Fox Leads Wednesday Despite Ongoing ‘Empire’ Slippage

What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households by network and by half-hour for Wednesday, November 16:

Note: The following results do not include Seattle.

Household Rating/Share
Fox: 5.0/ 8, CBS: 4.6/ 8, ABC: 4.2/ 7, NBC: 3.8/ 6, CW: 1.1/ 2

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: – 5, CBS: – 6, NBC and Fox: -14 each, CW: -21

-Winners:
“Survivor” (CBS), “Empire” (Fox), “Modern Family” (ABC)

-Honorable Mention:
“Lethal Weapon” (Fox)

-Slipping:
“Designated Survivor” (ABC)

-Marginal:
“Blindspot” (NBC), “Chicago PD” (NBC)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
“Frequency” (CW), “Code Black” (CBS)

Ratings Breakdown:
There was nothing unusual to report on this second Wednesday in November. Fox won the evening on the strength of “Empire,” which topped the night at a 5.6 rating/9 share in the metered market households. Comparably, however, that was a loss of a noticeable 29 percent from the 7.9/12 in the overnights on the year-ago evening. And the lead-in support last night, “Lethal Weapon” (#2: 4.4/ 7 at 8 p.m.), remains a stronger option than year-ago time period occupant “Rosewood.”

On CBS, warhorse “Survivor” keeps on ticking with a dominant 5.4/ 9 at 8 p.m. into a second-place 4.8/ 8 for veteran “Criminal Minds” at 9 p.m. Both hours were on par with year-ago overnight levels. But sophomore medical drama “Code Black” slipped to third at 10 p.m. with a 3.6/ 6, which was 14 percent below the 4.2/ 7 on the year-ago evening.

Top-rated on ABC on Wednesday, as always, was sitcom “Modern Family” at a 5.2/ 8 (#2) in the 9 p.m. half-hour, which increased from lead-in “Speechless” (#3: 3.8/ 6 at 8:30 p.m.) by 37 percent. Next was ‘black-ish” at a typical 3.7/ 6, which dipped to fourth in the 9:30 p.m. time period. And recent drama entry “Designated Survivor” closed the night with a series-low 4.1/ 7 at 10 p.m., which tied competing “Chicago PD” on NBC for first in the hour. While “Designated Survivor” remains a marked improvement over year-ago time period occupant “Nashville,” it has lost noticeable steam from those earlier weeks.

Also on ABC was “The Goldbergs” at a 4.4/ 7 at 8 p.m., which demographically remains a respectable draw in the young adult categories.

On NBC, a 9 p.m. installment of “Chicago PD” scored a 3.9/ 6, which was on par with overnight levels for the regularly scheduled “Law & Order: SVU.” “Blindspot” opened the night for NBC with a 3.5/ 6 at 8 p.m., which compared to older-skewing year-ago “The Mysteries of Laura” (4.7/ 8 on 11/18/15) was down by 26 percent.

Over at The CW, “Arrow” opened with a typical 1.5/ 2 in the overnights at 8 p.m., followed by newbie “Frequency” at a 0.7 at 9 p.m. Both “Frequency” and “No Tomorrow” will not be producing any new episodes past the initial 13.

What follows are the household overnight results for Wednesday, Nov. 9 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs”: 4.4/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.4/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 3.6/ 6 (#4)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 4.3/ 7 (#3)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.5/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Speechless”:3.8/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.3/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Blindspot”: 3.4/ 5 (#4)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 4.6/ 7 (#2)
CW – “Arrow”: 1.4/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family”: 5.2/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.8/ 8 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 3.9/ 6 (#4)
Fox – “Empire”: 5.5/ 9 (#1)
CW – “Frequency”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “black-ish”: 3.9/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 4.6/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 3.7/6 (#4)
Fox – “Empire”: 5.7/ 9 (#1)
CW – “Frequency”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 4.2/ 7 (#1)
CBS – “Code Black”: 3.7/ 6 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.1/ 7 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 3.9/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Code Black”: 3.5/ 6 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD”: 4.1/ 8 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research