Wednesday Overnights: ‘America’s Got Talent’ Leads NBC to Victory

What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households by network and by half-hour for Wednesday, August 23, 2017:

Household Rating/Share
NBC: 4.1/ 7, CBS: 2.7/ 5, Fox: 2.5/ 4, ABC: 1.6/ 3, CW: 0.5/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
CBS: no change, ABC: -16, Fox: -17. NBC: -20, CW: -50

-Ratings Breakdown:
It was no contest in the battle of the 8-9 p.m. reality/competitions, with “America’s Got Talent” on NBC (7.2 rating/13 share) besting competing “Big Brother” on CBS (4.0/ 7) and the first of two episodes of “MasterChef” on Fox (2.5/ 5) by 80 percent and 188 percent, respectively, in the household overnights. “Big Brother,” however, remains consistent from the year-ago evening and consistently holds three of the top five spots this summer each week in adults 18-49.

In week two (and episode three and four) news, NBC sitcom “Marlon” led the 9 p.m. half-hour thanks to the lead-in support from “America’s Got Talent,” with a 3.2/ 6. Comparably, that was down by a typical 11 percent from the 3.6/ 6 opener one week earlier, which translated into 5.20 million viewers and a 1.2 rating/5 share in adults 18-49 (based on the Live + Same Day data). The prognosis: the sitcom shows some promise (at least by the traditional Nielsen ratings).

The second episode of “Marlon” dipped to a 2.7/ 5 at 9:30 p.m., which tied competing “MasterChef” on Fox.

Also original last night was CBS drama “Salvation,” which could not compete with a fourth-place 2.0/ 3 in the household overnights from 9-10 p.m.

What follows are the household overnight results for Wednesday, August 23 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs” (R): 1.7/ 3 (#4)
CBS – “Big Brother”: 4.1/ 8 (#2)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 6.9/13 (#1)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.5/ 5 (#3)
CW – “Arrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Speechless” (R): 1.5/ 3 (#4)
CBS – “Big Brother”: 3.9/ 7 (#2)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 7.4/13 (#1)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.5/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Arrow” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family” (R): 2.0/ 4 (#4)
CBS – “Salvation”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
NBC – “Marlon”: 3.2/ 6 (#1)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.5/ 4 (#1t)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife” (R): 1.7/ 3 (#4)
CBS – “Salvation”: 2.0/ 3 (#3)
NBC – “Marlon”: 2.7/ 5 (#2)
Fox – “MasterChef”: 2.7/ 5 (#1t)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family” (R): 1.6/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds” (R): 1.9/ 3 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 2.0/ 4 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife” (R): 1.4/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds” (R): 2.0/ 4 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 2.1/ 4 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research