The Cancellation Clock is Ticking on ‘Doubt’ on CBS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017

What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households by network and by half-hour for Wednesday, February 22, 2017:

Household Rating/Share
NBC: 3.7/ 6, CBS: 3.5/ 6, Fox: 3.4/ 6, ABC: 3.3/ 6, CW: 0.9/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: -17, NBC: -20, Fox: -24, CBS: -30, CW: -40

Ratings Breakdown:
NBC moved into the top spot in the household overnights on this particularly lackluster Wednesday where only four-tenths of a rating point separated the Big 4 networks.

In alarming news for CBS, week two of legal drama “Doubt,” starring Katherine Heigl, dropped by 22 percent from its already modest opening last week with a 2.8 rating/5 share in households (#2) at 10 p.m. One week earlier, the opening household overnight was a 3.6/ 7, and that translated into just 5.31 million viewers and a 0.8 rating/1 share in adults 18-49, based on the Live + Same Day data. “Doubt” also dipped by 39 percent in the overnights from its “Criminal Minds” lead-in (#1: 4.6/ 8 from 9-10 p.m.), and is expected to come in at about a 0.6 rating in the key demographic. With that in mind don’t be surprised to see CBS potentially make a quick time period change.

NBC’s “Chicago PD” dominated the 10 p.m. hour, with a 4.3/ 8, while a sluggish 2.4/ 4 (#3) for “The Match Game” on ABC, hosted by Alec Baldwin, proves this game show revival is better suited for the summer.

Earlier in the evening, Fox’s “Lethal Weapon” dominated the 8 p.m. hour with a 4.1/ 7 into a fourth-place 2.8/ 5 for recently introduced “Star” at 9 p.m. Both scripted hours have been greenlit for their second seasons.

ABC slipped by two-tenths of a rating point with 8-9:30 p.m. comedies “The Goldbergs” (#1t: 4.0/ 7), “Speechless” (#2: 3.3/ 5) and “Modern Family” (#2: 4.5/ 7), while “black-ish” at 9:30 p.m. (#3: 3.5/ 6) was on par from one week earlier.

CBS opened the evening with reality/competition time period filler “Hunted” at a 3.1/ 5 (#3) at 8 p.m., and The CW had nothing unusual to report with its pairing of “Arrow” (#5: 1.2/ 2) and “The 100” (#5: 0.7/ 1).

What follows are the household overnight results for Wednesday, Feb. 22 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs”: 4.0/ 7 (#1t)
CBS – “Hunted”: 3.1/ 5 (#3)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 3.0/ 5 (#4)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 4.0/ 7 (#1t)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.2/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Speechless”: 3.3/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Hunted”: 3.0/ 5 (#3)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 2.8/ 5 (#4)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 4.2/ 7 (#1)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.1/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family”: 4.5/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.7/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.7/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Star”: 2.8/ 5 (#4)
CW – “The 100”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “black-ish”: 3.5/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.6/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.9/ 6 (#2)
Fox – “Star”: 2.8/ 5 (#4)
CW – “The 100”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Match Game” (winter finale): 2.5/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Doubt”: 2.9/ 5 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.4/ 8 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Match Game” (winter finale): 2.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Doubt”: 2.7/ 5 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.3/ 8 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research