NBC Sitcom ‘Great News’ Stumbles in Week Two

TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 6.9/12, NBC: 4.1/ 7, ABC: 2.2/ 4, Fox: 1.5/ 3, CW: 1.4/ 2

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: +10, Fox: + 7, CBS: – 4, CW: -18, NBC: -25

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-Ratings Breakdown:
It was a clean Tuesday overnight household sweep for CBS, as usual, with its combination of “NCIS” (#1 for the night: 8.2 rating/14 share), “Bull” (6.9/11) and “NCIS: New Orleans” (5.6/10). Given the compatibility of the three dramas, personally I think CBS leave well enough alone and keep Tuesday intact next season. For more programming suggestions for the broadcast networks, click here

In week two news, two additional episodes of NBC sitcom “Great News” took a tumble. The 9 p.m. episode scored a 2.4/ 4 (#2) in the household overnights, which was 29 percent below the 3.4/ 6 one week earlier. And the 9:30 p.m. installment averaged a 1.8/ 3 (#2t), which was down by 36 percent from the 2.8/ 5 last week. Comparably, “Great News” held only 60 percent of its “The Voice” lead-in (#2: 6.0/10 from 8-9 p.m.). NBC continues to struggle finding a new hit comedy, but for a suggestion how to do so next fall click here

Drama “Chicago Fire” capped off the evening for NBC with a second-place 4.1/ 7 in the 10 p.m. hour, which was 156 percent above competing “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” on ABC (#3: 1.6/ 3).

In season-finale news, Fox sitcom “The Mick,” which is more of a hit socially than it is by the traditional Nielsen ratings, scored a modest 1.3/ 2 (#5) at 8:30 p.m. Comparably, that led out of an also 1.3/ 2 for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at 8 p.m. Lead-out “Prison Break,” which is certainly not the hit Fox was hoping for, perked up to a fourth-place 1.8/ 3 from 9-10 p.m.. Last week, “Prison Break” averaged a 1.9/ 3 in the overnights (and that translated into 2.75 million viewers and a 0.9 rating/3 share in adults 18-49, based on the Live + Same Day data).

On ABC, it was overnight business as usual with its 8-10 p.m. sitcom block of “The Middle” (#3: 3.4/ 6), “American Housewife” (#3: 2.9/ 5), “Fresh Off the Boat” (#3: 2.3/ 4) and “Imaginary Mary” (#2t: 1.8/ 3). And this means the network must address the sliding results after “The Middle” next season.

Over at The CW, “The Flash” was above average at a 2.1/ 3 at 8 p.m. and it led into a 0.8 for “IZombie” at 9 p.m.

What follows are the household overnight results for Tuesday, May 2 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Middle” : 3.4/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.2/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 5.9/10 (#2)
Fox – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.3/ 2 (#5)
CW – “The Flash”: 2.1/ 4 (#4)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife”: 2.9/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.3/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 6.1/10 (#2)
Fox – “The Mick” (season finale): 1.3/ 2 (#5)
CW – “The Flash”: 2.1/ 3 (#4)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Fresh Off the Boat”: 2.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Bull”: 7.0/11 (#1)
NBC – “Great News”: 2.4/ 4 (#2)
Fox – “Prison Break”: 1.8/ 3 (#4)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Imaginary Mary”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
CBS – “Bull”: 6.8/11 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
Fox – “Prison Break”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Agents of SHIELD”: 1.6/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.7/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.1/ 7 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Agents of SHIELD”: 1.5/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.5/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.2/ 8 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research