‘American Idol’ Season-Opener Flexes Some Muscle

Wednesday 1/06/16
Metered Market Overnights

Household Rating/Share
Fox 7.3/12
NBC 5.2/ 8
ABC 4.3/ 7
CBS 4.2/ 7
CW 0.7/ 1

Percent Change from the Comparable Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: + 8, ABC: + 2, Fox: no change, CW: -12, CBS: -28

For the complete listing of “2016 People’s Choice Awards” winners, click here

-Winners:
“American Idol” (Fox), “Modern Family” (ABC), “Chicago PD” (NBC)

-Honorable Mention:
“The Middle” (ABC)

-Losers:
“2 Broke Girls” (CBS), “The People’s Choice Awards” (CBS), “American Crime” (ABC)

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Ratings Breakdown:
The 15th – and final – season premiere of “American Idol” on Fox flexed some muscle with a dominant 7.3 rating/12 share in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. The peak half-hour was a 7.6/12 at 8:30 p.m. While this was five percent below the 7.7/12 for the one-hour (8-9 p.m.) year-ago season opener, Fox did manage to beat second-place NBC by over 2-household rating points. That 7.7 rating in the household overnights for “American Idol” last year translated into 11.20 million viewers and a 3.2 rating/10 share in adults 18-49, based on the Live + Same Day data. So, expect something similar from last night.

Returning from a seven-week break from their last originals, “Chicago P.D.” on NBC concluded the “Chicago” triple crossover this week with a season-high 5.8/10 at 10 p.m. Comparably, this was seven percent above the 9:30 p.m. portion of veteran lead-in “Law & Order: SVU” (5.4/ 9), and it bested the sophomore season-premiere of ABC’s competing “American Crime” (3.4/ 6) by a hefty 71 percent.

Earlier in the evening on NBC was older-skewing “The Mysteries of Laura” at a third-place 4.5/ 7 at 8 p.m., followed by aforementioned “SVU” at a 5.3/ 9 from 9-10 p.m. Compared to their prior originals on Nov. 18, “SVU” and “Chicago PD” increased by 26 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

In season-premiere news, the sixth – and final – season of “Mike & Molly” on CBS scored a modest 4.3/ 7 at 8:30 p.m. (#3), which was seven percent above relocated lead-in “2 Broke Girls” (#4: 4.0/ 6 at 8 p.m.). With enough episodes for off-network, CBS might want to consider putting Max and Caroline out of business this spring.

Next on CBS was the “2016 People’s Choice Awards,” which at a 4.2/ 7 from 9-11 p.m. was 29 percent below the year-ago telecast (5.9/ 9 on 1/07/15). And that 5.9 in the overnights last year translated into 8.62 million viewers and a 1.8/ 5 in adults 18-49. Note to the producers of “The People’s Choice Awards”: you need to now also include the digital carriers for the television portion of the votes.

Elsewhere, ABC was right on track in the Wednesday sitcom department with its combination of “The Middle” (#2: 5.0/ 8), “The Goldbergs” (#4: 4.2/ 7), “Modern Family” (#2: 5.6/ 9) and ‘black-ish” (#3t, 4.2/ 7). But the 3.4/ 6 for the second season-premiere of aforementioned “American Crime” was a considerable 44 percent below the 6.1/11 for its series-premiere in the Thursday 10 p.m. hour on 3/04/15.

And The CW featured encore telecasts of “Arrow” (#5: 0.7/ 1) and “Supernatural” (#5: 0.6/ 1).

Source: Nielsen Media Research