Tuesday Overnights: Solid Opening for ‘Ellen’s Game of Games’ on NBC; Modest ‘LA to Vegas’ on Fox

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 7.4/12, NBC: 4.9/ 8, Fox: 2.7/ 4, ABC: 2.6/ 4, CW: 0.5/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: +23, CW: no change, NBC: + 7, CBS: – 3, ABC: – 4

-Ratings Breakdown:
It was a clean household overnight sweep for CBS care of scripted dramas “NCIS” (#1 for the night: 9.0 rating/14 share), “Bull” (7.2/11) and “NCIS: New Orleans” (5.9/11). But equally impressive was the two episode Tuesday night launch of “Ellen’s Game of Games,” hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, at an average 5.2/ 8 in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, the 8-9 p.m. edition of “Ellen’s Game of Games” increased by 18 percent from the show’s Monday, Dec. 18 preview (5.2 vs. 4.5 rating), and it was up by 27 percent from game show “The Wall” on the year-ago evening (4.1/ 7 on 1/03/17). And the 9 p.m. edition increased by six percent from “Chicago Fire” one year earlier (4.8/ 8).

Leading out of “Ellen’s Game of Games” was “Chicago Med” at a second-place 4.3/ 8, which was 126 percent above failing “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” on ABC (#3: 1.9/ 3).

Earlier in the evening on ABC were sitcoms “The Middle” (#3: 4.1/ 7), “Fresh Off the Boat” (#4: 2.8/ 4), “black-ish” (#3: 2.8/ 4) and an encore telecast of “Modern Family” (#3: 2.1/ 3) from 8-10 p.m. Mark your calendars on Tuesday, March 27 at 8 p.m. for the return of “Roseanne.” The sampling is expected to be huge.

In series premiere news, Fox comedy “LA to Vegas,” starring Dylan McDermott, opened with a fourth-place 2.7/ 4 in the 9 p.m. half-hour. Comparably, this was 23 percent above year-ago time period occupant “Bones” (2.2/ 4 on 1/03/17), and it held 84 percent of lead-in “Lethal Weapon” (3.2/ 5 from 8-9 p.m.). Since most new series drop 10 to 20 percent in week two, consider this a modest opening for “LA to Vegas.”

At 9:30 p.m. on Fox was the time period debut of sophomore sitcom “The Mick” at a 1.8/ 3 (#4), which slipped by 33 percent from “LA to Vegas.”

The CW populated this first Tuesday of the new year with repeats of “The Flash” (#5: 0.6/ 1) and “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” (#5: 0.5/ 1).

What follows are the household overnight results for Tuesday, January 2 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Middle”: 4.1/ 7 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 9.0/14 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games”: 5.1/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 3.1/ 5 (#4)
CW – “The Flash” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Fresh Off the Boat”: 2.8/ 4 (#4)
CBS – “NCIS”: 9.0/14 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games”: 5.4/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 3.2/ 5 (#3)
CW – “The Flash” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “black-ish”: 2.8/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “Bull”: 7.2/11 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games”: 5.1/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “LA to Vegas” (series premiere): 2.7/ 4 (#4)
CW – “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family” (R): 2.1/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “Bull”: 7.2/12 (#1)
NBC – “Ellen’s Game of Games”: 5.2/ 8 (#2)
Fox – “The Mick” (time period premiere): 1.8/ 3 (#4)
CW – “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”: 2.0/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 6.0/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Med”: 4.4/ 8 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.8/11 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Med”: 4.2/ 8 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research