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‘Will & Grace’ Surges, Notching a Milestone for NBC

Oct 9, 2017  •  Post A Comment

NBC’s new “Will & Grace” revival is turning out to be a huge draw for the network, with the show’s premiere episode picking up momentum in Live+7. Citing Nielsen Media Research data, NBC announced today that the Sept. 28 premiere nearly doubled its “live plus same day” totals in some metrics.

The episode increased to 15.8 million total viewers in L+7, making it the most-watched premiere of a new or returning NBC prime-time comedy in 13 years, excluding Olympic nights.

The premiere surged to a 5.74 rating in the key 18-49 demo in L+7, almost twice its 3.0 average in L+SD.

The L+7 lifts are the biggest for an NBC prime-time comedy in the history of the measurement, the network said. The measurement takes into consideration seven days of time-shifted viewing combined with projected alternate-platform viewership.

“In linear ‘live plus seven day’ Nielsens, the Sept. 28 ‘Will & Grace’ premiere has risen to 15.848 million viewers overall, to score as NBC’s most-watched premiere of a new or returning primetime comedy (excluding post-Olympic previews) in 13 years (since the Season 7 premiere during the prior run of ‘Will & Grace’ on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, 16.562 million),” the network said in today’s announcement. “The 15.848 million is an increase of +5.7 million viewers overall versus the show’s 10.193 million in L+SD Nielsens.”

NBC adds: “Counting all episodes, premiere and otherwise, the 15.8 million in linear L+7 viewership makes it the most-watched NBC prime-time comedy episode (excluding post-Olympic and post-Super Bowl telecasts) in more than 11 years (since ‘Will & Grace’s’ then-series finale on May 18, 2006, 18.630 million).”

The announcement also notes: “In 18-49, it’s NBC’s best prime-time comedy telecast in linear L+7 ratings (excluding post-Olympic and post-Super Bowl episodes), in six years (since the Season 8 premiere of ‘The Office’ on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, 5.41 in L+7).

“The linear increases of +2.00 rating points in 18-49 and +5.655 million viewers are NBC’s biggest L+7 lifts for a primetime comedy in L+7 measurement history.”

2 Comments

  1. But wait: The show’s 2nd episode lost 37% of it’s audience from the opening week. How wasn’t TV Week aware of this??

  2. The laugh track is really annoying and very noticeable. Listen closely to the laughter in the first show. NBC tried to make out like the audience was beside itself laughing…

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