Logo

Broadcast Nets Endure a Night of Historically Low Ratings — With NBC’s ‘The Voice’ and Fox’s ‘Glee’ Among the Casualties

May 7, 2014  •  Post A Comment

Tuesday night was one NBC and the other broadcast networks might like to forget as far as ratings go, based on Nielsen overnights for the key 18-49 demo, as three of NBC's prime-time shows hit all-time low marks while series on ABC and Fox also sank to new lows.

TVbytheNumbers.com reports that NBC's "The Voice," "About a Boy" and "Growing Up Fisher" all fell to series lows. Meanwhile, ABC's "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" equaled its previous low mark while "The Goldbergs" and "Trophy Wife" set new all-time lows, and on Fox, "Glee" hit a new series low.

CBS wasn't spared, either, as two of its three drama series lost ground from a week ago and "Person of Interest" equaled its all-time low. But when the dust had settled, CBS came away with a win for the night in the key demo — along with its typically strong performance in total viewers.

CBS's "NCIS" fell two-tenths of a ratings point from a week ago to a 2.3 average in the 18-49 demo, while "Person of Interest" also lost two-tenths, matching its low mark with a 1.7. "NCIS: Los Angeles" defied the downtrend, ticking up one-tenth to a 2.2.

NBC's "The Voice" managed to wind up yet again as the top show of the night, even with a series-low 2.4 average — off three-tenths from the 2.7 it delivered last week, which was a series low at the time. "Growing Up Fisher" fell two-tenths to a series-low 1.2, while "About a Boy" slipped one-tenth to a series-low 1.5.

One bright spot for NBC was "Chicago Fire," which drifted upward one-tenth from last week to a 1.9 in adults 18-49, winning the 10 p.m. hour among the broadcast nets.

Almost everything on ABC's prime-time schedule also was down, with the lone exception being "Celebrity Wife Swap," which matched the 0.9 it had last week in the 18-49 demo — but that placed the show a distant third in the 10 p.m. slot. "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" fell three-tenths to a 1.8, equaling its series low; "Goldbergs" lost four-tenths and set a new series low with a 1.3; and "Trophy Wife" plummeted three-tenths to a series-low 0.7.

Fox was off the slow pace set by its big four counterparts, winding up in fifth place for the night behind Univision. "Glee" slipped one-tenth from a week ago to a 0.8 average in 18-49, a new low mark for the show, while "New Girl" and "The Mindy Project" both showed signs of life. "Girl" ticked up one-tenth to a 1.2 and "Mindy" surged two-tenths to a 1.3.

For prime time overall, CBS pulled out a narrow win in the 18-49 demo while dominating total viewers. In the demo, CBS led the way with a 2.1 average, topping NBC (1.9 average), ABC (1.3), Univision (1.2) and Fox (1.0). CBS chalked up an average of 13.3 million total viewers, well ahead of NBC (7.7 million), ABC (3.7 million), Univision (2.8 million) and Fox (2.3 million).

Chicago-Fire.jpg

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)