Thursday Overnights: Respectable Opening for ‘The Titan Games’ on NBC

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.4/ 9, ABC: 3.8/ 7, NBC: 3.5/ 6, Fox: 2.2/ 4, CW: 0.5/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening
ABC: +31, NBC: +17, CBS: -16, CW: -17, Fox: -21

-Ratings Scorecard:
CBS topped this first Thursday of January in the household overnights thanks to the combination of 8-9 p.m. sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” (#1 for the night: 8.6 rating/15 share) and “Young Sheldon” (#1: 7.1/12), which both also aired in encore telecasts from 9-10 p.m. But NBC was also on overnight map thanks to the two-hour premiere of sports competition series “Titan Games.” Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, “The Titan Games” scored a 3.9/ 7 in households from 8-10 p.m., which comparably was a double-digit increase from the network’s recent two-hour sitcom block. “The Titan Games” is also expected to resonate among adults 18-49, which could result in NBC’s first non-sports Thursday win of the season of the demo. Check back with us after 11 a.m. ET for the updated results.

“The Titan Games” led into the season premiere of NBC drama “The Blacklist,” which dipped to third in the 10 p.m. hour with a 2.8/ 5 in the household overnights. Comparably, that trailed “S.W.A.T.” on CBS (#2: 4.0/ 8) by 30 percent. “The Blacklist” moves to its regularly scheduled Friday 9 p.m. hour this evening.

Also opening a new season was Fox drama “Gotham,” in its final season, with a modest 2.0/ 3 (#4) at 8 p.m. That led into a 2.3/ 4 (#4) for the return of sophomore “The Orville” at 9 p.m.

In the specials department on ABC was the news division’s “JFK, Jr.: The Final Days” at a respectable 4.3/ 8 from 9-11 p.m.

The remainder of the evening was repeats.

What follows is the breakdown by half-hour and by show for Thursday, January 3:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Conners” (R): 2.9/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 8.6/15 (#1)
NBC – “Titan Games” (series premiere): 3.9/ 7 (#2)
Fox – “Gotham” (season premiere): 2.1/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Conners” (R): 2.6/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 7.1/12 (#1)
NBC – “Titan Games” (series premiere): 4.0/ 7 (#2)
Fox – “Gotham” (season premiere): 1.9/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – ABC News: “JFK, Jr.: The Finale Days”: 4.2/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (R): 4.2/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “Titan Games” (series premiere): 3.9/ 7 (#2)
Fox – “The Orville” (time period premiere): 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Legacies” (R): 0.4/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – ABC News: “JFK, Jr.: The Finale Days”: 4.3/ 7 (#1)
CBS – “Young Sheldon” (R): 3.9/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “Titan Games” (series premiere): 3.8/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “The Orville” (time period premiere): 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Legacies” (R): 0.4/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – ABC News: “JFK, Jr.: The Finale Days”: 4.4/ 8 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 4.0/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “The Blacklist” (season premiere): 3.0/ 5 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – ABC News: “JFK, Jr.: The Finale Days”: 4.2/ 8 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 4.0/ 9 (#2)
NBC – “The Blacklist” (season premiere): 2.5/ 5 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research