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Tuesday Overnights: Solid for ‘The Conners’ on ABC

But Will the Curiosity Continue Without Roseanne Barr?

TUESDAY 10/16/18

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 6.5/11, NBC: 5.5/ 9, ABC: 4.3/ 7, Fox: 1.8/ 3, CW: 1.0/ 2

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Week:
NBC: + 2, CBS: – 8, Fox: -14, CW: -33, ABC: -35

Ratings Breakdown:
All interest, of course, lies on the debut of ABC’s “The Conners,” which was amply sampled but was not at the level of the return of “Roseanne” last March. “The Conners,” minus Roseanne Barr, opened with a 7.5 rating/12 share in the overnight households in the 8 p.m. ET half-hour. Comparably, that was 36 percent below the return of “Roseanne” on March 27 (11.7/19), which translated into 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating in adults 18-49 (based on the Live+Same Day data). Do the math, and you can anticipate an estimated mid-11 million viewer and low-3 adult 18-49 rating range for this debut of “The Conners.”

Comparably, “The Conners” was similar to what the “Roseanne” reboot settled into last spring. Since most new series drop 10 to 20 percent in week two (and another estimated 10 percent in week three), “The Conners” could very well settle in for a long run. Stay tuned.

Airing out of “The Conners” on ABC was the series premiere of sitcom “The Kids Are Alright” at a third-place 4.5/ 7 at 8:30 p.m., which dipped by a hefty 40 percent but did get sampled.

ABC’s problem was the sophomore season premiere of sitcom “Splitting Up Together,” which at a modest 2.6/ 4 at 9:30 p.m. dropped by 21 percent from the season-premiere of “black-ish” at 9 p.m. (3.3/ 5).

The third series debut last night on ABC was 10 p.m. drama “The Rookie,” starring Nathan Fillion, which finished third in the hour with a 3.9/ 7 in the household overnights. Comparably, this trailed competing “NCIS: New Orleans” on CBS (#1: 4.9/ 9) and “New Amsterdam” (#2: 4.4/ 8) on NBC by 20 percent and 11 percent, respectively. But “The Rookie” was 50 percent above lead-in “Splitting Up Together,” and it bested failed year-ago time period occupant “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” (2.3/ 4 on 10/17/17) by 70 percent.

Earlier in the evening on CBS was the solid (but older skewing) combination of dramas “NCIS” (#1 for the night: 8.2/13 at 8 p.m.) and recent entry “FBI” (#1t: 6.3/10), which should have a long shelf life on the Eye net. NBC, meanwhile, was also on the 8-10 p.m. overnight map care of “The Voice” (#3: 5.9/ 9) and “This Is Us” (#1t: 6.3/10), which focused solely on Milo Ventimiglia as Jack.

Elsewhere, “Black Lightning” on The CW (#5: 0.7/ 1 at 9 p.m.) is not necessarily the best fit out of “The Flash” (#5: 1.3/ 2 at 8 p.m.). And Fox cannot compete with its pairing of dramas “The Gifted” (#4: 1.6/ 3 at 8 p.m.) and “Lethal Weapon” (#4: 2.0/ 3).

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Tuesday, October 16 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Conners” (series premiere): 7.5/12 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS”: 7.9/13 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 5.6/ 9 (#3)
Fox – “The Gifted”: 1.6/ 3 (#4)
CW – “The Flash”: 1.4/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Kids Are Alright” (series premiere): 4.5/ 7 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.3/13 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 6.2/10 (#2)
Fox – “The Gifted”: 1.5/ 2 (#4)
CW – “The Flash”: 1.2/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “black-ish” (season premiere): 3.3/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “F.B.I.”: 6.4/10 (#2)
NBC – “This Is Us”: 6.5/10 (#1)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Splitting Up Together” (season premiere): 2.6/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “F.B.I.”: 6.2/10 (#1)
NBC – “This Is Us”: 6.1/10 (#2)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Rookie” (season premiere): 3.9/ 7 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.0/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “New Amsterdam”: 4.6/ 8 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Rookie” (season premiere): 4.0/ 7 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 4.8/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “New Amsterdam”: 4.2/ 8 (#2)

LATE NIGHT

11:30 p.m.
ABC – “Jimmy Kimmel”: 2.1/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 3.4/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (repeat): 2.0/ 5 (#3)

12:00 a.m.
ABC – “Jimmy Kimmel”: 1.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 2.1/ 6 (#1)
NBC – “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (repeat): 1.5/ 4 (#2)

12:30 a.m.
ABC – “Nightline”: 1.1/ 4 (#3t)
CBS – “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 1.4/ 5 (#2)
NBC – “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (repeat): 1.5/ 4 (#1) (thru 12:45 a.m.)
NBC – “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (repeat): 1.1/ 4 (#3t) (from 12:45 a.m.)

1:00 a.m.
CBS – “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 1.0/ 4 (#1)
NBC – “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (repeat): 0.9/ 3 (#2)

1:30 a.m.
NBC – “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (repeat): 0.8/ 3 (thru 1:45 a.m.)
NBC – “Last Call with Carson Daly” (repeat): 0.7/ 3 (from 1:45 a.m.)

Source: Nielsen Media Research