Thursday Overnights: CBS Tops Night; ABC and NBC Lag

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THURSDAY 10/18/18

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.7/10, Fox: 5.3/ 9, ABC: 2.6/ 4, NBC: 2.5/ 4, CW: 0.8/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: +194, CBS: -14, ABC: -19, NBC: -32, CW: -33

-Ratings Scorecard:
Despite facing football on Fox, CBS managed to pull a Thursday household overnight victory. But keep in mind that the average for the Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals match-up – an estimated 5.8 rating/10 share from 8-10 p.m. ET – does not include the 10-11:25 p.m. portion. Had that been factored in Fox would have dominated (despite coming in below average).

On CBS, 8-10 p.m. sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” (#1 for the night: 8.7/15), “Young Sheldon” (#1: 7.4/12), “Mom” (#2: 5.6/ 9) and “Murphy Brown” (#2: 4.7/ 8), plus crime solver “S.W.A.T.” at 10 p.m. (#1: 4.0/ 7) were at typical overnight levels. The question, of course, is how the network will fare on Thursday without “The Big Bang Theory” next season.

On ABC, minus the lead-in support from “Grey’s Anatomy,” sophomore “Station 19” sunk to a 3.1/ 5 (#3) from 9-10 p.m., which led into an anemic 2.2/ 4 for “How To Get Away With Murder” at 10 p.m. Earlier in the evening on the alphabet net were encore telecasts of animated holiday specials “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (#3: 2.9/ 5) and “Toy Story of Terror” (#3t: 2.0/ 3) from 8-9 p.m.

Elsewhere, veteran “Law & Order: SVU” (#2: 3.1/ 6 at 10 p.m.) was the standout, building by 94 percent from freshman lead-in sitcom dud “I Feel Bad” (#4: 1.6/ 3 at 9:30 p.m.). Earlier in the evening on NBC was 8-9:30 p.m. sitcoms “Superstore” (#4: 2.3/ 4), which is so worthy of a larger audience, “The Good Place” (#3t: 2.0/ 3) and “Will & Grace” (#4: 2.7/ 4), which is not the big attraction it was in its return last fall.

The CW featured the pairing of veteran “Supernatural” (#5: 1.0/ 2 at 8 p.m.) and a repeat of the pilot episode of the “Charmed” reboot (#5: 0.7/ 1 at 9 p.m.).

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Thursday, October 18 broken out by half-hour.

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (R): 2.9/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 8.7/15 (#1)
NBC – “Superstore”: 2.3/ 4 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals): 4.0/ 2 (#2) + pre-game
CW – “Supernatural”: 1.0/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Toy Story of Terror” (R): 2.0/ 3 (#3t)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 7.4/12 (#1)
NBC – “The Good Place”: 2.0/ 3 (#3t)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals): 5.7/10 (#2)
CW – “Supernatural”: 1.0/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19”: 3.0/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Mom”: 5.6/ 9 (#2)
NBC – “Will & Grace”: 2.7/ 4 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals): 5.9/10 (#2)
CW – “Charmed” (R)” 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19”: 3.2/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Murphy Brown”: 4.7/ 8 (#2)
NBC – “I Feel Bad”: 1.6/ 3 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals): 5.8/10 (#2)
CW – “Charmed” (R)” 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder”: 2.2/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 4.0/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.0/ 5 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 3.9/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.1/ 6 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research