Wednesday Overnights: ‘American Idol’ Leads ABC to Victory

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Household Rating/Share
ABC: 4.7/ 8, NBC: 3.1/ 5, CBS: 2.8/ 5, Fox: 2.1/ 4, CW: 0.7/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: +57, CW: -12, NBC: -26, CBS: -33, Fox: -36

Ratings Breakdown:
A two-hour edition of “American Idol” led ABC to Wednesday overnight victory, with a dominant 5.2 rating/9 share in households from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, the first hour of “American Idol” (also 5.2/ 9) beat competing “Survivor” on CBS (#2: 4.5/ 7 at 8 p.m.) by 16 percent. And the second hour (5.3/ 9) was a considerable 165 percent above the first hour of “The World Best” on CBS (2.0/ 3 at 9 p.m.). Overall, “The World’s Best” averaged a mere 2.0/ 4 from 9-11 p.m. and remains a prime example of why trying to recreate the success of another series does not necessarily work.

Airing out of “American Idol” was the first original episode of ABC dramedy “Whiskey Cavalier” at a first-place 3.8/ 7 at 10 p.m. Keep in mind, however, that competing “Chicago PD” on NBC (#2: 2.9/ 5) was a repeat.

In season-finale news was a two-hour installment of “Gordon Ramsay’s To Hell and Back” at a modest 2.1/ 4 from 8-10 p.m.

Elsewhere, The CW had nothing unusual to report with its pairing of “Riverdale” (#5: 0.9/ 2 at 9 p.m.), which has currently shut down production following the death of Luke Perry, and “All American” (#5: 0.5/ 1 at 9 p.m.). And NBC was in all repeats.

What follows are the household overnight results by half-hour for Wednesday, March 6:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.3/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “Survivor”: 4.6/ 88 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago Med” (R): 3.4/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Gordon Ramsay’s To Hell and Back” (season finale): 2.2/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Riverdale”: 0.9/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.1/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “Survivor”: 4.3/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “Chicago Med” (R): 3.3/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Gordon Ramsay’s To Hell and Back” (season finale): 2.1/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Riverdale”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.3/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “The World’s Best”: 2.1/ 4 (#4)
NBC – “Chicago Fire” (R): 3.0/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Gordon Ramsay’s To Hell and Back” (season finale): 2.1/ 3 (#4)
CW – “All American”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Idol”: 5.3/ 9 (#1)
CBS – “The World’s Best”: 1.8/ 3 (#4)
NBC – “Chicago Fire” (R): 3.0/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Gordon Ramsay’s To Hell and Back” (season finale): 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “All American”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Whiskey Cavalier”: 4.0/ 7 (#1)
CBS – “The World’s Best”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD” (R): 3.0/ 5 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Whiskey Cavalier”: 3.6/ 7 (#1)
CBS – “The World’s Best”: 1.9/ 4 (#3)
NBC – “Chicago PD” (R): 2.7/ 5 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research