Reel TV Ratings: (Wednesday) – The CMA’S Easily Tops Programming Across The Networks

The CMA’s topped last years performance for ABC as it was easily what people were tuning into on Wednesday night.

The awards drew a 3.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 14.29 million viewers, up from 2.9 and 12.5 million in 2016 (when they aired opposite Game 7 of the World Series). The 2015 ceremony drew a 3.8 in the 18-49 demographic, but this year’s had the biggest total audience since 2014. Many are crediting the increase to country music touching even more lives since the October 1st Vegas shooting that took place during a country festival and claimed the lives of 52 people. They were featured during a powerful in memoriam tribute that was a somber yet memorable part of the ceremony.

In terms of scripted programming, FOX took second for the night in adults 18-49 as Empire (1.8, 5.41 million viewers) was even with its last episode on October 18. Star was off a tenth of a point at a 1.2 demo rating and 3.79 million viewers.

The Blacklist (0.9, 4.99 million viewers) rose a tenth of a point, but the rest of CBS’ and NBC’s shows were down vs. their last original episodes. SEAL Team (0.9, 6.17 million viewers) and Criminal Minds (0.9, 5.47 million viewers) were down a tenth apiece for CBS. Law & Order: SVU (1.1, 4.89 million viewers) also fell by a tenth, and Chicago PD (0.9, 5.14 million viewers) came down two tenths. These shows should rebound next week as the CMA’s probably took a bit of their audience.

On The CW, Riverdale (0.5, 1.49 million viewers) was down a tenth after a couple of weeks in the 0.6 range while Dynasty (0.2, 720,000 viewers) was flat week to week.

Check back next week for the Wednesday ratings recap!


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About Gaius Bolling 3795 Articles
At the age of five, I knew I wanted to write movies and about them. I've set out to make those dreams come true. As an alumni of the Los Angeles Film Academy, I participated in their Screenwriting program, while building up my expertise in film criticism. I write reviews that relate to the average moviegoer by educating my readers and keeping it fun. My job is to let you know the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of cinema, so you can have your best moviegoing experience. You can find more of my writing on Instagram @g_reelz.