Big 3 Drop 28 Percent in the Household Overnights from First Debate

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What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households by network and by half-hour for Wednesday, October 19:

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.7/ 9, ABC: 5.6/ 8, NBC: 5.5/ 8, Fox: 45.5/ 7, CW: 1.1/ 2

Note: Comparisons to the year-ago evening and the listing of winners and losers are excluded due to the third live Presidential debate airing last night.

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Ratings Breakdown:
Only two-tenths of a household rating point separated the Big 3 nets, with another dominant performance for “Survivor” in the 8 p.m. hour (5.3 rating/8 share) lifting CBS to first overall for the evening.

Second in the 8 p.m. hour was Fox’s recently full season-renewed “Lethal Weapon” at a 4.5/ 7, which proves the action drama can stand on its own minus the pre-tune-in for lead-out “Empire.” Comparably, “Lethal Weapon” increased from year-ago time period occupant “Rosewood” (3.9/ 6 on 10/21/15) by 15 percent.

Next were repeat animated holiday specials “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (4.4/ 7) and “Toy Story of Terror” (3.6/ 5) on ABC, followed by NBC’s relocated “Blindspot” at a fourth-place 3.6/ 5 in the household overnights. Although “Blindspot” slipped by 22 percent from the 4.6/ 7 for year-ago time period occupant “The Mysteries of Laura,” but the audience composition is younger.

Last in the 8 p.m. hour was “Arrow” on The CW, which at a 1.4/ 2 was 18 percent below the 1.7/ 3 on the year-ago evening. “Arrow” led into recent entry “Frequency” at a mere 0.8/ 1 in the 9 p.m. hour, which was equal to last week and 27 percent “Supernatural” on the year-ago evening (1.1/ 2).

As a reminder that overnight results for any live event are approximate, ABC and NBC topped the household ratings for the third – and final — Presidential debate, each with a 6.6/10 from 9-11 p.m. (which includes the analysis portion from approximately 10:36-11 p.m. ET). CBS scored a 6.1/ 9, and the total for the Big 3 nets (19.3/29) was down by 28 percent from the combined 26.9/37 in the household overnights for the first debate on Monday, Sept. 26. That first debate, of course, reached a record 84-million viewers.

With no available overnights for Fox in the 10 p.m. hour, the network scored a 4.6/ 7 from 9-10 p.m., which was 24 percent above the 3.7/ 5 for the first debate.

Source: Nielsen Media Research