Not even the World Series, Fox’s usual fall TV helper, is delivering much of a ratings bump to the network’s early-season doldrums.
The first game of the World Series between the San
Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals delivered a new ratings low for Major League Baseball's initial contest of the fall classic -- a 2.9 rating/9 share in Nielsen's live-plus-same day preliminary
program measure among 18-49 viewers -- down a big 41% from a year ago.
Analysts do note that the absence of some big market teams was destined to have some effect early on. At the same time, a
long, seven-game series could boost Fox fortunes in terms of ratings and subsequent big advertising revenues.
Fox still won the night -- but not in a dominating way. The network averaged a
2.9/9 with NBC at a 2.2/7 and CBS at a 2.1/6. ABC was further down the list, with a 1.2/4 and the CW, with a 1.1/3.
advertisement
advertisement
NBC’s “The Voice” bested all TV programming on the night
-- at a 3.1/10 -- down three-tenths of a rating point from the week before. Two comedies that followed lost a bit of steam but remained with decent viewership -- new show “Marry Me” at a
1.9/5 and sophomore show “About a Boy” at a 1.4/4.
At 10 p.m. NBC’s “Chicago Fire” continued to dominate other network dramas with a 1.9/6: CBS’
“Person of Interest” (1.5/5) and ABC’s “Forever” (1.2/4).
CBS’s “NCIS” and “NCIS: New Orleans” both earned strong 2.4/7 numbers, as
well as easily topping all shows in total viewers, at 16.9 million and 15.9 million viewers, respectively.
ABC’s new comedies -- against strong competition -- suffered. ABC’s
“Selfie” at 8 p.m., earned a 1.1/4 and “Manhattan Love Story” a 0.7/1. ABC’s best came from “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” with a 1.5/4 -- down
two-tenths of a rating point to a new series low.
The CW “The Flash,” a rookie drama, continued its strong effort at 1.4/4, down a bit from the week before -- but still a decent
start for the smaller broadcast network.