Sunday Overnights: CBS Wins, but ABC is the Network to Beat in the Key Demos

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SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.3/ 9, ABC: 3.8/ 7, NBC: 1.9/ 3, Fox: 1.1/ 2

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: +6, CBS: no change, Fox: – 8, NBC: -46

Ratings Breakdown:
Dominant CBS had a solid household overnight advantage on this first Sunday in May with its combination of veteran “60 Minutes” (#1 for the night: 6.7 rating/12 share at 7 p.m.), recently introduced drama “Instinct” (#1t: 4.9 /8 at 8 p.m.), “NCIS: New Orleans” (#1: 5.1/ 8 at 9 p.m.) and “Madam Secretary” (#1: 4.3/ 8 at 10 p.m.). But “American Idol,” which remained consistent at a 4.9/ 8 in households from 8-10 p.m., means ABC is the network to beat in adults 18-49 (and all the key young adult demographics).

At 10 p.m., ABC newbie drama “Deception” sunk to a distant 2.1/ 4, which was 57 percent below lead-in “American Idol.” But that was still 31 percent above NBC’s competing “Timeless” (#3: 1.6/ 3). Earlier in the evening on ABC was mainstay “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at a second-place 3.3/ 6 at 7 p.m.

Elsewhere, two back-to-back episodes of NBC’s “Genius Junior,” hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, were a bust at an average 1.8/ 3 in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. They led out of “Dateline” at a modest 2.4/ 4 from 7-8 p.m., which trailed competing “60 Minutes” on CBS by 64 percent, and a second season renewal is highly unlikely. And Fox had nothing unusual to report with its combination of “Bob’s Burgers” (repeat and original: avg. 0.9/ 1 from 7-8 p.m.), “The Simpsons” (#4: 1.4/ 2 at 8 p.m.), “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (#4: 1.1/ 2 at 8:30 p.m.), “Family Guy” (#4: 1.2/ 2 at 9 p.m.) and “Last Man on Earth” (#4: 1.1/ 2 at 9:30 p.m.).

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Sunday, May 6 broken out by half-hour:

7:00 p.m.
ABC – “America’s Funniest Home Videos”: 3.2/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “60 Minutes”: 6.5/12 (#1)
NBC – “Dateline”: 2.5/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Bob’s Burgers” (R): 0.7/ 1 (#4)

7:30 p.m.
ABC – “America’s Funniest Home Videos”: 3.5/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “60 Minutes”: 6.9/13 (#1)
NBC – “Dateline”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “Bob’s Burgers”: 1.1/ 2 (#4)

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 4.8/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Instinct”: 5.0/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Genius Junior”: 1.9/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “The Simpsons”: 1.4/ 2 (#4)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 4.8/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Instinct”: 5.0/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Genius Junior”: 1.9/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 113/ 2 (#4)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.0/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.1/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Genius Junior”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Family Guy”: 1.2/ 2 (#4)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 4.9/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.2/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Genius Junior”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Last Man on Earth”: 1.1/ 2 (#4)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Deception”: 2.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Madam Secretary”: 4.4/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless”: 1.6/ 3 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Deception”: 1.9/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “Madam Secretary”: 4.2/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless”: 1.6/ 3 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research