Sunday Overnights: Positive Sampling for ‘The Red Line’ on CBS

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Household Ratings/Share
CBS: 4.6/ 8, ABC: 4.0/ 7, NBC: 2.0/ 4, Fox: 1.2/ 2, CW: 0.7/ 1

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening:
CBS: – 4, ABC: – 6, NBC: -24, Fox: -27

Ratings Breakdown:
The two-hour series debut of drama “The Red Line,” starring “ER’s” Noah Wyle, was a disappointment at a 3.6 rating/6 share in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, this was 49 percent below lead-in “60 Minutes” (#1 for the night: 7.0/13 at 7 p.m.). It was 29 percent below week-ago two-hour special “Motown: A Grammy Celebration” (5.1/ 9 on April 21). It was down by double-digit percentages from recent time period occupant “God Friended Me.” It dropped in household rating from 8:30 p.m. and beyond (see below chart). And it trailed competing “American Idol” on ABC (5.0/ 9) by 28 percent.

Considering most new series decline 10 to 20 percent in week two, consider this a very modest start for “The Red Line.”

“The Red Line” led into a Sunday 10 p.m. edition of “NCIS: Los Angeles” (#1: 4.1/ 8 at 10 p.m.), which bested competing “Shark Tank” on ABC (2.8/ 5) and “Good Girls” on NBC (#3: 1.7/ 3) by 46 percent and 141 percent, respectively.

Earlier in the evening on NBC was a repeat of “Ellen’s Game of Games” (#3: 1.6/ 3 at 7 p.m.) into “World of Dance” at a slightly improved 2.4/ 4 from 8-10 p.m.

Elsewhere, Fox and The CW were at typical Sunday overnight levels as follows:

7:00 p.m.
ABC – “America’s Funniest Home Videos”: 3.4/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “60 Minutes”: 6.7/13 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games” (R): 1.5/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “The Simpsons” (R): 0.8/ 2 (#4)

7:30 p.m.
ABC – “America’s Funniest Home Videos”: 3.6/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “60 Minutes”: 7.2/13 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games” (R): 1.6/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Bob’s Burgers” (R): 0.8/ 2 (#4)

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.0/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “The Red Line” (series premiere): 4.1/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “The Simpsons”: 1.4/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Supergirl”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 4.9/ 8 (#1)
CBS – “The Red Line” (series premiere): 3.6/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance”: 2.5/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “Bob’s Burgers”: 1.3/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Supergirl”: 0.9/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.1/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “The Red Line” (series premiere): 3.4/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance”: 2.5/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “Family Guy”: 1.4/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Charmed” : 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 4.8/ 8 (#1)
CBS – “The Red Line” (series premiere): 3.3/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “Family Guy” (R): 1.2/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Charmed”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Shark Tank”: 2.9/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS: Los Angeles”: 4.0/ 7 (#1)
NBC: “Good Girls”: 1.7/ 3 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Shark Tank”: 2.6/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS: Los Angeles”: 4.1/ 8 (#1)
NBC: “Good Girls”: 1.7/ 3 (#3)