Tuesday Overnights: ‘The American Music Awards’ on ABC Loses Steam

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 6.5/11, NBC: 5.8/10, ABC: 4.8/ 8, Fox: 1.8/ 3, CW: 1.3/ 2

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Week:
ABC: +66, NBC: – 2, CBS: -10, Fox: -18, CW: -19

Ratings Breakdown:
CBS, as expected, topped this third Tuesday in the household overnights, while NBC is a lock for victory in adults 18-49 (and all the key young adult demos). But ABC, despite year-to-year slippage, was also on the overnight map care of the annual “American Music Awards,” which scored a 4.8 rating/8 share in households from 8-11 p.m. Comparably, this was 21 percent below the 6.1/10 for the year-ago telecast (on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017).

Next week on ABC features its new Tuesday line-up: sitcoms “The Conners,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “black-ish” and “Splitting Up Together,” and new Nathan Fillion crime solver “The Rookie.” Given the absence of Roseanne on “The Conners,” expect the initial audience sampling to go through the proverbial roof.

In season premiere news, “The Flash” returned on The CW with a 1.6/ 3 in households in the 8 p.m. hour, which tied relocated “The Gifted” on Fox for the distant No. 4 position. Although I will remind you that programming on The CW never resonates in the household overnights (social media is what matters), this was 20 percent below its year-ago season-opener (2.0/ 3 on 10/10/17).

The sophomore season premiere of “Black Lightning” on The CW, meanwhile, slipped to a mere 0.9/ 1 at 9 p.m., which was 37 percent below the season-premiere of year-ago time period occupant “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” (1.3/ 2). Comparably, “Black Lightning” trailed “Lethal Weapon” on Fox (#4: 2.0/ 3) by 55 percent.

In week three news, older-skewing “FBI” on CBS is strong enough to warrant a full season renewal with a second-place 6.1/10 in households in the 9 p.m. hour. Comparably, this was 13 percent below year-ago time period occupant “Bull” (7.0/11). And the household rating retention for “FBI” out of lead-in “NCIS” (#1 for the night: 8.2/14 at 8 p.m.) was acceptable at 74 percent.

“NCIS: New Orleans” capped off the night for the Eye net with a 5.2/ 9 (#2) at 10 p.m., which was slightly about competing medical drama “New Amsterdam” on NBC (#2: 4.9/ 9).

Earlier in the evening on NBC was “The Voice” (#2: 6.1/10 at 8 p.m.) into season three of everyone’s favorite tearjerker, “This Is Us” (#3: 6.4/10 at 9 p.m.). Both shows remain solid on what has been a very good season for NBC.

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Tuesday, October 9 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 5.5/ 9 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.2/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 5.9/10 (#2)
Fox – “The Gifted”: 1.7/ 3 (#4t)
CW – “The Flash” (season premiere): 1.7/ 3 (#4t)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 5.0/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.2/13 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 6.4/10 (#2)
Fox – “The Gifted”: 1.5/ 2 (#5)
CW – “The Flash” (season premiere): 1.6/ 3 (#4)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 5.7/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “F.B.I.”: 6.1/10 (#2)
NBC – “This Is Us”: 6.4/10 (#1)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning” (season premiere): 0.9/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 4.6/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “F.B.I.”: 6.1/10 (#2)
NBC – “This Is Us”: 6.2/10 (#1)
Fox – “Lethal Weapon”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning” (season premiere): 0.8/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 4.4/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.3/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “New Amsterdam”: 5.0/ 9 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Music Awards”: 4.2/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.0/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “New Amsterdam”: 4.7/ 9 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research