 2 ABC by seven percent in the household overnights. Tops for the evening, of course, was “The Big Bang Theory” at a 9.0 rating/16 share in the 8 p.m. half-hour. But a 5.1/ 9 for sophomore “The Odd Couple” at 8:30 p.m. (which begins a second weekly airing Monday at 9:30 p.m. next week) slipped by a considerable 43 percent.

Next on CBS was “Mom” at a dominant 5.4/ 8 at 9 p.m., which built from “The Odd Couple” by six percent, followed by “2 Broke Girls” at a third-place 4.2/ 7 at 9:30 p.m. and recent entry “Rush Hour” at a 3.1/ 5 (#2) at 10 p.m. There is no reason to expect a second season renewal for “Rush House.”

ABC had nothing unusual to report in the household overnights with its combination of “Grey’s Anatomy” (#2: 5.8/10), “Scandal” (#2: 4.8/ 7) and recent Shonda Rhimes entry “The Catch” (#1: 3.4/ 6), which was on par with year-ago time period occupant “American Crime.” Given how poorly ABC has fared in the new scripted drama department this season, a second season of “The Catch” is very possible.

Next was NBC, which will have to repair the Thursday 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET hours next season. Recent reality/competition “Strong” did not live up to its title, with a distant fourth-place 1.8/ 3 at 8 p.m. Next was “The Blacklist,” which perked up to a third-place 4.5/ 7 at 9 p.m. But recent drama addition “Game of Silence,” despite the positive reviews, slipped to a 2.3/ 4 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that was 32 percent below “Dateline” on the year-ago evening (3.4/ 6 on 5/6/15). The logical solution for the Thursday 10 p.m. hour on NBC next season is recent occupant “Shades of Blue.”

Elsewhere, Fox’s “Bones” (#3: 2.8/ 5 at 8 p.m.), which is concluding next season, led into a mere 1.2/ 2 for waiting-to-be canceled “American Grit” at 9 p.m. And “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” on The CW scored a typical 1.3/ 2 in the household overnights at 9 p.m. into a modest 0.8/ 1 for “The 100” at 9 p.m.

Source: Nielsen Media Research