Wednesday Overnights: ‘Survivor’ Leads CBS to Victory

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 4.1/ 7, Fox: 3.7/ 6, ABC: 3.1/ 5, NBC: 3.0/ 5, CW: 0.4/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: no change, CBS: – 2, ABC: -14, NBC: -17, CW: -20

Ratings Breakdown:
Veteran “Survivor” led CBS to another Wednesday overnight victory, with a 5.0 rating/8 share in the household overnights in the 8 p.m. hour. Comparably, this bested “Empire” on Fox (#2: 4.2/ 7) by 19 percent. But “Empire” is still the drama to beat in adults 18-49 (and all the key young adult demo groups). And “Survivor,” after all these years (and despite not the best creative season), remains amazingly consistent.

In week two news, ABC sitcom “Alex, Inc.” dipped to a 2.5/ 4 (#4) at 8:30 p.m., which was 29 percent below lead-in “The Goldbergs” (#4: 3.5/ 6 at 8 p.m.) and 14 percent below the 2.9/ 5 in the overnights for its week-ago debut. Comparably, that 2.9 overnight household rating last week translated into 4.6 million viewers and a 1.1 rating/5 share in adults 18-49, based on the fast affiliate ratings. “Speechless” on the year-ago evening was stronger at a 3.2/ 5 in the overnights.

Also populating the 8 p.m. hour was NBC’s “The Blacklist” (#3: 3.6/ 6), which should be good to go for next season, and a repeat of “Riverdale” on The CW (#5: 0.4/ 1), which is already confirmed for 2018-19.

At 9 p.m., ABC’s “Modern Family” scored a dominant 4.0/ 7 in the 9 p.m. half-hour into sophomore “American Housewife” at a 3.1/ 5 (#2) at 9:30 p.m. “Star” on Fox (#3: 3.0/ 5) held 71 percent of its “Empire” lead-in, and is a likely bet for a third season. The CW’s recently introduced (and Friday bound) “Life Sentence” remained lost at a mere 0.4/ 1. And CBS and NBC populated the hour with repeats of “NCIS” (#2: 3.3/ 5) and “Law & Order: SVU” (#4: 2.5/ 4).

Tops at 10 p.m. was CBS’ “Criminal Minds” at a 3.8/ 7, which bested a repeat of “Chicago PD” on NBC (#2: 2.9/ 5) and “Designated Survivor” on ABC (#3: 2.6/ 5) by 31 and 46 percent, respectively.

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Wednesday, April 4 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs”: 3.5/ 6 (#4)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.1/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “ The Blacklist”: 3.7/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Empire”: 4.2/ 7 (#2)
CW – “Riverdale” (R): 0.9/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Alex, Inc.”: 2.5/ 4 (#4)
CBS – “Survivor”: 5.0/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “The Blacklist”: 3.6/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Empire”: 4.3/ 7 (#2)
CW – “Riverdale (R)”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family”: 4.0/ 7 (#1)
CBS – “NCIS” (R): 3.2/ 5 (#2t)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 2.5/ 4 (#4)
Fox – “Star”: 3.1/ 5 (#3)
CW – “Life Sentence”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife”: 3.1/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “NCIS” (R): 3.4/ 6 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (R): 2.6/ 4 (#4)
Fox – “Star”: 3.0/ 5 (#2)
CW – “Life Sentence”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 2.8/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 3.9/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago PD” (R): 3.0/ 5 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Designated Survivor”: 2.5/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “Criminal Minds”: 3.8/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago PD” (R): 2.8/ 5 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research